We Bought a Zoo: Benjamin Mee

Blurb


In June 2004 journalist Benjamin Mee was living a peaceful existence in the south of France. Benjamin, his wife Katherine and their two young children Ella and Milo had just made the final commitment to their new life by selling their home in London and buying two stone barns set amidst the beautiful landscape of Lanquedoc. All this was about to change though, when Benjamin decided to buy a decrepit zoo in Dartmoor ...

Benjamin's story is a remarkable tale about anxious wolves, awkward creditors, escaping big cats, the power of family and the triumph of hope over tragedy

This is an amazing book.Anybody who has been reading my blog well will know that the main reason I wanted to read this book was my love of all things animal which is synonymous with my dream of owning a zoo....(a farm would do for starters). I have wanted to read the book for a few years but simply didn't have the time around uni work etc.. however, now that the book has been turned into a film I felt compelled to read it before everybody jumped on the commercial film bandwagon and started raving about it like it's a brand new book.....(this is something that drives me insane!)

Benjamin Mee writes exceptionally well. You get the impression from the start that the family are a little more well off than the average British person but he writes in such a way that you quickly forget this and become completely caught up in his story. His descriptions are beautiful and realistic and he walks you through every memory in a way that brings the story to life for the reader. Benjamin Mee tells the heart breaking story of his wife's illness and her rapid decline before losing her battle with cancer.  But even this incredibly sad story is told with a touch a humour, he makes the best of his situation and I doubt that anybody could read this book and not feel what Benjamin feels. 


Benjamin's style is fantastic and he often deviates from the main plot to tell amusing anecdotes. Towards the end of the book he becomes 'distracted' from telling us about his plans for the restaurant in the zoo and begins to explain the origins of the Cornish pasty. Although completely irrelevant, this little aside made me laugh and also taught me something I will probably never forget about pasties...... 


'...the thick outer rim of crust...is not actually meant to be eaten, because it was designed to be the handle by which the meal was held in the grubby hands of miners on their lunch break.'


.... what a useless but wonderful fact!

My favourite quote in the book probably wont mean anything to most people but it is taken from an extract in which Benjamin is describing his relationship with his wife and how she felt about his idea of buying a zoo. He says

'This (buying the zoo) was just another of my silly dreams which was a distraction from the daily necessity of earning a living and writing my book. But this was her role in our relationship - I was the dreamer, she was the reality check - though I often argued that preparing only for the worst could become self-fulfilling.'

I love this quote because it reminds me so much of my relationship...I'm the dreamer and Gareth tries his hardest to keep me routed in reality. A simple quote that just made me smile...maybe all good relationships work this way.  


The book mentions that during the process of buying and renovating the zoo Benjamin Mee and his family were shadowed by a film crew who were filming a four part documentary about he process for BBC two called Ben's Zoo. Unfortunately, I didn't get the opportunity to see this but would love to, especially before the film is premièred. I am not a fan of film versions of books, and I don't understand how a film can show the drama and emotion of the family any better than the documentary. 


I couldn't tear myself away from this book and I can't count the amount of times that I laughed out loud whilst reading it. It made me cry but then shortly after it made me laugh and most of all, it made me want to own a zoo!

10/10