I enjoyed this book a lot more than I had expected to. I knew it would be interesting, but I hadn’t expected for it to be as deep and thought-provoking as it was! This story is about Marvin, whose family own the Zoo At The Edge of the World, a resort for wealthy people that were interested in travelling to South America and learning about the jungle.
Animals stories aren’t usually something that I like reading. The difference with The Zoo at the Edge of The World however, is that the plot is less focused on the animal’s lives, and more on the mysterious happenings at the Zoo, and the magic given to Marvin by the jaguar. I can’t stand reading about animals being hurt, and though there is a short scene that involves feeding a capybara to a giant snake, the book was pretty good in that aspect.
Speaking of animals, the jaguar (who won’t let anyone give him a name) was a more complex character than I’d anticipated. He can be kind to Marvin, but the Jaguar’s wants and needs always come first, at least in his mind. He is deceptive, cunning, and quite funny. Look at the passage below for an example. In this scene, Marvin is trying to explain to the jaguar how an oil lamp works.