Rome’s ancient heart set amidst 17 hectares of lush gardens is the city’s extraordinary zoo, and the novel’s chief protagonist. Since 1911 this eccentric institution has been attracting a roll call of personalities, from Mussolini and his tame lioness, to the Pope, from the actresses of Rome’s famed film studios, Cinecittà, to Salman Rushdie . . .

But this novel is far from being a mere nostalgic meander along the boulevards of the zoo. In a presentday reimagining, the author follows the fortunes of Giovanna, the zoo’s Director of Communications, and Chahine, an Algerian architect, each drawn to the other, each fascinated by an anteater, the last surviving member of its species, and the subject of the possessive attentions of an unscrupulous vet and a keeper at the end of his career. All find themselves caught in the silent clash of interests generated by corruption, Italy’s collective political memory and the economic realities of the zoo’s outsized grounds, enduring far from any tourist’s itinerary.

For Pascal Janovjak: “The zoo is a sanctuary of innocence.” But it is also a mirror reflecting a troubled century, the measuring post of a fantasist humanity. Against this bewitching backdrop, the author seamlessly blends past and present, notoriety and decadence, nostalgia and hope.