The Zoo

This book had been sitting on my bookshelf for a while and I couldn't remember why I had bought it. I've picked it up a few times but put it straight back down as it didn't appeal. Decided this was going to be now or never!The story is narrated by Yuri who is a Russian boy living in the 1950s - he has been badly injured and is now disabled, both physically and mentally. He lives with his father in a zoo and they are struggling to survive under the regime. One day they are swept out to "treat" a strange old man and the story starts.Yuri's mental difficulties give him similar challenges to that of an autistic child. It's a very clever move by the author to create a neurological condition which is hard to define as it gives a huge amount of flexibility with Yuri's actions and thought processes.The book is 230 pages long and has 19 chapters. Just right for a snappy story combining comedy and pathos.This book is curious and fascinating. Of course, the story is based around Stalin's last days but we see the decline through the eyes of a child with a skewed view of the world.Whilst there is no record of an elephant expert visiting Stalin, it is true that he had body doubles which gives an aura of truth to this seemingly unlikely story.The novel is an intensely dark comedy about Stalin which has may parallels to the recent film "The Death of Stalin". It is obviously about the same topic and handles the subject in a similarly irreverent way, showing those around Stalin to be self serving idiots. Here, Yuri is used as an observer, adding a facet to the story which would not be achieved with a third person narrative (his simpleton appearance allows him to get close to Stalin then his advanced intelligence allows him to comment).I found this easy to read and the book flowed well. The first half is very engaging although it dipped away a bit about half way through and never completely recovered. 1950s Russia is not a happy place but Yuri knows nothing else so accepts whatever happens to him. The true sadness, which is well communicated between the lines, is the things he can't see and doesn't know about.

Much of this book is a satire about the last days of Stalin. It is a narrative by Yuri, a wonderful creation by the author. He is the twelve-year old son of a vet at the Moscow Zoo who specializes in treating big animals. Yuri is an idiot savant. An accident when he was six had affected his mind: he was fearless, impulsive, loquacious, inquisitive, observant, and intelligent in a disconnected way, though many take him for an idiot. He is quite incapable of following his father’s advice to be careful in what he says. He also has the kind of face that makes people trust him and even confess to him things they would never confess to anyone else.One night in 1953 the police arrive in the middle of the night to take away his father (who always had a suitcase packed for just such an occasion): his medical assistance is urgently required, and he persuades the police that for that he needs Yuri as an assistant. He expects that he would have to deal with a big beast like an Elephant. Instead, the Big Beast turns out to be Stalin, who does not trust any doctors and has in fact just killed or exiled many of them. He doesn’t like the advice Yuri’s father gives him (no smoking, no alcohol, complete rest) and sends him away; but he takes to Yuri. He tolerates the boy’s questions and comments because he takes him for an idiot. He plays draughts with him (Stalin always wins because he invents rules as he goes along) and confesses to him events in his life and reign. Later, he will impart his ruthless philosophy to him. And he employs Yuri as his food-taster. Because Stalin recognizes that people trust Yuri, he also charges him with reporting to him anything his entourage might say in front of this idiot child. In fact, Stalin’s ministers pressure him (brutally in one case) to report back to them what Stalin has said.The satire has been quite brilliant in the first third of the book. It becomes a little more heavy-handed after that. There are passages about Stalin’s doubles (three of them). Yuri witnesses the drunken dinners over which Stalin presides. More significantly, Yuri overhears Stalin’s ministers plotting against Stalin.Stalin has a second stroke. It doesn’t kill him but has destroyed parts of his memory – what remains is his hatred and suspicion of the people or groups whose names he can’t remember. Then there is the finally disabling and fatal stroke. The scenes around the dying and then the dead man correspond roughly – very roughly - to the accounts in the history books of Stalin’s death.But Wilson has some tricks up his sleeve. Quite a way before the end of the book, Yuri makes a discovery. For a while the satirical element disappears, to give way to sickening scenes and then to a whole series of totally unexpected developments. It ends with a dazzling flight of fancy.

This is a very dark comedy about the final days of the Stalin regime. The narrator is Yuri, a boy with brain damage and epilepsy who nonetheless is an observant and witty writer, far from the 'idiot' everyone presumes him to be. The title could refer to the city zoo that he lives at with his zookeeper father, or to human zoo of Stalin's inner circle. Through a twist of fate, Yuri is appointed food taster to Stalin, and as such witnesses all the machinations of the regime - even if he doesn't always comprehend what he has seen. Whilst there are very funny moments, and the writing style is full of wit, there underlying tone is very dark and the comedy simply casts the horrifying reality of the situation into a starker light. The whims of a dictator who had millions killed, and the vicious psychopaths who abetted him, are here for all to shudder over.Yuri is a really likeable character as his father. Stalin is not sympathetic of course, but is certainly interesting, as are the men around him. His charisma comes across also, even though his behaviour is monstrous, you can get a feeling for why he was such a powerful cult figure and even Yuri can feel his influence. The ministers who surround him include some real and some fictitious characters - although I don't have any depth of knowledge about the period so there have been allusions that I missed.In terms of the writing, it flows nicely and is easy to read. It's one of those books that engages you and gets you interested from the very beginning. It was certainly a novel that I wanted to keep reading and found gripping and compelling. Parts are really very funny, but there's an underlying menace that never goes away, even though Yuri himself doesn't always realise the peril he's in or see what's coming. In some ways this makes the reader feel more tense, as you feel a protective dread on behalf of the young narrator.Anyone with an interest in Russia, the Soviet Union or politics more generally should read this - it's a fascinating book and there are likely even further levels within it that could be spotted by someone with more knowledge about the time, as with any satire. It's a satisfying if not always comfortable read that is both funny and shocking, and stands out in my memory as an original story. Anyone worried that it might 'make light' of the excesses of Stalin's regime can rest assured that the story does not do that. Highly recommended.

This was a well-written book on a period of history that is quite fascinating. The only problem is that it is very similar to the film, The Death of Stalin, which recently came out. This is a topic that lends itself well to satire and there are some are some amusing sections of the book. I guess that anything that makes us think about the period just before, during and after, Stalin's death from another perspective has to be a positive.

This is a very funny book. The young hero is injured by a tram that leaves him slightly disabled with a strong tendency to speak truth to power - in this case a crazy Stalin who takes a liking to the unlikely Yuri.