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My Family & Other Animals (Corfu Trilogy)

4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 · rating details · 9,419 ratings · 816 reviews

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 ec...more

Paperback, 387 pages

Published November 1st 2006 by Puffin Books (first published 1956)

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My Family & Other Animals by Gerald Durrell

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May 28, 2012 Jonathan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: personal-favourites, classic-literature, biographical, humorous

I went back and decided to write a review on this non-fictional novel/memoir (not all events are fully true I believe) which is considered by some to be a modern classic.

I remember finding a box of Gerald Durrell stories on the shelf as a twelve year old and reading them in luxury. They captivated me as Durrell told the story of his childhood in Corfu hunting animals. Not only was it full of interesting facts about the animals he caught but also about the people in his life. Told with wit, humo...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Bettie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: re-read, radio-4x, autumn-2012, families, autobiography-memoir, nonfiction, greece, amusing, published-1956

Re-read via the BBC

Naturalist Gerald Durrell's magical 1930s childhood with his eccentric family on the Greek island of Corfu. Stars Celia Imrie.

1956 - such a good year!

6 likes · like · see review

Jan 04, 2008 Aleksandra rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pure-joy

The first from te trilogy and the first of Durrel I've ever read. No words can match my love for this author and his immense sense of humor, pure and light, nothing topical or burning beneath. I remember vividly laughing out loud on the streets and on buses while reading it, so wisely consider your reading spot! Howling of laughter in public places might cause you troubles, but the best part - you won't care a bit and will always consider it worthy!

18 likes · like · see review

Oct 19, 2012 Anne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-group

I just read this again in October 2012 as it was a selection for our book group. Even the third time around, this book has not lost its charm. Durrell's keen powers of observation extend not only to his beloved natural world but also are trained on the eccentricities of his family, their friends, and the people he encounters on Corfu like Spiro, who takes the family in hand when they first arrive and “Like a great, brown ugly angel he watched over us as tenderly as though we were slightly weak-m...more I just read this again in October 2012 as it was a selection for our book group. Even the third time around, this book has not lost its charm. Durrell's keen powers of observation extend not only to his beloved natural world but also are trained on the eccentricities of his family, their friends, and the people he encounters on Corfu like Spiro, who takes the family in hand when they first arrive and “Like a great, brown ugly angel he watched over us as tenderly as though we were slightly weak-minded children."

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

Mother: “I do wish you wouldn't argue with me when I'm knitting.”

“‎'All we need is a book,' roared Leslie; 'don't panic, hit 'em with a book.”

“We stared at the odd garment and wondered what it was for. 'What is it?' asked Larry at length. 'It's a bathing costume, of course,' said Mother. 'What on earth did you think it was?' 'It looks like a badly skinned whale,' said Larry, peering at it closely.”

Larry: “I can't be expected to produce deathless prose in an atmosphere of gloom and eucalyptus.”

“I ask you! Isn’t it laughable that future generations should be deprived of my work simply because some horny-handed idiot has tied that stinking beast of burden near my window?” Larry asked.

“Oh , Mother, don’t be so old-fashioned,” Margo said impatiently. “After all, you only die once.” This remark was as baffling as it was true, and successfully silenced Mother.

***
I was recently asked to name some of my all-time favorite books and this is one of them. A terrific memoir of a life that must have been absolute perfection for a 10-year-old boy. I was filled with delight and pure pleasure while reading this. The synopsis below gives you an overview.
***
Synopsis:
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, including the many eccentric hangers-on. The human comedy is interspersed by descriptions of the animal life which Gerald observes on his expeditions around the family homes, island, and seashore and which he frequently brings back and keeps as pets--puppies, toads, scorpions, geckoes, ladybugs, glowworms, octopuses, bats, and butterflies. (less)

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Dec 20, 2007 Carrie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a wonderful account of a 10-year old boy's childhood years on the greek island of Corfu after his family moves there from England in the 1930s. The boy is a rabid naturalist, and is always collecting poisonous, slithering, leggy, and/or hostile creatures home (much to his family's dismay) to study and keep as pets. Parts of the book are laugh-out-loud funny, especially descriptions of the antics of his bizarre family members.
One thing did keep nagging me throughout the book- I kept thin...more

6 likes · like · see review

Jan 03, 2011 Melody rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: comfort-read, favorites

1/2010 Review:
I inhabit this book. I walk through the olive groves and swim in the crystal seas of pre-war Corfu. I think I can never go to Greece because of this book. I would want the taxis to be horse-drawn, and the small boys to be ranging freely about the island.

I love so much about this book it's hard to pick and choose. I love that Gerry was so devoted to animals from the very beginning. I love the self-centered, irascible Larry (who grew into the genius Lawrence Durrell). I love Mother,...more

11 likes · like · see review

Feb 05, 2011 Loederkoningin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: furry-and-less-furry-animals, was-a-present, the-great-k-and-k-shelf, heartwarming

So very amusing and heartwarming. I wish I'd come across My Family and Other Animals when I was little! I enjoyed Gerald's explorations and fascinating descriptions of nature and its creatures, combined with hilarious family dynamics. The asthmatic guest and his horse-blanket, Margo kissing a pair of mummified feet or the incident with mommy-the-scorpion..
I never particularly cared for Corfu before, but it seems like the most magical place on earth to me now.

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Oct 17, 2012 Auntjenny rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Although I really enjoyed the descriptions of many of the people and animals Gerry encountered during his time on the island of Corfu, I was not a fan of his eldest brother Larry. In fact, I wish I could go back in time and tell Larry: "Be nicer to your mother. Stop making fun of women. Oh, and P.S., it is your little brother Gerry's books about animals that will be remembered, not your books about sex." And I could be wrong about that-- maybe a lot of people DO know about Lawrence Durrel...? Re...more

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Sep 01, 2007 Nico rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: intelligent, curious children & adults

I read and carried with me everywhere Durrell's "My Family..." as a child. Growing up in Cyprus and Tuscany, I sympathised endlessly with the plights of the family abroad, and crawling through olive groves and overgrown streams, spending the day wandering through valleys forgotten by my family (who were drunk at the picnic table) allowed me to not become Gery Durrell but to become friends with him. Beyond how it related to myself, it is a hilarious and brilliant tale of moving to Corfu between t...more

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Sep 30, 2007 Amanda Arra rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It is sad to me that many of this author's books are out of print. This book is not. Gerald Durrell is dead now, but his influence on wildlife conservation is really beyond measure. He coined the term "extinction is forever", and was the first to champion captive breeding as a way to preserve species so that they can be reintroduced into the wild. He wrote books to support his causes, and travelled the world over to study animals and educate the public about them. This book is about his childhoo...more

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May 04, 2013 Hasnain Bahleem added it · review of another edition

Just saying i will bask this book with my utter adulation of how wonderfully ebullient was my experience with this book.As usual i being my boring self picked up this book which was basicallt under the possession of my Brother,and was part of his curriculam. My brother hadn't thought much about this book and thought of it as insipid and drab.I think it's human nature that when somebody declares that something is really bad we might just fabricate the same point of view, but luckily my tenuous se...more Just saying i will bask this book with my utter adulation of how wonderfully ebullient was my experience with this book.As usual i being my boring self picked up this book which was basicallt under the possession of my Brother,and was part of his curriculam. My brother hadn't thought much about this book and thought of it as insipid and drab.I think it's human nature that when somebody declares that something is really bad we might just fabricate the same point of view, but luckily my tenuous self picked up this book.
let me just make it quite lucid and clear,it was a marvel in disguise, a perfect combination of warmth and humor.
I had my interests behind greece for a very long time but mainly focused on the rituals and the ancient mythology surrounding it, But this little island of corfu made me fall in love with whole of greece itself.
the basic outline of the story is a british family goes on a sojourn to a small greek island of corfu to escape the lugubrious weather of england.
This family is very Odd by all means. and i mean is very good and entertaining way, every character is precise and is a story on its own and in my sense they put the actual humor in this book.
I just absolutely craved those parts where the family comes in. They are Hilarious and the conversations are funny as it gets.The animals gives this something to look forward too. they make this book evocative and a fun read. A whole of convocation of gerry's pets are undeniably unbelievable i mean my family would by all means never allow me to house animals such as
a turtle named achilles
a pigeon
three dogs widdle, roger and puke
an owl
two sea snakes
and a gull named alecko
this completely shows how this book is called my family and other animals, the animals give meaning to this book they make it alive.
Filled with evocative anecdotes and witty humor my family and other animals has its own sensible touch to sense of humor which perfectly blends with the bewitching people and sights of greece described so ornamentally. very interesting and engraving my family and other animals delivers what it offers and if you can manage the spare time its a must read.(less)

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Feb 17, 2013 Boris Limpopo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Durrell, Gerald (1956). La mia famiglia e altri animali (trad. A. Motti). Milano: Adelphi. 2012. ISBN 9788845907333. Pagine 352. 10,00 €

amazon.com

Tra le mie abitudini più inveterate c’è quella (decadente, sibaritica, huysmaniano-dannunziana) di passare una parte consistente della mattina della domenica immerso in una vasca da bagno colma d’acqua calda. Ammetto anche che, da parecchi anni ormai, stiamo parlando di una jacuzzi (non hollywoodiana, ma parva sed apta mihi). Non faccio il bagno per la...more

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Dec 03, 2012 PAPER/PLATES rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The story of how I came to read My Family and Other Animals is a pretty cute one. Last year, I was regularly reviewing South Asian books and, while I enjoyed them immensely, needed a break from the Subcontinent. Desiring to know a different part of the world, I sent a missive out to the great unknown abyss known as Twitter, requesting a good Greek title. Quickly, a person I’d never met and have never heard from since recommended this book. I bought it online on a whim and raced through it over t...more

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Sep 28, 2012 Noodles rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: comedy, nature

This book is a classic, and deserves to be.
I was a huge Durrell fan as a kid and have most of his books about various crazy animal collecting expeditions.
This was the first one I've come back to re-read as an adult, and it wasn't a disappointment, though wasn't as consistently funny as I remembered.
It's the first part of the story of his childhood in Corfu. The people all seem so mad and exaggerated you wonder whether it could possibly be true! But you can't ruin it by thinking things like that,...more

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Aug 27, 2012 Ileen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, scrittori-inglesi

Gerald Durrell nella sua fantastica infanzia ha passato 5 anni a Corfù. Gerry arriva sull'isola con la sua famiglia composta dalla mamma, due fratelli ed una sorella. Gerry è il minore e pertanto cresce libero in mezzo alla natura rigogliosa del'isola greca a caccia di insetti, farfalle, tartarughe, insomma a caccia di qualsiasi animale strisci, cammini, voli o semplicemente ronzi. Tutto lo affascina e niente lo trattiene dal portarsi nuovi amici a varie zampe a casa (accolti con la beenvolenza...more

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Feb 12, 2012 Esdaile rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: biographies

An all time favourite for many people. Hardly "great literature" although if one looks closely, the writing is more sophisticated than one might think at first glance. Anyway, that is not the point, the point is that here is a person who cares deeply about animals and also about people. For all his scepticism and cynicism, he is also a freind of human beings, but not at all of the mdoern world that Homo sapiens is creating with so little room for non-human species.

This book is an account, a tru...more

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Oct 31, 2011 Hyarrowen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: animals, biography, humour

I first read this book several decades ago, and it has lost none of its charm on this latest of many re-reads – but now I can fully appreciate the quality of the writing! It’s demoralising to realise that Mr Durrell wrote this book – his first - when he was in his mid-thirties, and that for fifty years it has never been out of print. A wonderful record of the sort of golden childhood that most of us never experienced, and that Mr Durrell has been kind enough to share with the world.

Driven from...more I first read this book several decades ago, and it has lost none of its charm on this latest of many re-reads – but now I can fully appreciate the quality of the writing! It’s demoralising to realise that Mr Durrell wrote this book – his first - when he was in his mid-thirties, and that for fifty years it has never been out of print. A wonderful record of the sort of golden childhood that most of us never experienced, and that Mr Durrell has been kind enough to share with the world.

Driven from 1930s England by ghastly summer weather, the Durrell family, Lawrence, Leslie, Margo, Gerry and their mother, migrate to the idyllic island of Corfu, on the strength of a recommendation by one of Larry’s friends. Here they can all indulge their eccentricities to the full in the strawberry-pink, daffodil-yellow and snow-white villas which they successively inhabit. Gerry, with his passion for animals of all description, ranging from charming sea-horses to scorpions lurking in match-boxes, drives the rest of the family to distraction; and yet Larry the ambitious young author, Margo (perpetually crossed in love) and Leslie and his vast collection of guns more than hold their own as characters.

Gerry’s love of nature had manifested itself in earliest childhood, and it shines clearly through in every page of this book. He has an eye for landscapes, a talent for description, and even inanimate objects like fallen leaves or autumn clouds are given life and characters of their own. The ‘other animals’ – his partner in crime, Roger the dog, Geronimo the gecko and of course the Magenpies, as well as many others, are as vividly realised as the procession of guests wished on them by Larry, or the Corfiotes with their great zest for life.

On this latest re-read, I was able to sympathise more fully with Mrs Durrell than I ever did before, presiding over her wayward brood’s adventures with only slightly ruffled calm: that woman must have had nerves of steel!

The BBC did a superb adaptation of the book a few years ago, very faithful but with a sense of gathering storm-clouds which passed young Gerry by; also highly recommended.(less)

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Oct 04, 2011 Stephen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What a fantastic book! Highly recommended..

I listened to the audiobook version after it came up on quite a few "best biography" lists on Amazon. I must say that I had seen the book floating around for a few years and knew that it was a bit of a classic, but I'd always ignored it thinking that it would be slightly dull and antiquated. How wrong I was!

Firstly, the manner in which Durrell writes is simply astonishing. His descriptions are absolutely brilliant, and bring the scenery and fauna of Cor...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Beth Bonini rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This classic book is thought of as a young adult book, and I have yet to see a copy of it that doesn't have a juvenile cover. And yes, the narrator is the young Gerald Durrell (age 10 when the book begins). However, these are reminiscences of a childhood very much shaped by an adult mind. Witty, irreverent in tone, and as full of rich and varied vocabulary as it is of Corfu wildlife, I can't help but think that adults will probably appreciate it much more than children. Still, it is the perfect...more

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Jun 06, 2011 Janette Fleming rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of my comfort reads....fell in love with it again when looking for a piece of humourous fiction for a literature event.

"Dodo was a breed known as a Dandy Dinmont. They look like long, fat, hair-covered balloons, with minute bow legs, enormous and protuberant eyes, and long flopping ears. Strangely enough it was due to Mother that this curious misshapen breed of dog made its appearance among us.
A friend of ours had a pair of these beasts which had suddenly (after years of barrenness) produc...more

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May 01, 2011 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

I read Durrell's The Aye-Aye and I a couple of years ago and LOVED it and always meant to read more of his books, but this is the first time I've returned to him since then. I was under the mistaken impression that the "family" in this story would be Durrell and his wife and children, but it's actually a memoir about his childhood years on the Greek island of Corfu. Durrell's books focus on animals and travels, but he injects a lot of humor into his storytelling, too, and this book and its cast...more

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Mar 31, 2011 Christine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I cannot believe how long I had this book on my shelf without reading it...years! First of all, I did not realize it was an autobiography. That would have made me pick it up much sooner. As would having read the back which alludes to how humorous it is. It is about Gerry and his mom and older siblings moving to sunny Corfu. The people in the books from the family to the peasants are delightful! Many animals are personified as well and added to the family - Widdle and Puke (pups), Quasimodo the p...more

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Jan 25, 2010 Renee rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is a sheer delight, from beginning to end. Gerald Durrell moved with his widowed mother (she insisted, he tells us, that he add that she was a widow, for "you never know what people might think") and three rather eccentric siblings to a Greek island for a time. That they did so more or less on a whim is in itself telling of their way of living together as a family and viewing the world. Endlessly fascinating are not only the delightful squabbles and the constant presence of members of...more

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Sep 20, 2009 Sofia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: naturalist, own-it

Utterly delightful autobiography of Gerald Durrell's (English naturalist and brother of author Lawrence Durrell) childhood in Corfu. The author has a humourus way of explaining situations that are funny per se, making fun of himself and his whole family in the process.
I was so captured by his quirkyness that I went on reading more or less everything he wrote.
His funniest books are perhaps those about how he came to collect animals for his own zoo and the whole establishing of that zoo (A Zoo in...more

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Sep 29, 2007 Virginia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The dude is funny, and I learned a TON about bugs and animals.

He started my obsession with National Geographic magazine (because of the articles on bugs and animals), caused me to have a gigantic crush on him (until I found out he was like, 75 when I was 16), and made me desperate to visit the island of Corfu.

The only unfortunate side effect of reading him is that I felt obligated to pick up Lawrence Durrell's books, and boy was that ever a disappointment. Not funny at all.

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Mar 31, 2012 Cathy added it · review of another edition

Shelves: bookclub

While my childhood was nothing like that described in Durrell's novel it did remind me of long Summer days exploring dry creek bed and bush. Gerry's explorations were a lot damper in general, more densely populated, and he got away with bringing a lot more of the wildlife home than my sisters and I ever did.

The book is pleasant to read in a nostalgic sort of way, and is full of fascinating characters and 'scrapes' but I could not drum up the immense enthusiasm that others online seem to feel fo...more

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Jul 31, 2011 Androcles rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: inspirational, travel

I read this book when I was in my early teens. It was instrumental in
setting my compass on a journey much travelled since then. It opened my
eyes to the pleasures of reading. It made me fall in love with the Greek Islands and set the scene for dozens of trips there in the years to follow. It confirmed and stimulated my love of nature and wild-life. More than anything in the world I wanted (at the time) to become an animal collector - and travel to exotic places. My imagination was set on fire. It...more

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Mar 17, 2011 Poonam rated it 4 of 5 stars

Gerald Durrel's book is account of his family's 5-year stay in Greek island of Corfu. The strength of this book is detailed, almost lyrical writing that lets you visualize the scene just as it may have been. Book is seasoned with humorous events of his family members each with their eccentric habits and characteristics and peccadilloes of his queer variety of pets.

I can only imagine from the account of book, that 10-year-old Gerry's room was a menagerie of sorts (of course, to the exasperation o...more

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May 03, 2010 Lynn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've read and re-read this many times over the years and it still draws me in. He gives an evocative description of his childhood spent exploring Corfu after his somewhat eccentric mother decided on a whim that she had had enough of England and rain. All things told it is probably as well that his mother was as loosely-tethered to normality as she was given Gerald tended to bring home anything that moved, one brother was a drama queen and the other was somewhat gun obsessed, his sister was prone...more

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Jan 12, 2013 Rosemary rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My Family and Other Animals is a delightful account of Gerald Durrell's childhood sojourn on the Greek island of Corfu in the years prior to World War II. Durrell, a British subject who became a well known and respected zoologist and animal conservationist, was 10 years old when the family first took up residence. He spent a great deal of time roaming around with his dog Roger, collecting various animals that alternately charmed and horrified his gentle mother, his brother Larry (the novelist La...more

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About Gerald Durrell

Gerald Durrell was born in India in 1925. His family settled on Corfu when Durrell was a boy and he spent his time studying its wildlife. He relates these experiences in the trilogy beginning with My Family and Other Animals, and continuing with Birds, Beasts and Relatives and The Garden of the Gods. In his books he writes with wry humour and great perception about both the humans and the animals...more

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Birds, Beasts, and Relatives (Corfu Trilogy, #2)

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