My Family and Other Animals

This is a delightful book best read in the summer while sipping a cool drink (or, in my case, a tiramisu-flavored bubble tea). While some may recognise the name Durrell from the Alexandria Quartet, this is by no means a complex account of that magnitude.

Written by Gerald Durrell, a renowned naturalist, this book tells of his family exchanging the dust and dreariness of 1930s England for the sea, sands and sun of Corfu. I expected a boring read, punctuated by needlessly detailed accounts of flora and fauna at every turn and was pleasantly disappointed.

From the start, Gerald, or 'Gerry' as his family called him then, engages with the reader effortlessly. Introducing us to his family is done with great description and humour, via instances such as what each family member packed on their move to Corfu. This is carried on throughout the book, resulting in readers commiserations with his long-suffering mother and laughing with him at his elder sister and her frequent train of suitors.

In between the colourful descriptions of family doings, Gerry finds time to describe some of the insect, plant and animal life he observes. He takes us on trips together with his dog, Roger, and together, we explore the marshes for snakes, the walls around his villa for scorpions and the islands around the coast of Corfu for porpoises. We laugh together at the antics of the many pets he brings home; from Achilles the tortoise who 'waddled down the garden path with a bemused look of goodwill' to Geronimo the gecko who fought a ferocious battle with a praying mantis.

Light reading at its best, and a must for plant and animal lovers. Myself being not much of either, it managed to draw me in with the many cheery descriptions of friends and family, a healthy dose of humour, and some of the most engaging depictions of nature I have read in a long while. A book with much in common with Three Men In A Boat.

As a side note, if anyone is interested in getting a copy, try for one with illustrations by Paul Cox, which really bring life to the words.