My Family and Other Animals

~a wine…like the blood of a dragon and as smooth as a fish

~Albatrosses flapping around the house making noises like defective plumbling

~A giant watermelon with an inside like pink ice

~chaffinches were pinking like a hundred tiny coins among the leaves

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No one makes sigh-inducing comparisons quite like Gerald Durell. Rich and varied…these and many more generously pepper the pages of My Family and Other Animals.

Gerry has been blessed with a truly eccentric family : a long-suffering mother, a pompous elder-brother Larrie (who later becomes the eminent Lawrence Durrell), a gun-crazy brother Leslie, an acne-inflicted sister Margo…and bringing up the rearguard; a budding naturalist,Gerry himself. The story is a rambling, autobiographical account of the family’s five year stay in the picturesque Greek island of Corfu, told from a 10-year old Gerry’s point of view.

As the family hops from one villa to another…we are treated to an oddball mixture of rustic pheasants, quirky instructors and garrulous guests. And then ofcourse, there is the over-abundance of animal life…many of whom find their way into the Durrell household as Gerry’s pets. So we have: the two pups, prodigiously named; Puke andWiddle…Quasimodo, the pigeon (who discovers to his embarrassment that he is infact a ‘she’ )...Madame Cyclops, the one-eyed, pregnant turtle…the wicked pair of magpies known simply as The Magenpies…and the sardonic seagull, Alecko. Many more whacky and weird creatures make an appearance and all are described in loving-detail by the wide-eyed Gerry.

The book is tailormade for plant and animal lovers. Each page is a tribute to the beauty of Corfu and it’s innumerable treasures. You can almost savour the warm sun on your back and the frothy waves tickling your toes. You wish you had a fat bottomed boat called ‘ The Bootle-Bumtrinket’, which would sail along merrily as you tried not to turn an unbecoming shade of green with all the rocking and rolling! You can feel the restful shade of the gnarly olive-trees, the tartness of the small grapes and the headiness of a hearty-wine. Weaved in with the antics of the Durrell menagerie, the story makes you smile and even have a hearty laugh occasionally.

Bless you, Mr.Durrell, for creating such a marvellous and memorable gem.