A book with an unusual title, The Tower, The Zoo and The Tortoise, is being compared by booksellers to another unusual, but now familiar title, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, according to USA Today, which asks, “Can a quirky novel about a hapless Beefeater guard at the Tower of London and his 181-year-old pet tortoise, Mrs. Cook, be August’s hot beach read?”

Library Journal‘s reviewer beat booksellers to the comparison, “Filled with the humor and heart that calls to mind the delightful novels of Alexander McCall Smith, and the charm and beauty of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society [it] is a magical, wholly original novel whose irresistible characters will stay with you long after you turn the stunning last page.”

The book’s editor, Alison Callahan, says the book “makes readers feel good…It’s an uplifting and effervescent story. It’s as funny as it is poignant. It hits all the right notes.”

We mentioned it as a book to keep your eye on in our preview of the week’s upcoming books. Holds are still modest, but up a bit from last week.

The author’s previous title is The Matchmaker of Perigord; she is at work on a third novel.

The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise: A Novel Julia Stuart Retail Price: $24.95 Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: Doubleday – (2010-08-10) ISBN / EAN: 0385533284 / 9780385533287

Large Type; Thorndike; 1/5/2011; 9781410432827; $34.99

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