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Taronga
Two years after the Last Days, Australia has become a dangerous place, and a battle-ground for survival.Ben, who has a telepathic ability to control animals, leads a hazardous existence in the bush west of the Blue Mountains. Hopeful of a less brutal life, he escapes to Sydney - only to be further disillusioned. Then, at the heart of the city he comes upon Taronga Zoo, which has been strangely unaffected by the general chaos. Or has it? Is it an island of safety in the midst of so much danger? Or is it really the most sinister place of all?
197 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
23 people are currently reading
507 people want to read
About the author
Victor Kelleher
71 books70 followersVictor Kelleher is an Australian author. Victor was born in London and moved to Africa with his parents, at the age of fifteen. He spent the next twenty years travelling and studying in Africa, before moving to New Zealand. Kelleher received a teaching degree in Africa and has taught in Africa, New Zealand and Australia. While in New Zealand, he began writing part time, prompted by homesickness for Africa. He moved to Australia in 1976, with his South African wife, Allison, and taught at the University of New England, in Armidale, New South Wales, before moving to Sydney to write full time. Many of the books he has written have been based on his childhood and his travellings in Africa.
Kelleher has won many awards for his books, such as the Australian Children's Book Award.
Kelleher has won many awards for his books, such as the Australian Children's Book Award.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
March 19, 2014
This book is the most hideious thing ever to enter the world of literature (with the possible exception of Twilight). I had to read it for school and spent every English lesson caught between a state that was somewhere between homicidal and sucidal.
The characterisation was weak (they all blurred together to create a giant 2D personality fail as far as I could see) and there was no explanation for any of the context. And just when you think it has to get better with the introduction of new characters and plot twists (if you can call them that) it just gets even more boring.
The authour is so vauge about everything and has this knack for describing all the wrong things (you don't need to tell me a tiger is stripy, I know it has stripes and you've only mentioned it about 50 thousand times already) and not describing what you want to hear about (eg. The characters)
Not only has it got a middle that sags and drags irrepairably (mainly because of repeated descriptions of tigers) but the ending is unsatisfactory to say the least as I fail to see how all the loose ends are tied up.
Also reading the other reveiws it seems that the main appeal is that it's set in "post-apocalyptic Sydney". I am not saying that people can't apprciate that but I can't see how location is in anyway redeeming.
In short-
Worst. Book. Ever.
The characterisation was weak (they all blurred together to create a giant 2D personality fail as far as I could see) and there was no explanation for any of the context. And just when you think it has to get better with the introduction of new characters and plot twists (if you can call them that) it just gets even more boring.
The authour is so vauge about everything and has this knack for describing all the wrong things (you don't need to tell me a tiger is stripy, I know it has stripes and you've only mentioned it about 50 thousand times already) and not describing what you want to hear about (eg. The characters)
Not only has it got a middle that sags and drags irrepairably (mainly because of repeated descriptions of tigers) but the ending is unsatisfactory to say the least as I fail to see how all the loose ends are tied up.
Also reading the other reveiws it seems that the main appeal is that it's set in "post-apocalyptic Sydney". I am not saying that people can't apprciate that but I can't see how location is in anyway redeeming.
In short-
Worst. Book. Ever.
July 17, 2014
YA science fiction. Fourteen-year-old Ben lives rough in the bush outside Sydney, surviving in the wreckage of an Australia that fell apart after global catastrophe. Ben has the strange ability to soothe and control animals, and this makes him valuable to the older and crueler boy who hunts the animals Ben Calls. But to Ben, every Call he makes is a betrayal. Trying to escape his own nature, Ben runs away to Sydney - but the city is a worse nightmare, and Ben quickly finds himself betraying again. Still, there's one green fortress of law and order in Taronga Zoo. The zoo's protected by guns and by prowling jungle cats, and Ben's abilities with the cats earns him a place there. He makes his first friend since Last Days in the young Aboriginal girl Ellie, and finds a mission: keeping the zoo's animals safe becomes Ben's way of atoning for the past. But Ben and Ellie soon realise that Taronga isn't a sanctuary for the animals or for anybody else.
I reread this for the 1001 Children's Books write-ups. I first read it when I was about twelve, and I remembered it being ... well, not nearly this cool. Because seriously, it's cool. This is a menacing world, with very lightly sketched details. It's understood that everybody is a danger, and Ben frequently has to run from people, without any actual details of what would be done to him if he was caught. This adds to the menace, but also keeps the book safe for a young audience. There are no hints at all of sexual predators, but no sense of a lack of realism from that because, other than the action scenes in which people are shot or torn apart by tigers, the danger is so amorphous in general.
(There's no hint of sex at all, actually, or even of romance. This is quite a mature book in its themes and its darkness, but Ben and Ellie are friends without their being a boy and a girl even coming into it. There's just no consciousness of that element of gender relations in the world.)
I do remember some of the philosophy going over my head when I first read this, and I can understand why, because Ben's struggle against and connection with wild animals, and particularly his relationship with the savagely distrustful tiger Raja, is quite sophisticated and subtly laid out. But under that level, it's an exciting, tense adventure, with an ending that - well, I think it left me feeling a bit at a loss when I was twelve, but rereading, it's incredibly satisfying. Open but directional, realistic but with a lot of hope. I really liked this book.
I reread this for the 1001 Children's Books write-ups. I first read it when I was about twelve, and I remembered it being ... well, not nearly this cool. Because seriously, it's cool. This is a menacing world, with very lightly sketched details. It's understood that everybody is a danger, and Ben frequently has to run from people, without any actual details of what would be done to him if he was caught. This adds to the menace, but also keeps the book safe for a young audience. There are no hints at all of sexual predators, but no sense of a lack of realism from that because, other than the action scenes in which people are shot or torn apart by tigers, the danger is so amorphous in general.
(There's no hint of sex at all, actually, or even of romance. This is quite a mature book in its themes and its darkness, but Ben and Ellie are friends without their being a boy and a girl even coming into it. There's just no consciousness of that element of gender relations in the world.)
I do remember some of the philosophy going over my head when I first read this, and I can understand why, because Ben's struggle against and connection with wild animals, and particularly his relationship with the savagely distrustful tiger Raja, is quite sophisticated and subtly laid out. But under that level, it's an exciting, tense adventure, with an ending that - well, I think it left me feeling a bit at a loss when I was twelve, but rereading, it's incredibly satisfying. Open but directional, realistic but with a lot of hope. I really liked this book.
February 4, 2010
Blah. Had to read this for school last year (2009)... I don't even want to talk about how bad I thought it was!
August 17, 2014
IF YOU ARE READING THIS BOOK, BURN IT NOW AND SAVE YOURSELF THE TROUBLE!!! I am serious. I had to read this book for a school assignment and I found that it spent wayy too much time on stuff you did not want to hear about (e.g. how stripy tigers are and basically just describing things WAY TOO MANY TIMES) and not actually saying much about what you did want to hear about (e.g. what actually happened in the 'last days'??). In general, this book over-dramatized just about everything without even a hint of humour to break the tension.
If you start this book and find that you don't really like it but you think 'oh, its probably going to get better soon', PREPARE TO BE BITTERLY DISSAPOINTED. It just gets even more confusing, what with all these weird new characters and 'plot twist' always coming in. This may have happened because the author might have thought that it would keep the reader interested, but all it does is make everyone even more confused. He never even answered the question we'd all been asking from the beginning... WHAT WERE THE LAST DAYS!!!
In case you're wondering, this book is about post-'Last Days' Sydney where everyone is struggling to survive. The story focuses on a kid called Ben who has the ability to telepathically communicate with and essentially control animals. At the beginning of the story he is with this other dude who gets Ben to 'Call' the animals closer so he can shoot them. Ben runs away and swears that he'll never Call again (and promptly breaks his oath). But I mean, what's his problem with it? Couldn't he just use it for good or something? Because it would save a lot of lives if he would.
Then blah blah blah...goes to Taronga zoo..blah blah blah...attack on the zoo...blah blah blah...brutal fighting back by 'heartless' leaders of the zoo people...ben and friend ellie (no hint of romance, though) set something up...blah blah blah....free the animals... blah blah blah ... run away from Taronga to live a life of happiness with Ellie, going from abandoned house to abandoned house.... THE END.
Now I seriously mean this- If you haven't read the book, don't bother now that you've read the previous summary. Really. Just don't bother.
If you start this book and find that you don't really like it but you think 'oh, its probably going to get better soon', PREPARE TO BE BITTERLY DISSAPOINTED. It just gets even more confusing, what with all these weird new characters and 'plot twist' always coming in. This may have happened because the author might have thought that it would keep the reader interested, but all it does is make everyone even more confused. He never even answered the question we'd all been asking from the beginning... WHAT WERE THE LAST DAYS!!!
In case you're wondering, this book is about post-'Last Days' Sydney where everyone is struggling to survive. The story focuses on a kid called Ben who has the ability to telepathically communicate with and essentially control animals. At the beginning of the story he is with this other dude who gets Ben to 'Call' the animals closer so he can shoot them. Ben runs away and swears that he'll never Call again (and promptly breaks his oath). But I mean, what's his problem with it? Couldn't he just use it for good or something? Because it would save a lot of lives if he would.
Then blah blah blah...goes to Taronga zoo..blah blah blah...attack on the zoo...blah blah blah...brutal fighting back by 'heartless' leaders of the zoo people...ben and friend ellie (no hint of romance, though) set something up...blah blah blah....free the animals... blah blah blah ... run away from Taronga to live a life of happiness with Ellie, going from abandoned house to abandoned house.... THE END.
Now I seriously mean this- If you haven't read the book, don't bother now that you've read the previous summary. Really. Just don't bother.
March 7, 2009
I didn't really like this. I found the dark, brooding tone a bit pretentious and felt frustrated by the way the vague armageddon-like disaster that was supposed to have happened to the world was never really explained. The constant, non-stop action got a bit wearing, it was like a blockbuster thriller without any humour or moments of respite to release the tension. I'm guessing this is because the author assumes that the teen boys he's aiming this at will get bored if the action stops for even a second. I didn't understand why the main character felt morally obliged not to use his magical ability to telepathically communicate with the animals, and his whole *struggle* with the mind of the tiger seemed a bit pointlessly melodramatic.
March 23, 2014
Worst book known to man and woman kind I advise to put this book down and run or light a match to it. You think it's going to get better but it DOESN'T! No personality no likeability ABSOLUTELY NOTHING GOOD TO BE GAINED FROM READING IT. It's kind deserves to be destroyed and extinguished! Get it out of my sight right now!!!
March 1, 2009
imaginings of apocalyptic sydney that i read as a kid. probably explains why i get a slighty uneasy feeling anytime i've gone to taronga since then. also nice use of the real life blue mountains big cat myth in the book.
May 29, 2011
The end of the world as we know it is one of the greatest fears we have. Having everything we know and love taken away is a powerful fear and one that is far too real and horrific for young Ben. Victor Kelleher has constructed a terrifying glimpse into an Australia without laws and government; a world where children must fight for their survival. Taronga (1986) is a very confronting and thought provoking view of Australia after the post-apocalyptic, ‘Last Days’.
Taronga is the story of a young boy named Ben who has a very unusual power; he can talk to and control animals which he refers to as ‘Calling’. For Ben life as an orphan in a ruined Australia is a difficult task especially as he must manipulate innocent animals in order to survive. He grows to hate this gift and so flees from his brutal life in the Blue Mountains to a better one in his old home of Sydney. What he finds is far from the warm memories of his family home. Ben arrives to Sydney only to find it in ruins and surrounded by desperate people doing desperate things to live. His gift drives him on to the Taronga Zoo where he must use his power to protect the animals, himself, other survivors and his new found friend Ellie. Whilst protected from the outside by the great walls of Taronga Ben faces new dangers from the survivors and most of all a fierce and angry tiger appropriately named Raja. Raja, meaning ‘king’, will not stand down to another as their slave; he is strong willed and powerful and is not afraid to show it. This imposing figure that dominates Taronga is one that will gladly take Ben’s life if he isn’t careful.
Kelleher has woven together the most wondrous and confronting moments of a destroyed world into this book. The beauty and danger of this world drives you deeper into your greatest fears as Ben faces danger around every corner and an enemy in every face. Whilst the end of the world is a common theme in literature it is rare to see a book that can show the repercussions with such power and vivacity. This is not the only post apocalyptic story that Kelleher has written nor is it the only one set in Australia as seen in The Other (2001) and Red Heart (2001). The defining difference in Taronga is that Kelleher focused on the power and control of animals and also on captivity. There are many layers of captivity that Kelleher explores in this book that spread out through the characters and locations. Ben himself is a captive of his own power because he does not like to force the animals to obey him and yet is forced to in order to protect himself. This branches out to the captivity of the animals, the enclosed Taronga, the cut off world of Sydney and even further into the remoteness of Ben’s original captivity in the Blue Mountains. The varying level of captivity and control begs the question all through the book; who has the right to control another and to what means?
Kelleher constantly changes the way you think about the characters as well as your feelings towards Ben’s situation. The elements in the book are so interwoven that you cannot help but find yourself feeling helpless at one moment and in another hopeful for Ben’s happiness. There are many correlations with other children’s literature such as books by John Marsden and in particular Tomorrow, When the War Began (1993). This idea of children surviving at all cost where adults cannot is an uplifting component of both books and is very must an element of Australian identity. There is nothing more common in Australian literature and effective than an unlikely hero or an underdog. In not only Taronga but the majority of Kelleher’s books the unlikely heroes are children and young adults that face challenges no everyday child ever would. This has such a strong effect on the identity of Australian literature and is what makes it so interesting to read. It is the essence of the child hero that makes Taronga a book that can be enjoyed by any age group and gender. Young boys and girls will find themselves wishing they could have the same adventures as Ellie and Ben, whilst adults will wonder at the complexity and beauty of their struggle.
Kelleher has managed to pack so many exciting and intriguing elements into one book that can be enjoyed by anyone. It provides a dark and provoking look at where Australia and the world can end up as well as the hope held in the children that will inherit it. Truly Taronga is a book that can and will be loved on many different levels. It is a must read for all lovers of Australian literature.
Taronga is the story of a young boy named Ben who has a very unusual power; he can talk to and control animals which he refers to as ‘Calling’. For Ben life as an orphan in a ruined Australia is a difficult task especially as he must manipulate innocent animals in order to survive. He grows to hate this gift and so flees from his brutal life in the Blue Mountains to a better one in his old home of Sydney. What he finds is far from the warm memories of his family home. Ben arrives to Sydney only to find it in ruins and surrounded by desperate people doing desperate things to live. His gift drives him on to the Taronga Zoo where he must use his power to protect the animals, himself, other survivors and his new found friend Ellie. Whilst protected from the outside by the great walls of Taronga Ben faces new dangers from the survivors and most of all a fierce and angry tiger appropriately named Raja. Raja, meaning ‘king’, will not stand down to another as their slave; he is strong willed and powerful and is not afraid to show it. This imposing figure that dominates Taronga is one that will gladly take Ben’s life if he isn’t careful.
Kelleher has woven together the most wondrous and confronting moments of a destroyed world into this book. The beauty and danger of this world drives you deeper into your greatest fears as Ben faces danger around every corner and an enemy in every face. Whilst the end of the world is a common theme in literature it is rare to see a book that can show the repercussions with such power and vivacity. This is not the only post apocalyptic story that Kelleher has written nor is it the only one set in Australia as seen in The Other (2001) and Red Heart (2001). The defining difference in Taronga is that Kelleher focused on the power and control of animals and also on captivity. There are many layers of captivity that Kelleher explores in this book that spread out through the characters and locations. Ben himself is a captive of his own power because he does not like to force the animals to obey him and yet is forced to in order to protect himself. This branches out to the captivity of the animals, the enclosed Taronga, the cut off world of Sydney and even further into the remoteness of Ben’s original captivity in the Blue Mountains. The varying level of captivity and control begs the question all through the book; who has the right to control another and to what means?
Kelleher constantly changes the way you think about the characters as well as your feelings towards Ben’s situation. The elements in the book are so interwoven that you cannot help but find yourself feeling helpless at one moment and in another hopeful for Ben’s happiness. There are many correlations with other children’s literature such as books by John Marsden and in particular Tomorrow, When the War Began (1993). This idea of children surviving at all cost where adults cannot is an uplifting component of both books and is very must an element of Australian identity. There is nothing more common in Australian literature and effective than an unlikely hero or an underdog. In not only Taronga but the majority of Kelleher’s books the unlikely heroes are children and young adults that face challenges no everyday child ever would. This has such a strong effect on the identity of Australian literature and is what makes it so interesting to read. It is the essence of the child hero that makes Taronga a book that can be enjoyed by any age group and gender. Young boys and girls will find themselves wishing they could have the same adventures as Ellie and Ben, whilst adults will wonder at the complexity and beauty of their struggle.
Kelleher has managed to pack so many exciting and intriguing elements into one book that can be enjoyed by anyone. It provides a dark and provoking look at where Australia and the world can end up as well as the hope held in the children that will inherit it. Truly Taronga is a book that can and will be loved on many different levels. It is a must read for all lovers of Australian literature.
February 25, 2020
I read this (or at least my teacher did!) When I was in grade 6 and I had fond memories of it. After re-reading as an adult, it was not what I was expecting. I didn't remember the slight magical realism aspect of "The call".
It's a post apocalyptic world where Ben is traveling around trying to get to his old home before The Last Days. He is captured and put to work in the old Taronga Zoo, caring for the Tigers. There is some cruelty to animals and it can be a little violent so if you're sensitive to that, this might not be the book for you.
Although it's a short book, it felt quite slow. I also think it's a product of it's time (1986), but it was nice to see an indigenous character.
It's a post apocalyptic world where Ben is traveling around trying to get to his old home before The Last Days. He is captured and put to work in the old Taronga Zoo, caring for the Tigers. There is some cruelty to animals and it can be a little violent so if you're sensitive to that, this might not be the book for you.
Although it's a short book, it felt quite slow. I also think it's a product of it's time (1986), but it was nice to see an indigenous character.
March 28, 2022
This book is the shitiest piece of garbage in fucking literature. If you have this fucking book start a fucking bonfire little shits. Who in their write fucking mind would read this shit. I lost so many fucking brain cells while reading this shit. My blessed fingers felt offended turning the pages of this atrocious novel. Victor Kelleher is the worst novel writer of all time and this is by far the worst book iv'e ever fucking read. If I had the chance I would give this book a 0.00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001 star.
March 18, 2015
Omg don't even get me started on this shit. I mean this book would have never had the honours of having its pages turned by my magical fingers if we didn't have to read this shit for school. Not only did I have to force myself through reading this boring book, I had to do an assessment task on it as well.
Don't read this shit. Don't even let the thought cross your mind. If you ever see this book burn it.
It makes a great firestarter
Don't read this shit. Don't even let the thought cross your mind. If you ever see this book burn it.
It makes a great firestarter
July 21, 2012
When this book was published, it was really the first of its kind. Post-apocalyptic young adult fiction, quasi-fictional? I loved it then and is one of my favourite novels; every now and then I revisit it...20 years later. I've read so many great books in my life but this is a great (pretty quick) read...nice after toiling away on a PhD and parenthood!
January 17, 2012
I didnt much care for this one either
June 20, 2012
I hated the book because I could barely understand it but maybe I was too young when I read it for school.
August 9, 2020
Overall, despite all the negative reviews from school kids, the book was fine. The apparent and brooding atmosphere throughout the book did feel a bit superficial, and the symbolism for all the characters and setting was a tad overwhelming.
I'm pretty sure the book, similar to Animal Farm, is an allegory for something, although I could never quite understand what it was. Taronga also delves into how the powerless can fight against the powerful, but all it came down to was running away or pitting them against each other. Even the antagonists were a bit 1 dimensional, evil for the sake of being in a war torn world, whereby only kids retain innocence.
The best aspect of the book was definitely Ben's relationship with Raja. The depiction of Raja's intelligence through his primal instincts and emotion was refreshing, although the mutual understanding between them felt ultimately rushed. I'd be inclined to believe the book could've been much better if it explored the relationship between Raja and Ben in much more detail, it could've even been it's own standalone book.
All in all, despite a confusing message, Taronga maintains an intriguing narrative that delves into the sinister nature of the post apocalyptic Taronga Zoo.
I'm pretty sure the book, similar to Animal Farm, is an allegory for something, although I could never quite understand what it was. Taronga also delves into how the powerless can fight against the powerful, but all it came down to was running away or pitting them against each other. Even the antagonists were a bit 1 dimensional, evil for the sake of being in a war torn world, whereby only kids retain innocence.
The best aspect of the book was definitely Ben's relationship with Raja. The depiction of Raja's intelligence through his primal instincts and emotion was refreshing, although the mutual understanding between them felt ultimately rushed. I'd be inclined to believe the book could've been much better if it explored the relationship between Raja and Ben in much more detail, it could've even been it's own standalone book.
All in all, despite a confusing message, Taronga maintains an intriguing narrative that delves into the sinister nature of the post apocalyptic Taronga Zoo.
April 25, 2017
I enjoyed this read. I'm a little interested in Australian dystopian fiction. I especially liked how this narrative is connected to the landscape and reflects values of Australia's a First peoples. I'd be interested to read about how this novel works as an allegory for Australia's history / future.
October 29, 2019
Very boring book.
July 23, 2016
25/1 - Another school book, from year 8 English (I think). I enjoyed Taronga as a 14-year-old because it was different - it was my first dystopian novel and it featured adult themes (I don't mean sex, I'd already started reading romance by that time) which was really exciting for a reader just starting to branch out from Enid Blyton. Before starting this I only had a few vague memories of it being set at Taronga Park Zoo and that, for some reason or other, the world had come to an end. That's a bit frustrating sometimes, you know the end of the world has happened but exactly how it happened is never properly (or in this case, at all) explained. I don't like the not knowing, the mystery of what happened playing on your mind through the whole book. The scene of Ben's near capture on Sydney Harbour Bridge and the dog's death was very difficult to read. I don't think I could sacrifice a dog for my life, especially not if I could get into their minds to make them trust me. I know I'd run out into the road to save my own dogs if they were in danger, and I'd never be able to live with myself if my actions caused them injury or death. All this talk about injured dogs has made me teary-eyed, so I've got to go hug my dog till she cheers me up. To be continued...
27/1 - Taronga ends in a battle between Chas' of invaders and Molly's group trying to keep a hold of Taronga for themselves. The battle is actually set in motion by Ben, supported by Ellie, who after hearing Molly and Steve's plan for Taronga if it's ever captured, come to the drastic decision that they have to free the animals and leave the humans to fight it out amongst themselves. Ben struggles with this decision, first not sure if it's the right thing to do for the animals' sake and then realising he can't cold-bloodedly send people, no matter their character or plans for him and the animals, to their deaths. Fortunately for his and the animals' futures the decision is out of his hands because both groups are so intent on killing each other that they give no thought to their own survival.Eventually it's just Chas and Molly left. Molly is taken out by a charging rhino, but not fast enough for Chas, who gets in the way of a stray bullet as Molly attempts to shoot Raja with her dying breath. Ben and Ellie and all the animals manage to escape the massacre scene that Taronga now is. In the final scenes Ben and Ellie have found an abandoned apartment block to spend the day in before setting out for the less-inhabited bush. Somehow Raja has found Ben and seems to corner him. Ben accepts what he is sure will be his death as justice for the part he played in the death of the dog. It appears that Raja is going to strike Ben but at the last minute the tiger turns it into a gentle cuff across the head, like what he might do to a naughty cub. Raja has finally begun to trust Ben and as they were both heading in the same direction, towards the mountains, I hope that they might run into each other every so often.
27/1 - Taronga ends in a battle between Chas' of invaders and Molly's group trying to keep a hold of Taronga for themselves. The battle is actually set in motion by Ben, supported by Ellie, who after hearing Molly and Steve's plan for Taronga if it's ever captured, come to the drastic decision that they have to free the animals and leave the humans to fight it out amongst themselves. Ben struggles with this decision, first not sure if it's the right thing to do for the animals' sake and then realising he can't cold-bloodedly send people, no matter their character or plans for him and the animals, to their deaths. Fortunately for his and the animals' futures the decision is out of his hands because both groups are so intent on killing each other that they give no thought to their own survival.Eventually it's just Chas and Molly left. Molly is taken out by a charging rhino, but not fast enough for Chas, who gets in the way of a stray bullet as Molly attempts to shoot Raja with her dying breath. Ben and Ellie and all the animals manage to escape the massacre scene that Taronga now is. In the final scenes Ben and Ellie have found an abandoned apartment block to spend the day in before setting out for the less-inhabited bush. Somehow Raja has found Ben and seems to corner him. Ben accepts what he is sure will be his death as justice for the part he played in the death of the dog. It appears that Raja is going to strike Ben but at the last minute the tiger turns it into a gentle cuff across the head, like what he might do to a naughty cub. Raja has finally begun to trust Ben and as they were both heading in the same direction, towards the mountains, I hope that they might run into each other every so often.
February 27, 2020
An excellent book. It appears that most of the negative reviews sound like they’re pennes by the same person or persons; identical wording & gratuitous, childish LETS SHOUT IN CAPS AND REPEAT QUESTIONS BECAUSE I AM SO ANGRY!!! WHY WAS NOTHING ON A SILVER PLATTER!!!!
That aside; this, despite being an Australian, I first read this outside of the school curriculum. It was more than expected for a young adult book.
Yes, it’s a great book; first of its kind, in the 80s, an Aussie post apocalyptic dystopian story with a hint of sci-fi/fantasy in the mild, isolated case of animal/human telepathy in one character.
So many people are angry that the Last Days, the war crisis that destroyed the country, was never explained. It doesn’t need to be. Less is more. So many post apoc novels don’t explain the Big War; Mad Max, chiefly, but they criticise them? No. What matters and is easy to believe, is that Australia was reduced to a no man’s land and dog eat dog world, following a war and pandemic. Taronga is the story of the days after, the hero’s survival and plans broken. We don’t need each and every single bit of history or character backstory laid out in a detailed timeline, series of events, and justification behind every decision made.
The ‘mentions’ of stripy tigers whinged about in other reviews are blown way out of proportion. No, it’s not common. It’s the point of view from a young pre-teen having to live alongside tigers and other cat predators; the difficulty and danger of having to recognise individual animals in pitch black darkness at night. The tigers’ stripes stand out, against the other cats, as the hardest and most beautiful, but the message of the whole book tied into this and other plots is appearances are deceiving.
The stripes description serves a vital purpose; a foreshadowing of the hero Ben’s eventual striped face disfigurement and the tiger Raja’s climatic acceptance of ‘his own kind’. Those readers are pretty thick not to catch that connection and symbolism.
It has a bitter sweet ending and the plots are as expected, what happens among desperate criminals and other survivors with no morals, no laws to obey, every man for himself. The animals are caught in the middle of the conflict as they always have been in real life.
I strongly recommend this book if you enjoy Australian writing, dystopia, Mad Max or Fallout.
That aside; this, despite being an Australian, I first read this outside of the school curriculum. It was more than expected for a young adult book.
Yes, it’s a great book; first of its kind, in the 80s, an Aussie post apocalyptic dystopian story with a hint of sci-fi/fantasy in the mild, isolated case of animal/human telepathy in one character.
So many people are angry that the Last Days, the war crisis that destroyed the country, was never explained. It doesn’t need to be. Less is more. So many post apoc novels don’t explain the Big War; Mad Max, chiefly, but they criticise them? No. What matters and is easy to believe, is that Australia was reduced to a no man’s land and dog eat dog world, following a war and pandemic. Taronga is the story of the days after, the hero’s survival and plans broken. We don’t need each and every single bit of history or character backstory laid out in a detailed timeline, series of events, and justification behind every decision made.
The ‘mentions’ of stripy tigers whinged about in other reviews are blown way out of proportion. No, it’s not common. It’s the point of view from a young pre-teen having to live alongside tigers and other cat predators; the difficulty and danger of having to recognise individual animals in pitch black darkness at night. The tigers’ stripes stand out, against the other cats, as the hardest and most beautiful, but the message of the whole book tied into this and other plots is appearances are deceiving.
The stripes description serves a vital purpose; a foreshadowing of the hero Ben’s eventual striped face disfigurement and the tiger Raja’s climatic acceptance of ‘his own kind’. Those readers are pretty thick not to catch that connection and symbolism.
It has a bitter sweet ending and the plots are as expected, what happens among desperate criminals and other survivors with no morals, no laws to obey, every man for himself. The animals are caught in the middle of the conflict as they always have been in real life.
I strongly recommend this book if you enjoy Australian writing, dystopia, Mad Max or Fallout.
February 21, 2022
Honestly this books flow is so strange, The protagonist just attacks everyone he see's.
It's so confusing, it's almost like the Author goes from writing about cosmetic surgery to photosynthesis. That's the level of randomness this book is. This book is astonishingly bad.
I honestly had a migraine trying to read this. This book is doo doo!
It's so confusing, it's almost like the Author goes from writing about cosmetic surgery to photosynthesis. That's the level of randomness this book is. This book is astonishingly bad.
I honestly had a migraine trying to read this. This book is doo doo!
November 24, 2023
This book was sold to me as a "Children's Classic". I started to read it to my three-year-old based on that combined with a few scraps of very faint memory that told me this was a story about a boy with magic powers that could speak to animals and he had an adventure with a tiger at the zoo.
It's funny how all these things can be true and yet be completely misrepresentitive.
The violence in this book starts at a low ebb and ramps all the way up by the end. Yikes. Also, there is nothing feel-good about this story. It's as pessimistic about humanity as The Road, but instead of having a perfect angel in a world of demons randomly finding hope at the end, it's up to a deeply flawed kid to make his own gesture towards goodness. His friend Ellie is a better person than he, but she isn't wide-eyed and baffled; she's hardened, cynical, and determined not to suck at humanity. And maybe she doesn't do a great job of that by the end.
So, I liked it. A lot, really. It had a few flaws, but I haven't seen them addressed by the reviews here. All I see in the negative reviews is the time-honoured tradition of kids whinging about assigned reading, which can hardly be avoided because English classes will always be filled with differing tastes, including some complete non-readers. But I was the kid who loved every assigned book, including the Shakespeare ones, and could only ever shrug and make non-committal sympathetic noises when the other kids complained with the apparent conviction that nobody could disagree. And that's why I'm here.
It's funny how all these things can be true and yet be completely misrepresentitive.
The violence in this book starts at a low ebb and ramps all the way up by the end. Yikes. Also, there is nothing feel-good about this story. It's as pessimistic about humanity as The Road, but instead of having a perfect angel in a world of demons randomly finding hope at the end, it's up to a deeply flawed kid to make his own gesture towards goodness. His friend Ellie is a better person than he, but she isn't wide-eyed and baffled; she's hardened, cynical, and determined not to suck at humanity. And maybe she doesn't do a great job of that by the end.
So, I liked it. A lot, really. It had a few flaws, but I haven't seen them addressed by the reviews here. All I see in the negative reviews is the time-honoured tradition of kids whinging about assigned reading, which can hardly be avoided because English classes will always be filled with differing tastes, including some complete non-readers. But I was the kid who loved every assigned book, including the Shakespeare ones, and could only ever shrug and make non-committal sympathetic noises when the other kids complained with the apparent conviction that nobody could disagree. And that's why I'm here.
June 30, 2014
This isn’t so much a review of the book, but rather the memory; the recollection of a book once read. It may be badly written, as other reviewers write, but it is one book that has never left my head in the 18 or so years since I picked it up as a boy.
I grew up in Sydney; my world then was the city, the Bridge, the harbour coastline dipping in and out of mangrove tidal bays up to Parramatta – before most of the west of Rhodes was cleaned up and turned into residential land. It was a world where the deep ‘other’ was the Blue Mountains and all that lay to its western flank.
And it was this world that Taronga built upon. A boy with a handmade bow. An escape through the Blue Mountains. A half-destroyed harbour bridge (no tunnel was even planned when the author penned this). The boy, faced with a choice to turn south to his family’s home, or north, into the unknown, into the zoo turned wild, chooses the unknown.
Have you been to Taronga Zoo? Can you imagine it with its residents turned loose?
Post-apocalyptic literature abounds, with ‘The Road’ by Cormac being one of the best. But this is one to start with. We’re a fallible species – we shouldn’t forget that – and Kelleher brings the nightmare to our backyard.
Love it or hate it, you will never forget it.
I grew up in Sydney; my world then was the city, the Bridge, the harbour coastline dipping in and out of mangrove tidal bays up to Parramatta – before most of the west of Rhodes was cleaned up and turned into residential land. It was a world where the deep ‘other’ was the Blue Mountains and all that lay to its western flank.
And it was this world that Taronga built upon. A boy with a handmade bow. An escape through the Blue Mountains. A half-destroyed harbour bridge (no tunnel was even planned when the author penned this). The boy, faced with a choice to turn south to his family’s home, or north, into the unknown, into the zoo turned wild, chooses the unknown.
Have you been to Taronga Zoo? Can you imagine it with its residents turned loose?
Post-apocalyptic literature abounds, with ‘The Road’ by Cormac being one of the best. But this is one to start with. We’re a fallible species – we shouldn’t forget that – and Kelleher brings the nightmare to our backyard.
Love it or hate it, you will never forget it.
June 18, 2013
Taronga is about a boy called Ben who lives in future dystopian Australia, Sydney. He has telepathic abilities which allows him to communicate with animals, an ability which he feels he is abusing because he feels like he is using an discarding the animals. He finds himself running away from the abusive life he has in the bush to the city of Sydney where he lands himself into Taronga Zoo.
I really enjoyed this story, partly because we read it in school and it brought back memories, but all in all it was a very enjoyable read. Both Ben and Ellie were relatable and interesting characters and the plot line was fresh.
Taronga gives you a look into human nature and the way some people decide to act when faced with a crisis.
Highly recommend
I really enjoyed this story, partly because we read it in school and it brought back memories, but all in all it was a very enjoyable read. Both Ben and Ellie were relatable and interesting characters and the plot line was fresh.
Taronga gives you a look into human nature and the way some people decide to act when faced with a crisis.
Highly recommend
October 7, 2020
'Taronga' is a fast-paced, revelling story in the (I assume) future setting of Taronga Zoo, Sydney, Australia.
The story was quite short so this review will probably be quite short. The story was fast-paced action in a dystopian world where Last Days had just occurred and Ben accidentally ends up being part of the Taronga crew. Ben can Call to the animals and with the help of his friend Ellie, tries to rally against Molly and the others.
Victor Kelleher writes in a way that is easy to understand and engaging. He has produced a classic YA novel that could appeal to those who live in or around Sydney, Australia.
The story was quite short so this review will probably be quite short. The story was fast-paced action in a dystopian world where Last Days had just occurred and Ben accidentally ends up being part of the Taronga crew. Ben can Call to the animals and with the help of his friend Ellie, tries to rally against Molly and the others.
Victor Kelleher writes in a way that is easy to understand and engaging. He has produced a classic YA novel that could appeal to those who live in or around Sydney, Australia.
November 19, 2012
Read this for the first time since teaching it in the early 1990s. I know why I havent taught it since. It is disturbing in the same way Hunger Games and Gone are disturbing and has the same amount of death in it but not as much action/suspense. The main character has a moral code but the rest of humanity has lost it. Lots of good discussion points about freedom etc but not a happy read.
December 6, 2016
Possibly even more interesting reading this now as a zookeeper than as an animal-loving teen, though I am now more sceptical about the safety of anyone in an environment with so many free-range animals - even most herbivores can be really dangerous if you're not careful! An original and unique post-apocalyptic story that doesn't feel at all dated.
June 27, 2014
The apocalypse has happened and Ben has survived. He has a gift; he can whisper to animals. Somehow, he makes his way to Taronga Zoo where he discovers a world gone mad, but where he can use his gift to survive and thrive. For all fans of Hunger Games.
October 9, 2014
It's really sad to see so many people giving Taronga bad review just because they read it for school. This is a great book, it deserves better.
This is the second time I've read it and I loved it just as much now as when I was 14.
This is the second time I've read it and I loved it just as much now as when I was 14.
February 7, 2009
As I remember, it was way too political for me and a bit disappointing for a Victor Kelleher.
July 26, 2011
Read this in school and enjoyed it.
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