Father of Lions: One Man's Remarkable Quest to Save the Mosul Zoo – Louise Callaghan
One of the most important aspects of “Father of Lions” occurs in the postscript, when Louise Callaghan mentions that the animals of the Mosul Zoo were removed from Iraq, but many of their human saviors were not.
I wish this statement would’ve been included in the introduction of the book, because it adds a layer of gravitas to a story that sometimes felt too lighthearted.
While a fascinating microhistory of humans and animals surviving through the ISIS occupation of Mosul through much of the mid-2010s, Callaghan never quite found the right balance between history, politics and humanity.
It is clear that she had great admiration for the people she interviewed, and her professional experience as the Middle East correspondent for the Sunday Times gives her bona fides, but overall, this was a disjointed and uneven read.
Anyone going into this story expecting it to be centered exclusively on the animals of the Mosul Zoo will be disappointed. The animals, truly, are secondary until the last 25 percent of the story.
As an animal lover, the sections that featured Zombie, a lion cub, Lulu, a bear, and the assorted other animals of the Mosul Zoo were the most interesting to read. The difficulties FOUR PAWS International had in rescuing them further emphasizes the continued instability and corruption of the region.
But that’s not the primary focus here, instead it is the individuals that play a role in their rescue.
Imad Sabah, known by his kunya nickname Abu Laith, the “father of lions.” Despite not being a trained animal health professional, he deputizes himself as zookeeper because of his love of animals and obsession with the National Geographic channel.
While there are elements of his story, and how he cares for the animals, that are cringeworthy, his passion and devotion in the face of horrendous circumstances is admirable. He risked his life — and that of his large family — to feed and care for the animals while the zoo was occupied by Daeshis, or Islamic State soldiers.
Callaghan makes him the center of the narrative, and we learn about his life pre-occupation and experiences during. It’s a fascinating snapshot of how people adapt to survive during war.
There are three other narratives: Marwan, the zookeeper apprentice; Hakam, a student that lives near the zoo; and Dr. Amir from FOUR PAWS.
Callaghan switches POV almost every chapter, and this contributed to the general confusion of earlier chapters. The connections between the people are not clear nor how their story will lead us to the animal rescue.
While I appreciated learning about recent life in Iraq, a human history versus animal history is not the book I expected to read.
While starting as an ebook, I listened to about half of it since my interest started to wane. Saul Reichlin gives a matter-of-fact narration with some flair that injects a little life into the more mundane sections.
Going in with the right expectations — again, the animals are secondary — would probably make this a more enjoyable read, but it was mostly a miss for me.
Rating (story): 3/5 stars
Rating (narration): 3/5 stars
Formats: Hybrid read/listen: ebook (personal library); audiobook (library loan)
Dates read: December 26, 2021 – January 9, 2022
Multi-tasking: Good to go once you get a handle on the characters. Having a physical copy to reference helped keep track of the nicknames and various key players.
