'The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise' by Julia Stuart - Book Review

I had heard The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart described as "charming, and for the first half of the book, I couldn't imagine why people would be charmed. The writing was plodding in places, the whimsy seemed out of place for the weight of the subject matter (a marriage falling apart after a child's death) and the different plot threads seemed thrown together. I almost stopped reading. I am glad, however, that I didn't. The second half of the book was more uplifting and had me laughing out loud at times. The ending was satisfying. It is up to you whether it is worth 150 pages to get to the good part.

In early reviews, The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart was compared with The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. This is not a good comparison. Sure, both books are British, have long titles and contain quirky characters. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, however, tackles a heavy topic (Nazi occupation) with a good balance of depth and hope. The whimsy seems to underline the resilience of the human spirit. In The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise, the whimsy often feels out of place with the weight of the subject matter, and there is not the same note of hope.

The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise is full of odd historical facts about the Tower of London. Some of these are interesting. In the first half of the book, they just felt forced onto the page and I wondered why some were repeated several times. At the end of the book, reflecting back, it occurred to me that maybe this style was supposed to reflect the way the Beefeaters lives felt -- day after day of repeating the same facts to tourists, the facts becoming as much a part of who they are as the actual circumstances of their lives. In retrospect, that seems sort of clever. Unfortunately, it just felt clunky for the first 150 pages.

So what is my overall verdict on this story of a Yeoman Warder who owns the world's largest tortoise? In the end, I actually liked the book. If you start reading, and find it enjoyable, you will be pleased to know it gets even better in the second half. If, however, you want to stop reading after a few chapters, I would say that even though the end was satisfying, there is no amazing surprise for which you should endure unpleasant reading. It is up to you to decide how long you want to give The Tower to charm you.