Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
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Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake) | 508.4955 DUR | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove) | 508.4955 DUR | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | 508.4955 DUR | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | 508.4955 DUR | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
The first book in Gerald Durrell's Corfu Trilogy: a bewitching account of a rare and magical childhood on the island of Corfu, which was the inspiration for the Masterpiece PBS series The Durrells in Corfu.
When the unconventional Durrell family can no longer endure the damp, gray English climate, they do what any sensible family would do: sell their house and relocate to the sunny Greek isle of Corfu. My Family and Other Animals was intended to embrace the natural history of the island but ended up as a delightful account of Durrell's family's experiences, from the many eccentric hangers-on to the ceaseless procession of puppies, toads, scorpions, geckoes, ladybugs, glowworms, octopuses, bats, and butterflies into their home.
Author Notes
Gerald Durrell was born on January 7, 1925 in Jamshedpur, India to British parents. After the death of his father in 1928, the family lived in England and Europe before settling in Corfu, where he spent much of his childhood. Educated by private tutors, he became interested in natural history and amassed a private collection of dozens of creatures from scorpions to owls. He went on numerous wildlife expeditions and founded the Jersey Zoological Park and the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust with the purpose of breeding endangered species.
His first book, The Overloaded Ark, was published in 1953. He wrote 37 books during his lifetime including My Family and Other Animals, The Bafut Beagles, A Zoo in My Luggage, Rosy Is My Relative, and The Mockery Bird. He received the Order of the British Empire in 1982 and was featured in the United Nations' Roll of Honor for Environmental Achievement in 1988. He died from complications related to a liver transplant on January 30, 1995 at the age of 70.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (1)
Guardian Review
"'Why doesn't somebody do something?' asked Larry, raising his voice above the uproar. 'This is like a scene from Uncle Tom's Cabin.'" A few pages later, the imperious eldest brother accuses their mother of bringing them all up to be selfish. When she protests that she's done nothing of the sort, Larry sniffs, "Well we didn't get this selfish without some guidance." The enduring joy of the book resides in reading about a bohemian family when you have never been part of one yourself (see also Noel Streatfeild's Ballet Shoes and I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith). One night I laughed so hard I slipped out of bed, whacking my head on the nightstand, after which I waited for the stars to subside and continued to read. Night after night we shared tales of Quasimodo, the walking pigeon, or Achilles, the tortoise (stumbling off "at top speed" to eat wild strawberries in private), Margo insisting that "a change is as good as a feast" and, funniest of all, the outrageous Larry -- comparing his mother's new bathing costume to "a badly skinned whale" and christening [Gerald Durrell]'s handmade boat the Bootle Bumtrinket. It's great that ITV is showing The Durrells so a new generation can meet this family of talented oddballs but read the book before you watch it Growing up in America, my only association with the Durrell family involved Lawrence and a beautiful set of The Alexandria Quartet on my parents' bookshelves. In the 1960s, when my family moved in moderately intellectual Boston circles, I spent a bookish childhood nosing into novels I couldn't possibly understand. I picked up Justine when I was 12, about the time the Anouk Aimee/ Dirk Bogarde film came out. Book and film both promised sexual enchantment, risque pleasures, the sultry mysteries of Cairo. So I dived in, expecting enlightenment, titillation, adult pleasures -- all of which failed to materialise. I remember the frustration of trying to make sense of Durrell's adult prose. Worse, this sexually progressive (ie, obscene) novel seemed to have no sex scenes in it. I never revisited The Alexandria Quartet, though I am tempted to do so now. Fast forward to 2008. My daughter is nearly 11, her academic talents scientific and mathematical, her desire to pick up a book limited. So I read to her even though she has begun to feel too old for the ritual. But now, with sharp sorrow, I realised that the biological clock on our reading time together was running out. So I searched for a book smart and funny enough to eke out a few more months. On my husband's recommendation, we decided to try My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell -- because we both love animal stories (and had recently finished a long, happy spell of James Herriot) and because word on the street was that it was funny. Funny turned out to be an understatement. The weeks passed in a haze of glorious hilarity. We were lost from the moment the Durrells arrived in Corfu and piled into a horse-drawn cab. Pursued through the streets by 24 howling dogs "in a solid panting wedge", they spectacularly failed to achieve the dignified, majestic entrance into town they so fervently desired. "'Why doesn't somebody do something?' asked Larry, raising his voice above the uproar. 'This is like a scene from Uncle Tom's Cabin.'" A few pages later, the imperious eldest brother accuses their mother of bringing them all up to be selfish. When she protests that she's done nothing of the sort, Larry sniffs, "Well we didn't get this selfish without some guidance." It was at that moment the penny dropped: Larry (whose voice I interpreted as a painful combination of David Niven and Frankie Howerd) was the future Lawrence, the impenetrable darling of the moderately intellectual Boston set. And thus was his connection with my family sealed. I rejoiced, as if in discovery of a long-lost relation. The start of a new prime-time TV dramatisation can only be a good thing if it introduces a new generation to this family of talented oddballs, but it will have to work hard to reach the heights of Durrell's comic masterpiece. The enduring joy of the book resides in reading about a bohemian family when you have never been part of one yourself (see also Noel Streatfeild's Ballet Shoes and I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith). One night I laughed so hard I slipped out of bed, whacking my head on the nightstand, after which I waited for the stars to subside and continued to read. Night after night we shared tales of Quasimodo, the walking pigeon, or Achilles, the tortoise (stumbling off "at top speed" to eat wild strawberries in private), Margo insisting that "a change is as good as a feast" and, funniest of all, the outrageous Larry -- comparing his mother's new bathing costume to "a badly skinned whale" and christening Gerald's handmade boat the Bootle Bumtrinket. So while I sincerely wish the TV adaptation well, I do so with one qualification: if you haven't had the pleasure of reading the book, preferably with a child, please do so first. * The Durrells is on ITV on Sunday nights at 8pm. To order My Family and Other Animals for [pound]6.39 (RRP [pound]7.99) go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over [pound]10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of [pound]1.99. - Meg Rosoff.
Table of Contents
The Speech for the Defence | p. xi |
Part 1 The Migration | p. 3 |
1 The Unsuspected Isle | p. 7 |
2 The Strawberry-Pink Villa | p. 17 |
3 The Rose-Beetle Man | p. 27 |
4 A Bushel of Learning | p. 40 |
5 A Treasure of Spiders | p. 50 |
6 The Sweet Spring | p. 63 |
Conversation | p. 75 |
Part 2 | |
7 The Daffodil-Yellow Villa | p. 83 |
8 The Tortoise Hills | p. 95 |
9 The World in a Wall | p. 110 |
10 The Pageant of Fireflies | p. 123 |
11 The Enchanted Archipelago | p. 137 |
12 The Woodcock Winter | p. 151 |
Conversation | p. 169 |
Part 3 | |
13 The Snow-White Villa | p. 177 |
14 The Talking Flowers | p. 191 |
15 The Cyclamen Woods | p. 205 |
16 The Lake of Lilies | p. 220 |
17 The Chessboard Fields | p. 236 |
18 An Entertainment with Animals | p. 252 |
The Return | p. 271 |