Abu-Laith is a man of many dimensions. He’s a successful businessman who has built a place of worship for his community in Mosul that he rarely visits. His wife is a firecracker and he has many, many children. He is also the self-proclaimed zookeeper of the Mosul zoo who’s only training in zookeeping comes for the National Geographic. Amid the danger, cruelty and chaos of the ISIS occupation of Mosul, Abu Laith becomes fixated on saving the battered and starving zoo animals, including a lion cub he raised from birth.
Louise Callaghan, author of Father of Lions: One Man’s Remarkable Quest to Save the Mosul Zoo gives readers a glimpse of the trauma and terror that the people of Mosul endured during ISIS occupation. It is a harrowing, heartbreaking, and eye-opening story, with loveable characters and surprising splashes of humor.
While I enjoyed the story and the perspectives it presented, I found some of the storylines extraneous.
Thank you to BookishFirst and Forge Publishing for an ARC of Father of Lions.
Louise Callaghan, author of Father of Lions: One Man’s Remarkable Quest to Save the Mosul Zoo gives readers a glimpse of the trauma and terror that the people of Mosul endured during ISIS occupation. It is a harrowing, heartbreaking, and eye-opening story, with loveable characters and surprising splashes of humor.
While I enjoyed the story and the perspectives it presented, I found some of the storylines extraneous.
Thank you to BookishFirst and Forge Publishing for an ARC of Father of Lions.