Customer Reviews

My Family and Other Animals

5 star:		(101)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a young boy I was forced, with some considerable reluctance, to read 'My Family and Other Animals' by one of teachers at my school in England, 'in order to improve my vocabulary'. All is forgiven, Mr Cox, for within my rather battered copy lurked, without doubt, the most hilarious account of familial eccentricity, and light-hearted feuding that I have ever come across.

The book, as Mr Durrell explains in introduction, was intended to describe the glorious flora and fauna of Corfu, a greek island where he spent some time as a child. In this goal, he has succeeded admirably, as the whole atmosphere of the island is exquisitely recreated, to an extent that even on a rainy afternoon in Sidcup, it is not difficult to be transported to a sunny morning in the Aegean watching a young Gerry discovering a nest of a trapdoor spider, or perhaps discovering something of the mating rituals of the greek tortoise.

It is in the descriptions of the family, however, where this book really comes to life. As Mr Durrell describes in the introduction, the family, as in life, once they had begun to appear, muscled their way into the rest of pages as well. From tales of the rotund, pretentious Larry (Lawrence Durrell, of the Alexandria Quartet fame), the gun-mad Leslie and the 'muslin and gauze' swathed sister, Margot, to the desciptions the long-suffering mother, the family had me laughing out loud at the most inopportune moments.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I read it regularly, and am still crying with laughter all the way through. Not only a splendid book for the evocative descriptions of the natural history, this is the most witty book I have ever read.

This book is absolutely, brilliantly funny. The wit and unique characterizations are woven with great descriptions of the animals and plants of Corfu. That Durrell can hold the attention of readers who have no interest in biology simply demonstrates what a fine work this is. Gerald's depiction of a larger-than-life expatriate family on a larger-than-life Greek island is a tremendous celebration of life. The variety of different Greek characters parading through this book rivals the variety of Corfu's flora and fauna. Absolute great read!

Reviewed by David Lundberg, author of Olympic Wandering: Time Travel Through Greece

I usually only have time to read at night. I keep a book by my bedside and if I awaken in the middle of the night, instead of worrying, I read. This isn't the best book to use in this fashion. I have, on several occasions, awakened and thought, "I'll just read a few pages" only to find myself engulfed in oxygenated laughter that has kept me up for the duration of the night. I don't know when I've laughed out loud so often at a book. The mother is the mother we've all always wanted...and she was no doubt the perfect mother for this child. Who else could take in stride the unleashing from a matchbox of a small cache of scorpions during dinner. I will reread this book again and again. Such light hearted appreciation of nature is a rare find. This would be a great gift for any child or adult who loves the outdoors. Very special and very rare.

My Family and Other Animals is about a ten-year-old boy named Gerald who moves to the sun-soaked island Corfu, Greece with his family to escape the dreary and gloomy climate in London. There, he encounters many different animals and people. I absolutely loved this book because it was really funny. There was a lot of action in this book. Durrell lovingly described each and every animal that he owned. He also told every detail of the settings, so I felt like I was really in Corfu!
If you want to spend your money wisely, use it on this book!

I too read this book in my childhood as a compulsory exercise in English class. Years later when I reread it out loud to my children, and was reduced over and over, frequently on the same page, to helpless, tearful laughter, I wondered how we managed to get through it in school. The book is an autobiographical rendering of the author's boyhood experience as his family of five travels from dreary, cold England to the sunny, whimsical reality of Corfu. The pristine island and colourful inhabitants embrace the family and all its idiosyncrasies. Gerry, the little boy, lives a blissful, completely free existence as he explores the flora and fauna of the island with the occasional French lesson thrown in as a silly gesture to seriousness. The day-to-day experiences of the whole family rush with sparkling hilarity through the pages, leaving the reader gasping for air from laughing too hard. This is a completely delicious book, the kind of book you want in your library forever. I have misplaced or lost several copies, and I've just ordered my latest. I think it is just about my favorite novel of all.

After reading Gerald Durrell at school (it was probably "Menagerie Manor"), I was put off reading his books for over 10 years. One of my friends recommended this as a wonderfully cute book about how a young boy perceives the world and his eccentric family and after hearing descriptions of Larry, the (then) aspiring novelist, acne-ridden Margo and gun-obsessed Leslie, how could I resist? It is a beautifully written book of short stories chronicling Durrell's magical childhood in Corfu, with a kaleidoscope of characters ranging from the human to the animal, all drawn with great affection. The stories are often hilarious and this is definitely one you will want to read again. And for those who are put off by too many descriptions of animals, the descriptions here aren't too long (and they are described charmingly, with Durrell attributing human characteristics which are very amusing) and most of the book focuses on his family. Sequels are "Birds, Beasts and Relatives" and "Garden of the Gods".

"My Family and Other Animals" has charmed me for years. I keep lending it to friends who refuse to return it! Although I know passages by heart I find the book fresh at every reading. My present copy has been in the house for about four months but I'm about to lend it to a friend at work so I'm sure I'll be back at this site soon to reorder. The previous copy walked off to college with my daughter and I'll wager that she's passed it on to one of her friends by now.

This book is my secret weapon against depression and the blues. I have never been able to read it without collapsing into helpless laughter (and I have lost count how many times I have read it!). In the book, GD describes his boyhood sojourn on the Greek island of Corfu and while the various animals and birds are fun, the most interesting specimens are the humans. Start with GD's own family, a wonderfully eccentric English mother, his 3 siblings with their own peculiar foibles, the innumerable friends on Corfu who add their own twists to the story and you have a bubbling cauldron indeed. The humor ranges from the tongue in cheek to the cannonball but it never lets up. The episode of the scorpions is my personal favorite but it is hard to pick a favorite when there are so many contenders. GD's descriptions of the various personages is superb and his retelling of anecdotes very good indeed. His particular gift is to make the non-human creatures interesting. Both human and non-human characters alike come alive and seem to spring from the pages. And GD's love for nature comes through in his descriptions of the surroundings; you can almost feel yourself in the story. One realizes that not only was GD a first rate naturalist, he was a very good writer as well. This book is a guaranteed pick-me-up; it will bring a smile to your face no matter how tired or sad you may be. A warning though: it is very dangerous to read this book in public. Before long you will be chuckling away to yourself as you turn the pages and people in your vicinity will start to harbor grave doubts as to your sanity!

I first read this book when I was ten. In the intervening years (too many to count) I have read it at least once a year. Every time I read it, I find something else that makes me laugh out loud. I have bought this book for everyone and recommend it to anyone who needs to run away to sunshine and laugh out loud. How I wish I could have known this family!

My only regret is that I did not read this book years ago, when Gerald Durrell was living, so I could tell the author how much I love his book. The praises of "My Family and Other Animals" has been sung by many readers. What I would like to add is that Mr. Durrell has a wonderful gift for writing and observation. His book takes us on a journey to the sun-drenched island of Corfu, that for Mr. Durrell is a place near to paradise. The natural world he is surrounded by fascinates him, and the reader, as we are introduced to the varieties of creatures that inhabit the island. We come to appreciate the life that can be found in a ditch filled with water. Then, there are the animals Mr. Durrell collected as pets: Quasimodo the pigeon, Ulysses the owl and the Magenpies. This is to say nothing of his dogs: Roger, Widdle and Puke. I only wish there could have been photographs in this edition.

Coupled with this are wonderful portraits of his mother, two brothers and sister and their sometimes eccentric guests, along with the people of Corfu they meet. From the moment the Durrells arrive on Corfu, followed by a pack of dogs, their adventures are non-stop. One wishes for the chance to have been on Corfu and be able to pay a visit to whatever villa they happened to be living in. "My Family and Other Animals" is a book that you will not want to end.