On leaving Corfu he returned to England to work on the staff of Whipsnade Park as a student keeper. In his books he writes with wry humour and great perception about both the humans and the animals he meets. 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. His family settled on Corfu when Durrell was a boy and he spent his time studying its wildlife. His elder siblings are Lawrence Durrell, Leslie Durrell, and Margaret Durrell. The menagerie was so wonderful.Gerald "Gerry" Malcolm Durrell was born in India in 1925. And the names of the “two” left out of the t.v. I lost my heart, yet again, to Leslie–just like in the t.v.
I loved, too, the way Mother lets them all get on with it, but has an occasional “Do you think that wise, Dear?” Sort of admonishment when necessary. I loved that they gathered to read their mail–having to read parts aloud to make them even more enjoyable. What a delightful book!! A “normal” family who squabble, talk over each other, but care fiercely for each other. The family is wonderfully eccentric! The “locals” in 1930’s un-woke parlance, are also an eccentric lot, as are the animals Jerry inevitably collects. His education on Corfu is the stuff that makes people dream of homeschooling their kids! But, in the 1930s, children COULD roam the entire island alone with only Roger the family dog (well, one of the family’s dogs) as a protector and chaperone. Jerry loves animals and on Corfu, he finds his vocation and occupation: natural history. Margot, 18, is beset by acne and boyfriends. Brother Leslie, is a gun loving “shooting” freak (shooting being British for American “hunting”). Larry, the eldest at 23, is trying to be a writer. His mother is a widow, his two older brothers are polar opposites. Imagine.)ġ0 year old Jerry is the youngest of the Durrell family. Nigel Havers–well, let’s not say why I clicked. (Forgive me, Nigel D, for seeing your name and reading Nigel Havers, and clicking “buy” instead of waiting till the 10th for my Audible credit.
I listened to Nigel Davenport’s performance of the book. “Jerry! Shovel…” is my make-me-giggle inside joke with myself from this series.Greece looms in a way this summer (I am not traveling), so I wanted to “read” this book now. shows as an all-time favorite of mine now. version, The Durrells of Corfu, which is right up there with the ORIGINAL All Creatures Great and Small (I like the new one love the old), As Time Goes Byand a few other British t.v. Somehow, this book escaped my notice until I watched the wonderful (if slightly modernized) t.v.
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