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My Family and Other Animals is the story of the adventurous time Durrell and his family spent on the island of Corfu during his childhood. Worn down by the miserable English weather, Gerry's family takes the unusual step - for a 1930s British family - of moving somewhere hotter. Treated to the sunshine of Greece with its array of flora and fauna, young Gerald is in a budding naturalist's utopia, with the added bonus of being able to observe the unusual creatures known as his relatives. His placid mother, gun-obsessed brother Leslie, angst and acne-plagued sister Margo, and eldest brother the irascible author Larry put on a dazzling display of human quirk, and combine with strays such as Spiro the local taxi-driver to brilliant comic effect. Animal and human life combine in this beautiful, timelessly entertaining memoir.… (plus d'informations)
MiaCulpa: "Beasts in my Belfry" is the sequel to "My family and other animals". "Beasts ..." doesn't have the same laugh out loud quality as "My family ..." but you can't read one without reading the other.
Charming memories of the idyllic years that Gerald Durrell spent as a boy in Corfu with his family. Not being an animal enthusiast, I found some of the description of the fauna and flora a bit boring, but when describing the antics of his family, the Greek natives and the chaos that Gerry's animals cause it can be quite amusing. I'm sure the author has taken some licenses with the facts to make them more funny, but that's OK. That time clearly was a lost Golden Age for the author, full of freedom. ( )
Not the book I remember enjoying as a child. This is.... not great now. It doesn't hold up well over the years, nor does it hold up well to an adult reader. ( )
I read My Family and Other Animals as part of the January CalendarCAT. It has been on the Kindle for a long time as part of a compendium of all three books. But, I'm counting them one at a time.
I had seen the PBS series about the Durrells and Corfu and enjoyed it. Durrell's memoir is fun: full of the curiosity and free spirit of the young boy he was and, it seemed, probably still was in his old age. I don't quite understand the propensity to capture and cage wild animals but I suppose that is how naturalists learn. Another interesting tidbit came via Wikipedia: Durrell's brother was well-known novelist Lawrence Durrell who was married and brought his wife with him to Corfu. Gerald fails to mention Nancy. Meanwhile, in his own fictional version, Durrell only mentions brother Leslie, ignoring Gerald and his mother and sister. I could only think, "Recollections may vary."
It was fun and I will eventually read the other two. ( )
Informations provenant du Partage des connaissances anglais.Modifiez pour passer à votre langue.
"It is a melancholy of mine own, compounded of many simples, extracted from many objects, and indeed the sundry contemplation of my travels, which, by often rumination, wraps me in a most humorous sadness."--As You Like It
Dédicace
Informations provenant du Partage des connaissances anglais.Modifiez pour passer à votre langue.
To My Mother
Premiers mots
Informations provenant du Partage des connaissances anglais.Modifiez pour passer à votre langue.
This is the story of a five-year sojourn that I and my family made on the Greek island of Corfu.
Citations
Informations provenant du Partage des connaissances anglais.Modifiez pour passer à votre langue.
From that moment I guarded the nest jealously. I erected a protecting wall of rocks round it, and as an additional precaution I wrote out a notice in red ink and stuck it on a pole nearby as a warning to the family. The notice read: "BEWAR - EARWIG NEST - QUIAT PLESE." It was only remarkable in that the two correctly spelt words were biological ones.
Gradually the magic of the island settled over us as gently and clingingly as pollen. Each day had a tranquility, a timelessness, about it, so that you wished it would never end. But then the dark skin of night would peel off and there would be a fresh day waiting for us, glossy and colorful as a child's transfer and with the same tinge of unreality.
'But how did the scorpions get on the table, dear?’ 'That bloody boy. . . . Every matchbox in the house is a deathtrap. . . . '
Mother, looking like a tiny, harassed missionary in an uprising, was dragged unwillingly to the nearest lamp-post by an exuberant Roger, and was forced to stand there, staring into space, while he relieved the pent-up feelings that had accumulated in his kennel.
Derniers mots
Informations provenant du Partage des connaissances anglais.Modifiez pour passer à votre langue.
My Family and Other Animals is the story of the adventurous time Durrell and his family spent on the island of Corfu during his childhood. Worn down by the miserable English weather, Gerry's family takes the unusual step - for a 1930s British family - of moving somewhere hotter. Treated to the sunshine of Greece with its array of flora and fauna, young Gerald is in a budding naturalist's utopia, with the added bonus of being able to observe the unusual creatures known as his relatives. His placid mother, gun-obsessed brother Leslie, angst and acne-plagued sister Margo, and eldest brother the irascible author Larry put on a dazzling display of human quirk, and combine with strays such as Spiro the local taxi-driver to brilliant comic effect. Animal and human life combine in this beautiful, timelessly entertaining memoir.
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Description du livre
De courts chapitres dissèquent avec humour et légèreté la vie aristocratique sans pesanteur d'une famille anglaise, qui séjourne sur l'île de Corfou. Le frère de l'auteur, Lawrence est l'écrivain bien connu. GD ne le ménage pas, dans son tableau familial. Paresseux, prétentieux, jouant un rôle : un vilain aristo. C'est la mère de ces deux enfants qui mérite particulièrement l'attention du lecteur. Esclave digne et consentante de sa progéniture, elle flotte sur leurs caprices et tient son rang. Une espèce en voie de disparition et fort mal protégée ! Quand à GD, son intérêt pour la zoologie va être à l'origine des aventures cocasses que cette famille vivra à Corfou. Attention aux serpents dans la baignoire, à l'albatros écorcheur, aux mantes avides, aux scorpions en forte expansion, etc. Le pire est au programme, mais avec légèreté, humour et distance de bon ton.