This is an interesting memoir in that it is part childhood recollection and family saga, part travel memoir, and part the origins of a budding naturalist. I didn’t expect to be overly interested in Durrell’s exploration of the natural world he discovered when his family packed up and moved to Corfu. But his own interest is contagious, and I found myself walking along beside him as he headed off into the Greek countryside to find everything from turtles to toads to spiders to seagulls, and nearly as fascinated by what he discovered as he was.
This is, in large part, credit to Durrell’s ability to spin a yarn. He writes in such a way that you quickly forget you are reading, because you feel as if you’re right there with him. He balances out stories of his outdoor adventures with interesting asides about the people he encounters and the drama that unfolds at home as his family faces their own sorts of adventures. Every few chapters something completely unexpected happens, and makes you want to stay up well past your bedtime to find out how it will resolve itself.
What I loved most about this book is that it has the sort of understated, deadpan British humour that I find most irresistible. His family – his mother and three siblings – are all so dissimilar that their interactions are inevitably hilarious. It’s also the kind of book where things that really oughtn’t to be funny are – like the dog his mother adopts whose hind leg has a tendency to pop its socket when the dog is perturbed. Being a particularly highly-strung animal this happens frequently, and usually at such a time that it punctuates events marvelously. Of course I knew as I was collapsing in fits of giggles that I really shouldn’t be – the poor dog – but I just couldn’t help it. There are also several incidents of the author’s pets escaping and wreaking havoc on the household – everything from scorpions popping out of match boxes to thieving magpies ransacking his brother’s bedroom to snakes being rather unexpectedly found in the bathtub.
This is a magnificent book to pick up over the summer, particularly if you are partial to slow-paced books where not a whole lot happens, but the characters and subtleties of life are made irresistibly entertaining. I’m very pleased to have finally picked this one up (though apparently it was read to me when I was a child, which could explain why it also gave me a very warm and cosy sense of nostalgia). If you are particularly interested in animals, this will be of special interest to you as well!
‘What we all need,’ said Larry, ‘is sunshine…a country where we can grow.’
‘Yes, dear, that would be nice,’ agreed Mother, not really listening.
‘I had a letter from George this morning – he says Corfu’s wonderful. Why don’t we pack up and go to Greece?’
‘Very well, dear, if you like,’ said Mother unguardedly.
Escaping the ills of the British climate, the Durrell family – acne-ridden Margo, gun-toting Leslie, bookworm Lawrence and budding naturalist Gerry, along with their long suffering mother and Roger the dog – take off for the island of Corfu.
But the Durrells find that, reluctantly, they must share their various villas with a menagerie of local fauna – among them scorpions, geckos, toads, bats and butterflies. – Goodreads
Book Title: My Family and Other Animals
Author: Gerald Durrell
Series: yes – The Corfu Trilogy
Edition: Paperback
Published By: Penguin Essentials
Released: April 7, 2011 ( First published January 1, 1956)
Genre: Memoir, Nature, Humour, Travel
Pages: 308
Date Read: May 16-June 17, 2018
Rating: 8/10
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.26/5 (2,266 ratings)