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Zazoo
Zazoo is Vietnamese by birth but feels entirely French. She has lived with her adoptive Grand-Pierre in France in an old stone mill between the river and the canal since she was two, sharing poetry, adventures, and the predictable rhythms of the seasons. Then one misty October morning, a young man on a bicycle rides into Zazoo’s small village and asks a question from which many stories begin to unfold. A love story within a love story.
224 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 2001
9 people are currently reading
370 people want to read
About the author
Richard Mosher
4 books2 followersRichard Mosher was born in India and raised in upstate New York. When he was fifteen, he spent the year attending a French boarding school and hitchhiking around Europe during vacations. A graduate of Antioch college, Mr. Mosher is the author of one previous novel for young people, The Taxi Navigator. He now lives with his wife in St. Paul, Minnesota.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
February 24, 2010
Although I appreciated the atmosphere of this story, the description of the countryside and the coming-of-age of the sweet young protagonist, one major part was never satisfactorily explained in my opinion. Zazoo was adopted from Vietnam by an elderly French man who was a friend of her family. I understand that quite a few orphans were adopted abroad in the wake of the Vietnam War, but it seems unlikely to me that Zazoo's Grand-Pierre would have been considered a good candidate for an adoptive parent, seeing as how he was single and old. (In fact, by the time the story began, Grand-Pierre was beginning to slide into dementia.) Even if he was a family friend, I still think he would have had difficulties adopting her.
This may be a minor issue with many readers, and indeed it's not really a part of the plot, but it was something that bothered me the entire time while I read the book.
This may be a minor issue with many readers, and indeed it's not really a part of the plot, but it was something that bothered me the entire time while I read the book.
December 18, 2012
More a 4.5. This is one of my favorites and I just needed to reread it. Zazoo is a Vietnamese girl who was adopted by GrandPierre as an infant and taken to his native France. Grand-Pierre is 78 and losing his mind. This, along with a mysterious but nice boy she meets along their canal, propels the story. Don't read this for a fast-moving plot. This is definitely a character piece, with Zazoo coming of age and learning many hard things. It's lovely, well-written, and has some great characters, including the to-die for young man Zazoo meets.
June 26, 2018
Added and began listening on June 21, 2018. (Audio version loaned from public library.)
Published June 7th 2004 by HMH Books for Young Readers (first published October 15th 2001).
Narrated by: Joanna Wyatt
Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
Audible Release date: 04-15-09
https://www.audible.com/author/Richar...
Finished June 25, 2018.
I listened to this audio book in my browser via my public library. The story is told in the voice of the main character, a young Vietnamese girl, named Zazoo. Her voice is very appealing and sweet. There's interesting dialogue with other characters as well.
It was fun listening to this story of how a little adopted Vietnamese girl is adopted by a single American man and, as he ages, brings affection to him and to his neighborhood pharmicist, Uncle Felix Kline. She also has a little romance with a French boy named Marius.
"Zazoo is Vietnamese by birth but feels entirely French. She has lived with her adoptive Grand-Pierre in France in an old stone mill between the river and the canal since she was two, sharing poetry, adventures, and the predictable rhythms of the seasons. Then one misty October morning, a young man on a bicycle rides into Zazoo's small village and asks a question from which many stories begin to unfold. A love story within a love story."
FROM: https://salon.overdrive.com/media/193...
================================
Editorial Reviews
"A slow and almost dreamlike exploration of the myriad ways that the past—especially a cataclysmic past—informs the present. . . .The slow revelation of the many intertwined personal histories is truly elegant, and the several love stories that emerge are almost painfully romantic. Zazoo's voice is honest and distinct as she tells her story; the secondary characters develop with real three-dimensional complexity as well. This is a story of memory and contemplation, not action, with most of the elements unfolding slowly over the course of a year through dialogue and reminiscence." ---Kirkus Reviews with Pointers
"From the very first paragraph, Mosher's vivid imagery makes Zazoo's world come to life. . . .This book is her tale, a romance with a little history thrown in, and it is told well." ---VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates)
"Zazoo is a beautiful and lyrical novel, with poetry woven throughout. It is a story of love, devotion, and unwavering commitment that bridges generations and cultures." ---School Library Journal, Starred
"A lyrical book about memory and living with loss." ---SLJ Best Books of the Year
"Readers will be swept away by the evocative images and emotive scenes in this story, offering a mix of bitter and sweeet." ---Publishers Weekly, Starred
"This finely crafted novel, told in Zazoo's authentic first-person narrative, speaks to more than one message; it also evokes the quiet passage of the seasons and the joys of friendship. A novel with a big message well told through the smallest details." ---Booklist, ALA
ABOVE IS FROM: https://www.amazon.com/Zazoo-Richard-...
================================
SEE THE KIRKUS REVIEW AT: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...
================================
BELOW IS A SWEET POEM I FOUND IN THE BOOK:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOME
".. our stretch of canal was the saddest, loveliest place on earth.
Home, I whispered.
is where the river flows humming through the willows.
Home is milkweed in your hair,
with hemlock moss your pillows.
Home, if you could only know,
is anyplace I see you ---
it's in your heart
and from the start
I've known my home would be you."
...
"When I was little, you recited that poem. I couldn't hear it often enough. Ever since I needed to remember that I had the best friend, the best home in the world, I recited your poem. It always helped."
"You have a friend?" he asked, as simply as a boy.
"The best friend a girl could have." I took his hand the way he used to take mine. "The old man who brought me around the world and made a home for me."
p. 221, Chapterter 33, _Zazoo_ , by Richard Mosher
FROM GOOGLE: https://books.google.com/books?id=TOm...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Published June 7th 2004 by HMH Books for Young Readers (first published October 15th 2001).
Narrated by: Joanna Wyatt
Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
Audible Release date: 04-15-09
https://www.audible.com/author/Richar...
Finished June 25, 2018.
I listened to this audio book in my browser via my public library. The story is told in the voice of the main character, a young Vietnamese girl, named Zazoo. Her voice is very appealing and sweet. There's interesting dialogue with other characters as well.
It was fun listening to this story of how a little adopted Vietnamese girl is adopted by a single American man and, as he ages, brings affection to him and to his neighborhood pharmicist, Uncle Felix Kline. She also has a little romance with a French boy named Marius.
"Zazoo is Vietnamese by birth but feels entirely French. She has lived with her adoptive Grand-Pierre in France in an old stone mill between the river and the canal since she was two, sharing poetry, adventures, and the predictable rhythms of the seasons. Then one misty October morning, a young man on a bicycle rides into Zazoo's small village and asks a question from which many stories begin to unfold. A love story within a love story."
FROM: https://salon.overdrive.com/media/193...
================================
Editorial Reviews
"A slow and almost dreamlike exploration of the myriad ways that the past—especially a cataclysmic past—informs the present. . . .The slow revelation of the many intertwined personal histories is truly elegant, and the several love stories that emerge are almost painfully romantic. Zazoo's voice is honest and distinct as she tells her story; the secondary characters develop with real three-dimensional complexity as well. This is a story of memory and contemplation, not action, with most of the elements unfolding slowly over the course of a year through dialogue and reminiscence." ---Kirkus Reviews with Pointers
"From the very first paragraph, Mosher's vivid imagery makes Zazoo's world come to life. . . .This book is her tale, a romance with a little history thrown in, and it is told well." ---VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates)
"Zazoo is a beautiful and lyrical novel, with poetry woven throughout. It is a story of love, devotion, and unwavering commitment that bridges generations and cultures." ---School Library Journal, Starred
"A lyrical book about memory and living with loss." ---SLJ Best Books of the Year
"Readers will be swept away by the evocative images and emotive scenes in this story, offering a mix of bitter and sweeet." ---Publishers Weekly, Starred
"This finely crafted novel, told in Zazoo's authentic first-person narrative, speaks to more than one message; it also evokes the quiet passage of the seasons and the joys of friendship. A novel with a big message well told through the smallest details." ---Booklist, ALA
ABOVE IS FROM: https://www.amazon.com/Zazoo-Richard-...
================================
SEE THE KIRKUS REVIEW AT: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...
================================
BELOW IS A SWEET POEM I FOUND IN THE BOOK:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOME
".. our stretch of canal was the saddest, loveliest place on earth.
Home, I whispered.
is where the river flows humming through the willows.
Home is milkweed in your hair,
with hemlock moss your pillows.
Home, if you could only know,
is anyplace I see you ---
it's in your heart
and from the start
I've known my home would be you."
...
"When I was little, you recited that poem. I couldn't hear it often enough. Ever since I needed to remember that I had the best friend, the best home in the world, I recited your poem. It always helped."
"You have a friend?" he asked, as simply as a boy.
"The best friend a girl could have." I took his hand the way he used to take mine. "The old man who brought me around the world and made a home for me."
p. 221, Chapterter 33, _Zazoo_ , by Richard Mosher
FROM GOOGLE: https://books.google.com/books?id=TOm...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
December 27, 2022
I first read Zazoo in high school and remember loving it. All these years later, I couldn’t remember what the plot was about but I remembered the feeling of a chilly and foggy morning on the canal in the French countryside. When I picked this up again, I was happily surprised that I felt a similarly pleasant slowness. Mosher writes descriptively and poetically in a way that draws the reader in with details and observations. In terms of the plot, Zazoo is Bildungsroman about a young Vietnamese teen growing up in a sleepy hamlet in France. She starts to learn about herself through the secrets of the past, a budding romance, and the generational trauma of both her own family history and her adopted grandfather’s trauma living through WWII.
November 11, 2024
It's like Secondhand Lions, except in France, and also Hub and Walter aren't related and are stuck in an almost 50 year bitter hatred. A story about love and life and war and the awful impacts it leaves from the old men who still can't quite sleep because of what they saw or did.
I am conflicted about Zazoo's Vietnamese heritage, and how it impacts (or doesn't) the story. But I do think an attempt was made, and if nothing else, I respect that.
I am conflicted about Zazoo's Vietnamese heritage, and how it impacts (or doesn't) the story. But I do think an attempt was made, and if nothing else, I respect that.
July 3, 2024
Just a sweet story and so wonderfully written. The relationship between adoptive father who is more like a grandfather, and Vietnamese teen Zazoo was intriguing. Then how the other characters are brought in, and history is revealed is smooth and slow. I feel like finding bookclub questions for this one if there is such a thing. Someone says they read this book in school. A nice little read I savored over a week or so.
November 24, 2014
This is a sweet, delicate story of a young girl of Vietnamese descent learning about herself and about her beloved grandfather, who is actually not a relation. She and he live on a canal in France, where he is a lock-keeper.
I won't give more of the specifics since it is part of the book's charm that the circumstances of these two people's lives are fleshed out bit by bit, even as Zazoo is growing up before our eyes.
A delight that even enchanted my husband--not schmaltzy, just full of slow-building drama, revelations of the past, and lots of love of various hues, all most wonderful.
I won't give more of the specifics since it is part of the book's charm that the circumstances of these two people's lives are fleshed out bit by bit, even as Zazoo is growing up before our eyes.
A delight that even enchanted my husband--not schmaltzy, just full of slow-building drama, revelations of the past, and lots of love of various hues, all most wonderful.
February 7, 2008
If its raining hard outside, and your looking for a warm tale to curl up with, look no further. Easily one of the best books i have ever read, I recomend that everone at least tries this book, although if you are not a big reader, you may have difficulty staying focused.
This book would appeal to readers of romance expecially, though it is not limited to them.
This book would appeal to readers of romance expecially, though it is not limited to them.
October 18, 2013
Zazoo is the story of a young Vietnamese girl adopted by a elderly French lock master. With the arrival of a young teen boy, the stories of the past begin to emerge. What is the story between Grand-Pierre and Monsieur Klein, and will Zazoo be able to bring them back together as friends? As love comes to Zazoo, old loves are revealed.
January 15, 2008
The writing is richly evocative, redolent of time and place. History, emotion, and true love wound around the truths of things. I realize this doesn't describe it much, but it is one of the best YA titles ever.
November 22, 2007
I thought this was one of the most gorgeous YAs of its year.
September 8, 2008
Short and sweet. The image of the canal flows right off the page and sticks with you. I loved this story.
April 29, 2011
For a YF book, "Zazoo" was amazingly philosophical, compassionate, charming, tender, bitter-sweet --- beautifully written. A very nice coming of age book.
August 14, 2011
This was such a sweet book. I remember reading it over and over again. I can still remember the description of her grandfather perfectly peeling a fruit.
July 16, 2012
Amid old secrets revealed & rifts healed 13 yr old Vietnamese orphan raised in rural France by his again Grand Pierre learns, about life, death & love.
June 6, 2013
I read this book way back in 6th grade! Here I am 23 and I am still using "Zazeezoo" for all of my online accounts! Must have made an impact!
June 12, 2020
A “very good” novel captures the reader with compelling narrative, fascinating characters, and essential subtext. Richard Mosher’s Zazoo is a very good novel. Written for teenagers, this story of a thirteen-year-old girl in unusual circumstances is rich and satisfying on many levels. It is a can’t-put-it-down but don’t-want-it-to-end sort of novel, carried by the voice of the narrator, Zazoo, and the matters, joyful and grave, that she confronts as her story unfolds.
Zazoo lives in France. Born in Vietnam and orphaned, at the age of two, by a post-war landmine explosion, she is adopted by the elderly Grand-Pierre while he is visiting Vietnam long after his involvement in the French part of the war. Grand-Pierre, whose local reputation is based on his violent actions against the Germans in the Second World War, is now a lockkeeper on a rural canal. Zazoo grows up in this unique and pastoral setting. The canal is a place of boating, swimming, and skating.It is the inspiration for poems written by the old man and young girl, together and separately. It is also, for Grand-Pierre, a place of harsh wartime memories and present penance.
As the story begins, Zazoo meets Marius, a mysterious sixteen-year-old boy who speaks in the “slow accent of the south” but lives in Paris with his grandmother. Zazoo’s encounter with Marius sets the stage for a series of discoveries about, and with, the people in her life. These discoveries are centered upon love -- young, old, lost, redemptive -- and can only be made among Zazoo’s circle of friends with the help of her special status as an “outsider” who is also very much inside their lives.
All of this is brought to the reader on a rich narrative canvas. Zazoo speaks in a lovely voice that reveals echoes of a generous and wise soul. She guides us through the seasons of the canal. She both laments and honors Grand-Pierre’s slow “disappearance” as age takes his memory and capabilities. She shares the delightful unlikelihood of her friendship with Monsieur Klein, the village pharmacist, who belies his tragic past by surrounding himself with art and craft. And all the while she is navigating a tale that covers ground and time from Vietnam to France and from her own fourteenth year to Grand-Pierre’s wartime violence. It covers the emotional ground of first love and lost love and restored love, always in the ever present light and shadow of that great flawed masterpiece we call human history.
With Zazoo, Richard Mosher offers a novel that is a singular journey through time, place, and the human heart. It is a mystery in the large and small senses of the word, one that lingers and haunts long after the book is closed.
Zazoo lives in France. Born in Vietnam and orphaned, at the age of two, by a post-war landmine explosion, she is adopted by the elderly Grand-Pierre while he is visiting Vietnam long after his involvement in the French part of the war. Grand-Pierre, whose local reputation is based on his violent actions against the Germans in the Second World War, is now a lockkeeper on a rural canal. Zazoo grows up in this unique and pastoral setting. The canal is a place of boating, swimming, and skating.It is the inspiration for poems written by the old man and young girl, together and separately. It is also, for Grand-Pierre, a place of harsh wartime memories and present penance.
As the story begins, Zazoo meets Marius, a mysterious sixteen-year-old boy who speaks in the “slow accent of the south” but lives in Paris with his grandmother. Zazoo’s encounter with Marius sets the stage for a series of discoveries about, and with, the people in her life. These discoveries are centered upon love -- young, old, lost, redemptive -- and can only be made among Zazoo’s circle of friends with the help of her special status as an “outsider” who is also very much inside their lives.
All of this is brought to the reader on a rich narrative canvas. Zazoo speaks in a lovely voice that reveals echoes of a generous and wise soul. She guides us through the seasons of the canal. She both laments and honors Grand-Pierre’s slow “disappearance” as age takes his memory and capabilities. She shares the delightful unlikelihood of her friendship with Monsieur Klein, the village pharmacist, who belies his tragic past by surrounding himself with art and craft. And all the while she is navigating a tale that covers ground and time from Vietnam to France and from her own fourteenth year to Grand-Pierre’s wartime violence. It covers the emotional ground of first love and lost love and restored love, always in the ever present light and shadow of that great flawed masterpiece we call human history.
With Zazoo, Richard Mosher offers a novel that is a singular journey through time, place, and the human heart. It is a mystery in the large and small senses of the word, one that lingers and haunts long after the book is closed.
November 22, 2023
I've found that some of the most spectacular reads come from random finds. Although the story started slow and was a bit boring, I'm glad I stuck with it. The writing was romantic, not in a sappy way, but more poetic. It was so beautiful that it gave me chills. One thing that stood out to me was how much we lose ourselves as adults. We often lack the courage to truly live, blaming the world for hardening us. But in reality, it's the depravity of humans and our inability to forgive ourselves that numbs our spirits and makes us apathetic to life. Despite her precociousness and being forced to grow up a lot faster from her life's circumstances, Zazoo embodied a naivety and benevolence that was refreshing and admirable - she allowed those around her grace without harsh judgment. The only downside was that we didn't get much of a backstory from the days in Vietnam and how Grand-Pierre came into her life but all in all, this story will stay with me for a long time and I hope to come across more books by this author.
September 1, 2020
Zazoo is not the ordinary French girl. She loves rowing her "punt" in the canal near the mill tower where she lives with her adoptive parent "Grand-Pierre," a 78 year old recluse. While swimming in the canal off her punt, she meets a mysterious boy on an old 3 speed bicycle who asks about the local pharmacist. During this conversation Zazoo learns she has things in common with the mysterious Marius and has an immediate liking towards him. She agrees to keep a secret before he rides off on his bicycle. Over the next few months, she gradually learns of the history of Grand-Pierre who never visits the village, and Klein the Pharmacist who never leaves the village. And perhaps why Marius visited the village when he first met her. This story is not only about coming of age for a young girl who's mature beyond her years, but about love and friendship lost, and it being never too late to find them again. It's a wonderfully written book and I would like to read another of the authors works.
July 29, 2017
Zazoo's gentleness and patience captured my heart, and I recommend her story to mature, reflective, artistic, and poetic young adults. Zazoo is a Vietnamese orphan who was adopted by Grand-Pierre, a lock operator along a French canal, when she was 2. The story she narrates as a 14 year old is a gentle song of discovery and understanding.
July 21, 2025
Did not finish this book, got about half way through. It was boring and the plot was all over. This is not a good book for kids. Had high hopes for this book, but it was disappointing. I usually finish reading all books I start, but just could not get through this one.
November 4, 2017
I loved this book Rachel. Thank you so much for lending it to me.
February 7, 2019
I love this book in its own creative pace. It’s like there is no plot, but the plot is everything. Very poetic and beautiful, this is a favorite of mine.
May 28, 2020
A quiet treasure.
August 24, 2020
We never really know our family. Lovely story of discovering a family members' past and having the heart to love them. Masterful storytelling.
January 17, 2022
4 1/2 stars. A very good, thoughtful, quick easy read
June 3, 2023
An educational read.
November 9, 2023
I really wanted to like this book but to me it was slow dark and kind of creepy. It was dark and kind of made me sick as I read the book. I know a lot of love this book, but I couldn’t.
April 21, 2011
In what was a fifty cent find at a thrift store, I found a lovely treasure written with tenderness and infused with poetry. When I picked up the oddly named Zazoo, I had no idea what story lay between its covers, the description on the back failed give a clear idea of what I was to encounter. But considering my tastes, I shouldn’t have been too surprised to find Zazoo’s modern day tale wrapped around the heart of World War II.
Set in approximately 1990, in small village in the north of France, Zazoo, a thirteen year old war baby from Vietnam lives with her adoptive grandfather, Grand Pierre. She helps him work the locks on the nearby river, and helps him to remember; Grand Pierre, it appears, is slowly succumbing to Alzheimer’s.
The story opens on a fine fall day, with our title character rowing solo in the river near her home. Unexpectedly, a young man, a stranger to her village, arrives on a bicycle and begins a conversation. First, their chatter is about Zazoo and her little boat, then about his interest in bird watching, then oddly, the talk turns to the village pharmacist, Monsieur Klein. The newcomer, Marius, inquires about Mr. Klein’s marital status, but leaves the reason for his curiosity a secret. Upon his departure, Marius, who is leaving for Paris shortly, promises to return again soon to continue their newly formed friendship.
While awaiting the return of Marius as eagerly as Zazoo, we are introduced to the object of his interest, the old bachelor Mr. Klein; Zazoo’s best friend, the blossoming Juliette; and of course, the indomitable, Grand Pierre.
Mr. Klein has always been very kind to Zazoo, who must come to him monthly for Grand Pierre’s medication, but Marius’ arrival causes Zazoo to begin pursing answers to questions she is not even certain how to ask of this good gentleman. Through weeks of inquiry, Zazoo, discovers that behind Mr. Klein’s solitary life is a painful secret, a past that he has kept locked away like a time capsule with no “to-open” date.
Similarly, Grand Pierre has a history that has held him encased in a hardened shell for over four decades. It is only Zazoo who is able to begin the process of softening Pierre’s loneliness and inner turmoil with her unconditional love. Still, his complete story is only known by Mr. Klein, who has know Pierre since he was a child. Unfortunately, the two men haven’t spoken in forty-eight years.
As Grand Pierre’s memories fade, so it seems his secret life and the key to both men’s release will go with them. The young bicyclist Marius arrives on the pathway at just the right moment to bridge the gap between these two aging men. In deed, Marius is the catalyst that brings forth healing and understanding broad enough to close wounds that have been left raw since the war touched the small village nearly fifty years earlier.
In the process of uncovering the stories of past wrongs and heartache, the scales fall from Zazoo’s young eyes about the lives of those most dear to her. Her coming of age teaches her to love imperfect people who have lived silently through the years with wrenching sorrows forged in past fires. By the end, our sweet war baby, Zazoo, the savior of Grand Pierre, is well on her way to becoming a lovely young woman, full of wisdom.
What makes Zazoo such a wonderful book is that the depth of the story isn’t tied to an enormous number of pages. Readers who aren’t enamored with the idea of reading books over three hundred pages, will appreciate Mosher’s economy of words.
Additionally, those who enjoy whimsical poetry will find the text interlaced with home-spun verse, as first Grand Pierre, then Zazoo, find meaningful expression for their inner dialogues through the writing of simple poems.
Overall, Zazoo is a splendid little gem. One Good Reads reviewer has it listed as a “quiet read,” and I think that is apropos: quiet, thoughtful, and chock full of beautiful metaphors woven lovingly throughout this touching, impactful tale of redemption.
Marketed to the young adult audience, but rich in history and well-developed characters that will appeal to readers of all ages, Zazoo is what young adult fiction should be: capable of conveying a deep and relevant message without coarseness or vulgarity, with a story that captures the imagination then takes it to a higher place.
Set in approximately 1990, in small village in the north of France, Zazoo, a thirteen year old war baby from Vietnam lives with her adoptive grandfather, Grand Pierre. She helps him work the locks on the nearby river, and helps him to remember; Grand Pierre, it appears, is slowly succumbing to Alzheimer’s.
The story opens on a fine fall day, with our title character rowing solo in the river near her home. Unexpectedly, a young man, a stranger to her village, arrives on a bicycle and begins a conversation. First, their chatter is about Zazoo and her little boat, then about his interest in bird watching, then oddly, the talk turns to the village pharmacist, Monsieur Klein. The newcomer, Marius, inquires about Mr. Klein’s marital status, but leaves the reason for his curiosity a secret. Upon his departure, Marius, who is leaving for Paris shortly, promises to return again soon to continue their newly formed friendship.
While awaiting the return of Marius as eagerly as Zazoo, we are introduced to the object of his interest, the old bachelor Mr. Klein; Zazoo’s best friend, the blossoming Juliette; and of course, the indomitable, Grand Pierre.
Mr. Klein has always been very kind to Zazoo, who must come to him monthly for Grand Pierre’s medication, but Marius’ arrival causes Zazoo to begin pursing answers to questions she is not even certain how to ask of this good gentleman. Through weeks of inquiry, Zazoo, discovers that behind Mr. Klein’s solitary life is a painful secret, a past that he has kept locked away like a time capsule with no “to-open” date.
Similarly, Grand Pierre has a history that has held him encased in a hardened shell for over four decades. It is only Zazoo who is able to begin the process of softening Pierre’s loneliness and inner turmoil with her unconditional love. Still, his complete story is only known by Mr. Klein, who has know Pierre since he was a child. Unfortunately, the two men haven’t spoken in forty-eight years.
As Grand Pierre’s memories fade, so it seems his secret life and the key to both men’s release will go with them. The young bicyclist Marius arrives on the pathway at just the right moment to bridge the gap between these two aging men. In deed, Marius is the catalyst that brings forth healing and understanding broad enough to close wounds that have been left raw since the war touched the small village nearly fifty years earlier.
In the process of uncovering the stories of past wrongs and heartache, the scales fall from Zazoo’s young eyes about the lives of those most dear to her. Her coming of age teaches her to love imperfect people who have lived silently through the years with wrenching sorrows forged in past fires. By the end, our sweet war baby, Zazoo, the savior of Grand Pierre, is well on her way to becoming a lovely young woman, full of wisdom.
What makes Zazoo such a wonderful book is that the depth of the story isn’t tied to an enormous number of pages. Readers who aren’t enamored with the idea of reading books over three hundred pages, will appreciate Mosher’s economy of words.
Additionally, those who enjoy whimsical poetry will find the text interlaced with home-spun verse, as first Grand Pierre, then Zazoo, find meaningful expression for their inner dialogues through the writing of simple poems.
Overall, Zazoo is a splendid little gem. One Good Reads reviewer has it listed as a “quiet read,” and I think that is apropos: quiet, thoughtful, and chock full of beautiful metaphors woven lovingly throughout this touching, impactful tale of redemption.
Marketed to the young adult audience, but rich in history and well-developed characters that will appeal to readers of all ages, Zazoo is what young adult fiction should be: capable of conveying a deep and relevant message without coarseness or vulgarity, with a story that captures the imagination then takes it to a higher place.
April 24, 2014
Actually 3.5. Goodreads should really just allow us to do half stars. I have been meaning to write a review for this book but haven't gotten the chance. I thought this book was a light and heartwarming read. It deals with the main character, Zazoo, coming to terms with life and loss, but most importantly forgiveness, as war stories become intertwined into one sad yet hopeful melody of life. Zazoo begins uncovering secrets kept hidden from her by Grand Pierre, ranging from her adoption during the Vietnam War to her adopted grandpa's bloody past during World War 11. The imagery in this book was intricate and amazing, so much that you felt like you were rowing on a boat in a lazy town encased with secrets in France. The characters all had distinct personalities that I cherished and I found the relationship between Zazoo and her adopted father, Grand Pierre, to be especially charming. Even though it was slow moving, I wished that the book would have been longer because I wished to stay with Zazoo and Grand Pierre fishing in their canal for a little longer. Zazoo is a charming coming-of-age story that will steal your heart from the first page.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews