My Family and Other Animals

Gerald Durrell’s tales of his eccentric family’s time on the Greek island of Corfu is quite simply a wonderful book. In My Family and Other Animals he describes the years that his family lived there with humorous and interesting stories involving the havoc created by mixing these unique people with the strange creatures that he brought home. His eldest brother, Larry, is none other than author Lawrence Durrell, and he in particular, springs vividly to life on these pages.

Gerald was ten when his family went to live on the island and he was immediately captivated by the variety of both flora and fauna to be found. Many creatures, from scorpions to magpies, found their way back to the family’s villa, and much chaos and hilarity show more ensued. But beyond these stories, he also manages to describe the island’s beauty with descriptive ease, and introduces many varied and unforgettable supporting characters.

Obviously the writing talent was shared in this family, as Gerald’s gifted writing shows remarkable warmth and enthusiasm, and his comedic timing is spot-on. Fresh, fun and engaging, I fell in love with both the book and the family. How could you not feel affection for a family that calls their strangely crafted boat Bootle-Bumtrinket and their two young puppies, Widdle and Puke? show less

Descriptive power, adventurousness, enthusiasm, and humour are Durrell’s great strengths, and they give this book the charm and interest that has made it so well loved for decades. The many descriptions of the creatures and plants of Corfu here include ascribing emotions or qualities to them. As such, they are often fanciful but at the same time knowledgeable, and so they “animate” the account. Once set, this sense and tone of animation feels appropriate, and so when the young Durrell’s tutor leads us to his imaginative mother and the “talking flowers” she describes (chapter 24), this fits pleasingly in. As in Don Quixote, or Schweijk, a bunch of stories or anecdotes from third parties are thrown in and doubtless show more embellished. Some land well, others less so. The author presumably can’t resist, whether from doubt that he may ever find another outlet for these exploits or from sheer raconteurial gusto. Among many memorable scenes, the portrait of the picnic, siesta, cooking fire, and moonlit return from the excursion to the Lake of Liliies would make anyone yearn for such an idyllic and wholesome setting. show less

Another favorite read of the year! My Family and Other Animals is a delightful and humorous memoir that transports readers to Corfu, an island off the coast of Greece, where the author’s eccentric family comes to reside. Although it was published in 1956, the events in the book take place around 1935.

Gerry’s witty narrative captures the quirks of his family with humor and warmth, while the vivid descriptions of the island’s flora and fauna showcase his deep love for nature. The book is filled with laugh-out-loud moments, from the over-the-top antics of Gerry and his siblings, to the strange and wonderful creatures that he collects in his pursuit of knowledge.

By the time I finished reading this, I had an insanely long list of show more favorite characters. If I had to pick one, it would have to be Dodo, who comes into the story near the end of the book. Described as being "like a dimly conscious sausage," Dodo, a Dandie Dinmont terrier, is pitiful beyond all measure. The sections with Dodo made me laugh so hard I genuinely feared for my life. If you love animals, nature, laughter, or all of the above, you will love this book! show less

If there was ever a book about the value of a free-range non-traditional education, this might be it.

This book wraps up so many of my favorite genres into one delightfully written book. This is Gerald Durrell's memoir from when his mother and his older brothers and sister packed up and moved from England to the Island of Corfu during the 1930s. Gerry spends his time wandering the island with his dog Roger, learning about nature and collecting his own menagerie of creatures which grow to include a tortoise, magpies, a gull, and scorpions. His family provides more entertainment along with a colorful cast of side characters including a brother obsessed with guns, a boy-crazy sister with acne problems, their local Greek taxi driver who show more manages the family's affairs and the hypochondriac maid. He portrays his older brother (and one of my favorite authors) Lawrence Durrell as a snotty twenty-something nascent author complete with ego. Gerry's tutors also include a world-class natural historian and hunch-backed aviary owning fantasist who tells stories of saving damsels in distress.

Gerrald himself is a first-rate writer. It took me a bit of time to figure out that Roger was a dog and not a brother and I believe that was on purpose. I would come across a paragraph where he would mention Roger and then I would wonder why Roger was lying underneath the table which really isn't all that far-fetched with this family.

This is one of my favorite passages which showcases what Gerry is learning at this time. He meets his tutor's bedridden mother for the first time (and there is a hilarious reason why), but the passage is a lesson from the mother.
"They say,"--she announced--"they say that when you get old, as I am your body slows down. I don't believe it. No, I think that is quite wrong. I have a theory that you do not slow down at all, but that life slows down for you. You understand me? Everything becomes languid, as it were, and you can notice so much more when things are in slow motion. the things you see! The extraordinary things that happen all around you, that you never suspected before! It is really a delightful adventure, quite delightful!" show less

Не знам дали бих могъл да обясня на някой за какво изобщо пише Джералд Даръл и защо толкова много хора от няколко поколения благоговеят пред книгите му, ако този някой не е събирал буболечки като малък, за да ги отглежда в буркани, не се е грижил поне за няколко хамстера, папагали и риби и не е влачил в къщи кученца и котенца, които е намерил на улицата…

Аз, разбира се, бях изял с кориците по няколко пъти всички show more книги на Джералд Даръл, които можах да намеря, още преди да направя 11 години, а майка ми беше вдигнала ръце от мене и ме беше оставила да се занимавам с менажерията в стаята си, която тогава беше доста по-внушителна – в голямата си част под влиянието точно на Моето семейство и други животни.

Това е една от трите книги, в които Джералд Даръл описва детството си на остров Корфу (Гърция), където по цял ден търчи по слънчевите поляни и рекички и всеки ден открива по един нов свят на дивата природа в лицето на безбройните животинки, които щъкат там. Честно казано, нямам думи да опиша не само езика на Даръл, но и начина по който той описва своето, моето и на толкова много други хора щастливо детство. show less

This book is just completely itself: it does what it does to perfection, and it's unlike anything I've ever read. (Oddly, it feels rather like Henderson the Rain King in its laugh-out-loud humor, but it's kinder and gentler--and far more interested in the details of the natural world--and, um, less fictional--than that novel.) Nothing much happens in the whole book, and yet it really is a delight.

My Family and Other Animals combines lovingly detailed descriptions of the Greek island of Corfu's flora, fauna, and landscape with totally hilarious accounts of the author's "eccentric" family and friends. These anecdotes concern young Gerry's many interesting pets (most of which are caught during his ramblings) as well as his lovable and show more rather vague mother, his brothers (Leslie, the manly-man hunter, and Larry, the insufferably bossy and lazy writer), his sister Margo, their Greek protector and assistant Spiro, Theodore (who treats Gerry like an adult and shares his great enthusiasm for natural history and field expeditions), Gerry's various tutors, and assorted locals. Meanwhile, these people are living a wildly enviable life, lounging and rambling about on this gorgeous island without a care in the world. Sign me up!

[re-reading--aloud w/children this time--March 2015; the 8-year-old is highly amused] show less

This was a marvelous light read, with spots of laugh-out-loud humor. I have had it on my shelf for some time, and it sort of leaped out at me in my search for something that would just plain entertain. This is the story of a British family's extended stay on the island of Corfu in the years just before WWII, told from the point of view of the youngest son, a bright 10-year-old with a fascination for all things natural, from birds to bugs, snakes to scorpions, and a knack for introducing them to tea parties and bathtubs without warning. Whacky, over-the-top characterizations of Mother and the sibs, loosely (one hopes) based on Durrell's real family.