When I saw the cover of “The Penguin Lessons,” I simply couldn’t resist reading it, and I’m glad I didn’t or I would have missed out on a great story.
Tom Mitchell’s true story chronicles his life during the early 1970s, when as a 23 year old from the U.K. he moved to Argentina to teach at a prestigious English-language college (and live the free-wheeling life of an unencumbered adventurer exploring South America). During a trip to the Uraguayan coast, he comes upon hundreds of Magellan penguins that have all been killed by an oil slick – except for one lone penguin, covered in oil, but hanging on to life. Not quite knowing what to do, he decides to take the penguin back to Argentina and nurse it back to health (yeah, I know, it sounds crazy, but remember this is the 1970’s, and Uraguay. I doubt anyone could get a penguin through customs today).

The penguin, named Juan Salvado, flourishes under Tom’s care. Although Tom explores options of turning Juan over to the Buenos Ares zoo, or returning him to the wild, neither of these pan out and seeing that Juan is thriving Tom decides to raise him.

While the book covers the requisite funny anecdotes of trying to raise a penguin, and the heartwarming tales of how those at the college bond with Juan Salvado, Mitchell includes a bigger picture of the time and place in his book. He includes an interesting commentary on the political and economic situation of Argentina during the early 70s, as well as beautiful descriptions of the Argentinian landscape (I was less interested in the lengthy descriptions of rugby – an Argentinian pastime).

A particularly moving part of the book comes near the end when Mitchell relays in beautiful detail about the way Juan Salvado helped transform a student who was struggling and an outcast at the college. It brought a tear to my eye. In my professional life I work with an organization that brings nature and animal therapy programs to vulnerable populations, including children and teens who have experienced trauma and suffer from PTSD. There is something incredibly profound about the human-animal bond, and for so many people the connection with an animal is their first step toward healing and transformation.

3.75 stars rounded up to 4.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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I didn't expect to like this book. The story of how Mitchell keeps a penguin during his days as a school teacher in Argentina promised to be a fey, sentimental read, I thought. But it wasn't. Though light in tone and amusing, it highlighted the real challenges faced, and life-lessons learnt from caring for a wild beast in a thoroughly domestic setting. A somewhat thought- provoking and satisfying holiday read. ( )

What a beautiful little book. This memoir was written forty years after the author spent almost a year in South America where he had gone to find adventure (and himself). While serving as a residence master in a private boys’ school, he travels on holiday and rescues a penguin. The author regales the reader with escapades about the rescue, taking the bird into another country, and eventually situating the bird as the school’s mascot. The bird provides joy to those around him and offers lessons in tolerance, hope, and unconditional devotion. The author, who has become an amateur artist, renders some drawings of the penguin. He reflects on the meaning (and coincidence) of having found the sick bird and asks who really saved whom. ( )

Probably the best book of 2022 so far and probably in the running for best book of the year. The author finds a dying penguin drenched in oil on a beach and decides to try to save it. He does & then smuggled it into Argentina. I was roaring with laughter about their antics together. At turns serious about the plight of the country & lessons he learned from Juan Salvado (the penguin), it is all but impossible to put down. All the love for this book. ( )