Customer Reviews

Birds, Beasts and Relatives

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I eagerly read this after "My Family and Other Animals" (which I had enjoyed immensely). It contains stories which were omitted from "My Family" and while the offerings were still magical and wonderfully well-written and sometimes hilarious (especially the story about the turtle), it lacked the memorability of its predecessor. There was also no real structure in the order of the stories, this is more of a miscellaneous collection.

The second book on his family's 5 years in Corfu, it follows in the footsteps of My Family and Other Animals as a brilliantly funny and fascinating book. Mr. Durrell has kept me in stitches for over 16 years and with each reread, I find myself enjoying the book more

This book is a neccessity for every parent and child. It is very educational according to many schools, but for a child it is the most entertaining book I have ever read. Full of the dry humour Gerald Durrell is famous for, in the tradition of its parent book, " My family and other animals", it has the power to keep readers enthralled for hours. Be prepared to laugh when you read this book, it is one of those classics which have been made into countless plays in countries worldwide, without boring a single person

I read Gerald Durrell's books 10 years ago, while I was still living in Romania. I loved his books from the first page to the last and literally I couldn't put them down until I finished them. The best humour I ever met in books! His stile is unique. I am planning on reading all of them again in English. I would recommend them to anyone!

As always, Gerard Durrell's works make me want to hop on a flight to Greece right now. His imagery of the lush flora and fauna there make it seem irresistible to anyone, especially small boys. Though it was an enjoyable read, it seemed a bit too similar to My Family and Other Animals, as though this sequel was everything he had forgotten to put into the first one, which is exactly what the author states in the introduction. This book seemed to focus a bit more on the animals, less on the comical family, and though sea life is fascination, crustaceans do get a bit old. This book is very relaxing to read, and almost makes you feel like you are a little boy again. Slow paced and funny, this enjoyable book put Corfu at the top of my list of places to go.

I have been a huge fan of Gerald Durrell's books since childhood, especially the ones that his family features in, predominantly. This is the follow up to My Family and Other Animals and it is just as much fun!
Highly recommended.

This is another wonderful books of Gerald Durrell's memories of his time on the island of Corfu prior to the Second World War. He takes us back to another time and place before the world changed for good.

Each chapter is a separate story and rememberence of those days when as a young man he marvels at not only the natural world around him, but also the various people he encounters and learns to appreciate. It is easy to get lost in one of these stories and feel like you are there with him on a hot summer day with his faithful dogs tagging along beside him.

I recommend this book to anyone who not only loves nature, but also can appreciate a time gone by when people were different and even strangers were looked as guests. This book is one that I intend to read again and again in the coming years and will appreciate the stories just much each time as the first time.

Gerald Durrell has written quite a few books, including 3 about his life as a young boy on the Greek Island of Corfu. This is the middle book of the trilogy and is not as funny as the other two (My Family and Other Animals and In the Garden of the Gods). He relates various stories about his childhood which involved ranging far and wide on the island observing and collecting various animals, birds and insects. The stories are pleasant and interesting, just not laugh out loud funny like his other books. I did enjoy it.

I wouldn't recommend for middle school because one story contains pretty graphic detail of a peasant woman giving birth.

Gerald Durrell is the younger brother of Lawrence Durrell. The island of Corfu lies off of the Albanian and Greek coastlines. The family settled there to escape the deary English weather.

Gerald's mother fought a losing battle with the Greek language. The family members became familiar with all of the peasants in the region. Gerald had a tutor named George who was an adept of fencing and an adult scientist friend named Theodore.

Gerald visited the rock pools while his sister swam. Margo's sun bathing bothered a church functionary, a monk. Gerald sought permission to follow a fisherman, to accompany him in his boat when he fished at night. The fisherman used a trident to catch scorpios.

There was a myrtle forest near the family's house. Gerald received a rich dark brown donkey for his birthday. The donkey was used by Gerald to transport things. Larry brought home friends, artists and writers, and brought home an artist who could play the accordian, Sven.

Theordore had told a countess that Gerald, who was a fairly young boy at the time, was a naturalist and had a number of pets. The countess offered to give him a white owl who had an injured wing. Gerald went to fetch it and to meet her on his donkey.

He wanted to add baby hedgehogs to his menagerie. When he went away for a weekend his sister overfed them and they died. The book is joyous and colorful. The snippets above are used to give the reader a sense of what to expect.

The books arrived in perfect condition and in very good time. I am completely satisfied.