Quote From a Book

[MarkD]

"...{T}he {non-human} animals matter in a way that's hard to define. They matter...because they belong to us, to the whole story of this Earth, and without them the story would not be as beautiful or as profound...The natural world and the non-human beings in it are part of what makes this life worth living. If we kill all the beauty around us, we kill a part of ourselves."

~~from The Island of Last Things: A Novel by Emma Sloley

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Found this and I'm second in line on hold:

A propulsive and poignant novel about two zookeepers at the last zoo in the world. For readers who enjoy Téa Obreht and Charlotte McConaghy



A SOARING, PROPULSIVE, AND UNFORGETTABLE novel about two zookeepers at the last zoo in the world

"Sometimes a new author will sidle up and whisper in your ear, and sometimes she'll grab you by the neck. Emma Sloley is in the latter camp." ―REBECCA MAKKAI



Camille has always preferred animals to people. The wild has nearly disappeared, but as a zookeeper at the last zoo in the world, on Alcatraz Island, she spends her days caring for playful chimpanzees, gentle tree frogs, and a restless jaguar. Outside, resistance groups and brutal cartels fight to shape the world's future, but Camille is safe within her routines. That is, until a new zookeeper, Sailor, arrives from Paris.


From their first meeting, Camille is drawn to Sailor, who seems to see something in Camille that no one has before. They bond over their shared passions and dream up ways to improve their lives. When Sailor whispers the story of an idyllic, secret sanctuary where wild animals roam free, Camille begins to imagine a new kind of life with Sailor by her side.


Sailor knows all too well the dangers beyond Alcatraz, but she increasingly chafes at the zoo's rigid rules. She hatches a reckless plan to smuggle one of the most prized animals off the island to freedom, and invites Camille to join her. The consequences if they fail would be catastrophic, and Sailor's contacts at the sanctuary go dark just as the threats from the cartels grow more extreme. Camille must decide if she's ready to risk everything for the promise of a better world.


Propulsive and fiercely hopeful, with a heart-stopping final twist, The Island of Last Things is an elegy for a disappearing world and a gorgeous vision for the future.

 

[Messy]

'n Zomerzotheid, a Summer Folly from 1927 by Cissy van Marxveldt. She wrote books for girls. My mom read it too. It was very popular.

Robbert was a squire. He overheard Ella say to the other girls at a picnic that she can always immediately recognize a man of standing and she was interested in meeting the squire. He asks them the way to a garage and he says he's the squire's chauffeur and his friend G.J. (Gerrit Jan) then plays the squire. Tennis and speaking English was for the high standing in 1927.


He suddenly took a snickering pleasure in annoying Ella. And when the game stood at 2-0 for Reep and Lenie, he demonstratively rolled up his sleeves further.

‘There you go, now I have to surref. Now we’re going to give them a good thrashing, Miss,’ he said to Ella.

Ella glared with disdain at Robbert. ‘Miss,’ and that to her. The height of shamelessness! She would have liked to throw down the racket, but then she wouldn't make a good impression on Robbert.

‘Fifteen-lef,’ said Robbert proudly. Ella shivered. Pit, up on the bench, thought of the ‘luns’ on that one beautiful morning. Such a pity for Lucas. But Jef slapped his knees with his hands.

‘Say, Robbert,’ he said, ‘you should have given him some English lessons too. Lef. Oh Sultan of Turkey, I’m laughing my head off.’

‘Surtie-Lef!’ shouted Robbert enthusiastically.

Gerrit Jan looked a bit dejected. Was it really necessary to exaggerate like that?

‘Vortie-lef,’ cheered Robbert.

‘This will be the end of my unworthy existence,’ sobbed Jef.

‘Vortie-fifteen. Come on, Miss, pay attention!’

Ella had murderous intent in her eyes.

‘Vortie-surtie! Vortie-surtie,’ Robbert repeated.

‘Why are you laughing so wildly?’ Pit suddenly asked angrily.

‘That language of Lucas's....’ Jef roared. ‘Oh Pit, I haven't seen anything so beautiful in years.’

‘But what can Lucas do about it?’ asked Pit. ‘Ridiculous. You should have taught him English then!’

Jef looked at Pit for a moment, his eyebrows raised in surprise. Then a new scale of laughing vowels rolled out of his wide-open mouth. ‘You must—you must tell that to Ròbbert,’ he said. ‘It’s his chauffeur after all!’

‘Joès!’ screamed Robbert.

‘It’s royal,’ cried Jef. Dot had to laugh too. Only Pit looked surly. And Gerrit Jan feared a gruesome conclusion.

‘Out!’ screamed Robbert.

 

[Messy]

On the heath, the sun was burning. Only Jef was chatting. He chatted cheerfully and heartily, and Gerrit Jan could have killed him.

[p. 265]

‘Yes,’ said Jef, and his arm brushed against Ella’s coat sleeve. ‘There is nothing like friendship between two men. That is the real and true and faithful. When Robbert asked me this morning to go for a walk with him, I was definitely not capable. Absolutely not. But when he insisted and begged me to accompany him, then I thought of our friendship and set off along. You see, *that* is true camaraderie! Just try finding that with two girls. They do whatever they feel like doing. They don’t sacrifice themselves for each other... They....’

‘Oh, but I don’t expect you to sacrifice yourself for us at all,’ said Ella hastily. ‘Go home in peace, Jef.’ Along this winding path, you’ll be there in no time.’

‘I can’t leave Robbert alone,’ said Jef, looking with distress in his gaze at Gerrit Jan’s grim face.

‘Oh, stop talking nonsense,’ said G.J.

But Ella put her arm through his. ‘It’s so hard walking here.’ She squeezed his arm. ‘Doesn’t it tire you out too much, Robbert?’

As if at a prearranged signal, so hastily, Jef also put his hand through Ella’s still-free arm, and shrugging his shoulders snugly, he said: ‘Cozy like this, the three of us!!’