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Corfu Trilogy #1-3
The Corfu Trilogy: My Family and Other Animals; Birds, Beasts and Relatives; and The Garden of the Gods
The complete trilogy that inspired Masterpiece production The Durrells in Corfu in one volume.
The tales of a naturalist and his family, who left England for the Greek island of Corfu—where they interacted with fascinating locals of both human and animal varieties—these memoirs have become beloved bestsellers and inspired the delightful series that aired on PBS television.
Included in this three-book collection are:
My Family and Other Animals: Ten-year-old Gerald Durrell arrives on sun-drenched Corfu with this family and pursues his interest in natural history, making friends with the island’s fauna—from toads and tortoises to scorpions and geckos—while reveling in the joyous chaos of growing up in an unconventional household.
Birds, Beasts and Relatives: Written after a boyhood spent studying zoology, this memoir is part nature guide, part coming-of-age tale, and all charmingly funny memoir.
The Garden of the Gods: In the conclusion of the trilogy, Durrell shares more tales of wild animals and his even wilder family, including his mother, Louisa, and his siblings Lawrence, Leslie, and Margo, in the years before World War II.
“[Durrell’s] books have an unfailing charm. . . . It is a tribute to his skill that one never tires of his accounts” (Chicago Tribune).
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Gerald Durrell including rare photos from the author’s estate.
The tales of a naturalist and his family, who left England for the Greek island of Corfu—where they interacted with fascinating locals of both human and animal varieties—these memoirs have become beloved bestsellers and inspired the delightful series that aired on PBS television.
Included in this three-book collection are:
My Family and Other Animals: Ten-year-old Gerald Durrell arrives on sun-drenched Corfu with this family and pursues his interest in natural history, making friends with the island’s fauna—from toads and tortoises to scorpions and geckos—while reveling in the joyous chaos of growing up in an unconventional household.
Birds, Beasts and Relatives: Written after a boyhood spent studying zoology, this memoir is part nature guide, part coming-of-age tale, and all charmingly funny memoir.
The Garden of the Gods: In the conclusion of the trilogy, Durrell shares more tales of wild animals and his even wilder family, including his mother, Louisa, and his siblings Lawrence, Leslie, and Margo, in the years before World War II.
“[Durrell’s] books have an unfailing charm. . . . It is a tribute to his skill that one never tires of his accounts” (Chicago Tribune).
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Gerald Durrell including rare photos from the author’s estate.
768 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2006
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8019 people want to read
About the author
Gerald Durrell
229 books1,718 followersGerald "Gerry" Malcolm Durrell was born in India in 1925. His elder siblings are Lawrence Durrell, Leslie Durrell, and Margaret Durrell. His family settled on Corfu when Gerald 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 he meets.
On leaving Corfu he returned to England to work on the staff of Whipsnade Park as a student keeper. His adventures there are told with characteristic energy in Beasts In My Belfry. A few years later, Gerald began organising his own animal-collecting expeditions. The first, to the Cameroons, was followed by expeditions to Paraguay, Argentina and Sierra Leone. He recounts these experiences in a number of books, including The Drunken Forest. Gerald also visited many countries while shooting various television series, including An Amateur Naturalist. In 1958 Gerald Durrell realised a lifelong dream when he set up the Jersey Zoological Park, followed a few years later by the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust.
Gerald was married twice; Jacquie Durrell (1951-1979), Lee Durrell (1979-1995).
Gerald Durrell's style is exuberant, passionate and acutely observed. He died in 1995.
On leaving Corfu he returned to England to work on the staff of Whipsnade Park as a student keeper. His adventures there are told with characteristic energy in Beasts In My Belfry. A few years later, Gerald began organising his own animal-collecting expeditions. The first, to the Cameroons, was followed by expeditions to Paraguay, Argentina and Sierra Leone. He recounts these experiences in a number of books, including The Drunken Forest. Gerald also visited many countries while shooting various television series, including An Amateur Naturalist. In 1958 Gerald Durrell realised a lifelong dream when he set up the Jersey Zoological Park, followed a few years later by the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust.
Gerald was married twice; Jacquie Durrell (1951-1979), Lee Durrell (1979-1995).
Gerald Durrell's style is exuberant, passionate and acutely observed. He died in 1995.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 432 reviews
May 20, 2025
Many readers will be familiar with Durrell's "My Family and Other Animals", the autobiography he wrote in 1956 about his idyllic childhood in Corfu. The Corfu Trilogy includes two more books on the same theme "Birds, Beasts and Relatives" (1969) and "The Garden of the Gods" (1978). Presumably there must have been demand for more of the same since these publication dates are so wide apart, and Durrell had published numerous books in the interim, dealing with his animal exploits, all told in a very humorous way.
Given this, I was pleased to find the narrative to be seamless. One book of anecdotes flows naturally on from another - and he could have written more, since there is no real conclusion to "The Garden of the Gods". "My Family and Other Animals" on the other hand starts with a very amusing account of the reasons why the family emigrated, and most of the book takes place against a background of the various villas they moved to. The reasons for the house move are almost unbelievable. It is a mark of the author's skill that the reader is frequently carried along by the narrative, enjoying what seem to be incredible (or at least highly unlikely) episodes. This became his trademark writing style.
These three books are immensely readable because of the way the characters are depicted. All Durrell's family seem remarkably eccentric. His widowed mother with her vagueness, reminiscences of her earlier time in India and enthusiasm for all things culinary, seems perpetually bemused by the odd assortment of interests her children have. Larry was the oldest at 23, (Lawrence Durrell, of course, the literary novelist.) He insisted on inviting all and sundry to their home - poets, artists, musicians, Indian princes ... Anyone whom he had met on his travels and found interesting. He was frequently off on his travels again when they eventually visited. Leslie was nineteen, and only interested in guns and shooting. Durrell's sister Margo was 18. He describes her rather unkindly as being obsessed by her acne, her weight, and various fashion magazines. No doubt these are highly exaggerated versions, as are the wonderful Corfu characters they befriend and are befriended by. But it makes for a rich and hilarious tapestry of day-to-day events, which Durrell describes with great affection - and a keen eye for the ridiculous!
What makes these books unique - or at least the first of their kind - is that Durrell captures this highly coloured portrayal of the characters and places of his childhood, and intersperses it with absorbing accounts of the flora and fauna of Corfu. He clearly was fascinated by Nature from infancy, and his enthusiasm for the subject shines through every moment. Reading this book is an education about the wildlife of Corfu as well as being a vivid description of a young boy's determination to observe, learn, respect and collect everything he could about the natural world. Although he was only 10 years old in these novels, it goes a long way to explain what made Durrell the man he was. He is sadly missed for many reasons.
Given this, I was pleased to find the narrative to be seamless. One book of anecdotes flows naturally on from another - and he could have written more, since there is no real conclusion to "The Garden of the Gods". "My Family and Other Animals" on the other hand starts with a very amusing account of the reasons why the family emigrated, and most of the book takes place against a background of the various villas they moved to. The reasons for the house move are almost unbelievable. It is a mark of the author's skill that the reader is frequently carried along by the narrative, enjoying what seem to be incredible (or at least highly unlikely) episodes. This became his trademark writing style.
These three books are immensely readable because of the way the characters are depicted. All Durrell's family seem remarkably eccentric. His widowed mother with her vagueness, reminiscences of her earlier time in India and enthusiasm for all things culinary, seems perpetually bemused by the odd assortment of interests her children have. Larry was the oldest at 23, (Lawrence Durrell, of course, the literary novelist.) He insisted on inviting all and sundry to their home - poets, artists, musicians, Indian princes ... Anyone whom he had met on his travels and found interesting. He was frequently off on his travels again when they eventually visited. Leslie was nineteen, and only interested in guns and shooting. Durrell's sister Margo was 18. He describes her rather unkindly as being obsessed by her acne, her weight, and various fashion magazines. No doubt these are highly exaggerated versions, as are the wonderful Corfu characters they befriend and are befriended by. But it makes for a rich and hilarious tapestry of day-to-day events, which Durrell describes with great affection - and a keen eye for the ridiculous!
What makes these books unique - or at least the first of their kind - is that Durrell captures this highly coloured portrayal of the characters and places of his childhood, and intersperses it with absorbing accounts of the flora and fauna of Corfu. He clearly was fascinated by Nature from infancy, and his enthusiasm for the subject shines through every moment. Reading this book is an education about the wildlife of Corfu as well as being a vivid description of a young boy's determination to observe, learn, respect and collect everything he could about the natural world. Although he was only 10 years old in these novels, it goes a long way to explain what made Durrell the man he was. He is sadly missed for many reasons.
August 18, 2022
This lovely book just arrived from Bonn. Thank you so much dear TA!!
This trilogy is composed of the following books: My Family and Other Animals, Birds, Beasts and Relatives and The Garden of the Gods.
In this autobiography, the author describes the life of his family in the Greek island of Corfu , an island surrounded by several battles and conquests, including World War I and II.
Parga (a village in mainland Greece in Preveza, east of Corfu):
The author, being a naturalist, describes how his family’s daily life intertwined with the local landscape and culture and there is no way that the reader wouldn’t smile while reading this magic book.
In 1958 Durrell founded the Jersey Zoological Park (now Durrell Wildlife Park) to house his growing collection of animals. In 1963, he founded the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust (now Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust), on 6 July 1963 to cope with the increasingly difficult challenges of zoo, wildlife and habitat management.
Les Augrès Manor, Jersey - headquarters of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. Princess Anne has been a patron of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust for 40 years.
His brother, Lawrence Durrell was also a famous and well-known writer, mainly due to his masterpiece The Alexandria Quartet.
This trilogy is composed of the following books: My Family and Other Animals, Birds, Beasts and Relatives and The Garden of the Gods.
In this autobiography, the author describes the life of his family in the Greek island of Corfu , an island surrounded by several battles and conquests, including World War I and II.
Parga (a village in mainland Greece in Preveza, east of Corfu):
The author, being a naturalist, describes how his family’s daily life intertwined with the local landscape and culture and there is no way that the reader wouldn’t smile while reading this magic book.
In 1958 Durrell founded the Jersey Zoological Park (now Durrell Wildlife Park) to house his growing collection of animals. In 1963, he founded the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust (now Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust), on 6 July 1963 to cope with the increasingly difficult challenges of zoo, wildlife and habitat management.
Les Augrès Manor, Jersey - headquarters of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. Princess Anne has been a patron of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust for 40 years.
His brother, Lawrence Durrell was also a famous and well-known writer, mainly due to his masterpiece The Alexandria Quartet.
February 20, 2011
I have read and reread (several times) Gerald Durrell’s enchanting memoir My Family and Other Animals, and most of his other animal-collecting / Jersey Zoo tales but never until now the other two stories in the ‘Corfu Trilogy’, feeling, perhaps, that the first book could not really be outdone, and there was such a thing as too much of a good thing. The most immediate thing to happen, however, when I did finally pick up the amalgamated trilogy, was that it refreshed my appreciation for the first book, which I immediately went back and reread with renewed enthusiasm after reading the sequels.
Gerry’s family, the Greek cast of characters, and above all the tremendous influx of animals which young Gerry amasses, provides the author with more than enough material to fill three books without leaving the reader dissatisfied. I still feel that the charm and delight is stronger with the first book, but only because by the second we are thoroughly introduced and acquainted with the level of amiable chaos one can expect from any story involving the Durrells. If I had felt that perhaps the standard might be lower than the scorpions-in-the-matchbox scene which fixed My Family and Other Animals place as the best memoir I’d ever read, then I was proved wrong on more than one occasion (“How do you explain a bloody great bear in the drawing room?” – Larry Durrell, Birds, Beasts and Relatives). More to the point, Corfu doesn’t become over-described by Durrell’s revisited descriptions, but remains a bright, endlessly fascinating jewel of an island.
Is this a somewhat idealised view of a place and a life and group of people? Yes, absolutely. I think that’s why we love it; Durrell provides us with fact that is as endearing as fiction, perhaps overplayed sometimes, but nonetheless faithful to his childhood recollection. I think what I like most is that Durrell doesn’t apologise for his good fortune or his excellently eccentric family, doesn’t retroactively explain that attitudes to animal-collecting were different, or do anything but impart, with fondness and amusement, the highlights from the earliest days of his love-affair with animals which means that the reader is immersed in pure story, a memoir with no agenda but to entertain and enlighten.
Gerry’s family, the Greek cast of characters, and above all the tremendous influx of animals which young Gerry amasses, provides the author with more than enough material to fill three books without leaving the reader dissatisfied. I still feel that the charm and delight is stronger with the first book, but only because by the second we are thoroughly introduced and acquainted with the level of amiable chaos one can expect from any story involving the Durrells. If I had felt that perhaps the standard might be lower than the scorpions-in-the-matchbox scene which fixed My Family and Other Animals place as the best memoir I’d ever read, then I was proved wrong on more than one occasion (“How do you explain a bloody great bear in the drawing room?” – Larry Durrell, Birds, Beasts and Relatives). More to the point, Corfu doesn’t become over-described by Durrell’s revisited descriptions, but remains a bright, endlessly fascinating jewel of an island.
Is this a somewhat idealised view of a place and a life and group of people? Yes, absolutely. I think that’s why we love it; Durrell provides us with fact that is as endearing as fiction, perhaps overplayed sometimes, but nonetheless faithful to his childhood recollection. I think what I like most is that Durrell doesn’t apologise for his good fortune or his excellently eccentric family, doesn’t retroactively explain that attitudes to animal-collecting were different, or do anything but impart, with fondness and amusement, the highlights from the earliest days of his love-affair with animals which means that the reader is immersed in pure story, a memoir with no agenda but to entertain and enlighten.
September 23, 2014
I DIDN'T WANT THIS BOOK TO END.
I didn't even intend to read this book for pure enjoyment, but about two pages in I completely forgot about analysing it or looking at it as a student. I was laughing at and with the Durrell family in Corfu. It was bliss, a purer escape than any I have got near to recently. Funnily enough, I did notice some of Durrell's techniques: his way of keeping the narrator, aka himself, in the background, as an observer rather than a participant, was beautifully executed, especially in conversation when he was always quoted indirectly. His effervescent, almost Keatsian descriptions of Corfu's natural beauty was arresting, if a trifle lengthy in parts. I loved the way he endowed animals with humanoid personalities. And I loved the free. broad-spectrum madness the Durrell family embraced as their philosophy.
Uplifting, incredibly humorous and touching all at the same time, it was a wonderful read.
I didn't even intend to read this book for pure enjoyment, but about two pages in I completely forgot about analysing it or looking at it as a student. I was laughing at and with the Durrell family in Corfu. It was bliss, a purer escape than any I have got near to recently. Funnily enough, I did notice some of Durrell's techniques: his way of keeping the narrator, aka himself, in the background, as an observer rather than a participant, was beautifully executed, especially in conversation when he was always quoted indirectly. His effervescent, almost Keatsian descriptions of Corfu's natural beauty was arresting, if a trifle lengthy in parts. I loved the way he endowed animals with humanoid personalities. And I loved the free. broad-spectrum madness the Durrell family embraced as their philosophy.
Uplifting, incredibly humorous and touching all at the same time, it was a wonderful read.
July 9, 2018
Gerald Durell is a world famous naturalist who spent his childhood in the beautiful Greek island of Corfu with his family that consisted of his Mom,his brothers Lawrence (a writer himself) and Leslie , sister Margaret and not to mention also the menagerie of animals they kept as pets😃.This trilogy consists of his famous ,"My Family and other Animals", and it's sequels ,"Birds,Beasts and Relatives " and "The Garden of the Gods ".
Gerald Durell's writing shows us that this man loves nature and all its creations especially the animals with all his heart.There is so much he writes about them that as a reader ,you will find yourself marvelling at Gods creations and the wonder and complexity that nature is.I loved the part where he talks about two birds building nests and the different fashions in which they forage for food to feed their young ones.The stories have many humorous anecdotes about his family members that will keep you smiling throughout.
If you love stories about animals and if you are a nature lover ,don't miss this one❤️
Gerald Durell's writing shows us that this man loves nature and all its creations especially the animals with all his heart.There is so much he writes about them that as a reader ,you will find yourself marvelling at Gods creations and the wonder and complexity that nature is.I loved the part where he talks about two birds building nests and the different fashions in which they forage for food to feed their young ones.The stories have many humorous anecdotes about his family members that will keep you smiling throughout.
If you love stories about animals and if you are a nature lover ,don't miss this one❤️
June 1, 2018
My Family and Other Animals is still my overall favorite installment of this trilogy of memoirs from Gerald Durrell, but The Garden of the Gods, the third and final installment, still has its moments. It was so much fun being back with the Durrell family on Corfu and seeing everything they got up to - from Gerry, Larry, Leslie, Margo, to their Mother, and everyone really that comes into contact with them - and it's still just as hilarious. While Durrell is great at writing about nature, he's fantastic when it comes to writing about his family and being totally entertaining. It really makes you feel like you're visiting with long lost family or old friends. These memoirs make me want to visit the island myself to experience the flora and the fauna, and the people as well. If you like the tv series The Durrells in Corfu or the made for tv movie adaptation called My Family and Other Animals, then you'll absolutely have to try the original memoir trilogy.
July 27, 2012
I read 'My Family & Other Animals' at school, which led me to read other books by Mr.Durrell.
I remembered them with great affection and was thinking how much I'd like to read them again and one morning I got on the train to go to work and there sitting on an empty seat was this book 'The Corfu Trilogy'. Serendipitous!
So I got to go back to Corfu with Gerald and his maddeningly lovable family 30 years after i first went there.
It is pure escapism of the very best kind.
I remembered them with great affection and was thinking how much I'd like to read them again and one morning I got on the train to go to work and there sitting on an empty seat was this book 'The Corfu Trilogy'. Serendipitous!
So I got to go back to Corfu with Gerald and his maddeningly lovable family 30 years after i first went there.
It is pure escapism of the very best kind.
September 23, 2015
My new favorite! The first one is the best. He's very reminiscent of James Herriot for me, animals+humor+a certain kind of warmth that is very comforting. Books for when you are sick or sad or just need to feel good. Will definitely be buying a copy and re-reading through the years!
May 26, 2018
I picked up this trilogy while drowning in some fairly hefty reading and trying to finish my degree. My mum recommended it to me as a bit of light relief, and for that it was simply perfect. Light, charming and cheerful, Gerry's memoirs of his childhood chronicle the life of his eccentric family on the Greek island of Corfu. There's nothing deep here; the reasons for their eventual departure (war) are left unspoken, but then I don't think that's what you'd be after if you wanted to read this.
The three books that make up the trilogy are fairly episodic and are not told chronologically. It's more like reading multiple, self-contained vignettes. You could read the episodes or books fairly out of order and it would make little difference. I question how true to life these stories really are; a quick search on wiki suggests that Larry, Gerry's eldest brother, did not even live with the rest of his family, but rather with a wife who is not mentioned once in these memoirs. Indeed, Larry's presence in his younger brother's books is perhaps most obvious out of all the personalities on Corfu, so it's strange to think Gerry ignored any of Larry's absences. But no matter if this trilogy is fairly anecdotal, the reading experience is very enjoyable, all the same. Perhaps, reading the whole trilogy at once would be slightly repetitive, but it's comforting knowing what you going into, each time you pick up to continue reading.
Most of the focus is on young Gerry's intense animal obsession. While there's no obvious examples of animal cruelty, I did feel slightly sorry for some of the wild animals, who presumably were being captured against their will. In that respect, I think these books are very much of their time and, perhaps, Gerry's methods in exploration and discovery would not be so accepted nowadays, but, having said that, it's clear how his experiences on the island sparked such an intense passion in the young boy and his later career in animal conservation and zoology.
The trilogy is of its time in many other ways as well. In fact, it's somewhat dated in some of its descriptions of both the foreign visitors to the island and the "natives", but it remains funny and charming if you can overlook that. I'd recommend it to those in need of a lighter read and I'm glad I read it when I did.
The three books that make up the trilogy are fairly episodic and are not told chronologically. It's more like reading multiple, self-contained vignettes. You could read the episodes or books fairly out of order and it would make little difference. I question how true to life these stories really are; a quick search on wiki suggests that Larry, Gerry's eldest brother, did not even live with the rest of his family, but rather with a wife who is not mentioned once in these memoirs. Indeed, Larry's presence in his younger brother's books is perhaps most obvious out of all the personalities on Corfu, so it's strange to think Gerry ignored any of Larry's absences. But no matter if this trilogy is fairly anecdotal, the reading experience is very enjoyable, all the same. Perhaps, reading the whole trilogy at once would be slightly repetitive, but it's comforting knowing what you going into, each time you pick up to continue reading.
Most of the focus is on young Gerry's intense animal obsession. While there's no obvious examples of animal cruelty, I did feel slightly sorry for some of the wild animals, who presumably were being captured against their will. In that respect, I think these books are very much of their time and, perhaps, Gerry's methods in exploration and discovery would not be so accepted nowadays, but, having said that, it's clear how his experiences on the island sparked such an intense passion in the young boy and his later career in animal conservation and zoology.
The trilogy is of its time in many other ways as well. In fact, it's somewhat dated in some of its descriptions of both the foreign visitors to the island and the "natives", but it remains funny and charming if you can overlook that. I'd recommend it to those in need of a lighter read and I'm glad I read it when I did.
July 4, 2023
This was a perfect summer read. The descriptions of nature and the island of Corfu are beautiful. It really makes you feel like you’re there breathing in Mediterranean air (making me excited for the holiday to Verona eee!)
I’ve already read the first two books in the trilogy but they were just as delightful now as they were when I first read them. I still chuckled over the various family antics - which books very rarely make me do - the language and description of the reactions are so vivid, it honestly feels like the Durrells have welcomed the reader into their chaotic family.
The third book is much the same and I raced through it. Genuinely feel very bad for Leslie, a genuinely unlucky guy.
Interesting to note that as the series progresses less is devoted to descriptions of animals and more of a focus on his family instead.
I recommend to those in need of sunshine and good vibes.
I’ve already read the first two books in the trilogy but they were just as delightful now as they were when I first read them. I still chuckled over the various family antics - which books very rarely make me do - the language and description of the reactions are so vivid, it honestly feels like the Durrells have welcomed the reader into their chaotic family.
The third book is much the same and I raced through it. Genuinely feel very bad for Leslie, a genuinely unlucky guy.
Interesting to note that as the series progresses less is devoted to descriptions of animals and more of a focus on his family instead.
I recommend to those in need of sunshine and good vibes.
December 30, 2014
There are very few books I would read a second time let alone a third but this is one of those. My favourite book of all time.
March 8, 2022
"The Corfu Trilogy" is a superb homage to alcohol, sex and the Bohemian lifestyle . Although it is a shamelessly commercial project, it merits four stars because it is both a joy to read and a magnificent complement to the "Alexandria Quartet" the literary masterpiece written by the author's older brother Larry.
On the surface, the three books in the collection are mass market rubbish of the same ilk as James Herriot's animal stories. They describe the four years (1935-1939) that Gerald Durrell spent on Corfu arriving when he was 10 and leaving when he was 14. The second volume("Birds, Beasts and Relatives") ends with the outbreak of WWII in September 1939, The third volume ("The Garden of the Gods") ends with the return from exile of King George II of Greece in November 1935, Durrell's first year in Corfu.) There is no way to date the events of the first volume ("My Family and Other Animals") from the text.
Gerald Durrell appears to be amassing unrelated anecdotes in order to compile books for publication. The great saving grace is that the reader feels the author is sharing memories with him like those of Marcel Proust's Madeleine. While the animals are quite natural, the humans are arty and literary. The mixture is delightful.
Over the course of the three books the author reveals himself to highly manipulative. Together the two writers (Gerald and Lawrence) control the lives of their mother, their sister and the third brother. Ultimately Gerald came across to me like one of the devious and sly characters found in the "Alexandria Quartet".
On the surface, the three books in the collection are mass market rubbish of the same ilk as James Herriot's animal stories. They describe the four years (1935-1939) that Gerald Durrell spent on Corfu arriving when he was 10 and leaving when he was 14. The second volume("Birds, Beasts and Relatives") ends with the outbreak of WWII in September 1939, The third volume ("The Garden of the Gods") ends with the return from exile of King George II of Greece in November 1935, Durrell's first year in Corfu.) There is no way to date the events of the first volume ("My Family and Other Animals") from the text.
Gerald Durrell appears to be amassing unrelated anecdotes in order to compile books for publication. The great saving grace is that the reader feels the author is sharing memories with him like those of Marcel Proust's Madeleine. While the animals are quite natural, the humans are arty and literary. The mixture is delightful.
Over the course of the three books the author reveals himself to highly manipulative. Together the two writers (Gerald and Lawrence) control the lives of their mother, their sister and the third brother. Ultimately Gerald came across to me like one of the devious and sly characters found in the "Alexandria Quartet".
July 13, 2025
Staying put this summer, I decided I could take my vacation with this book, and it certainly didn't disappoint. I heard about it and the BBC adaptation from a lovely woman retired in Datça, living her best life. I read Durrell's biography on the internet, checked out the adaptation (I don't think I'll watch it) before I turned the first page.
Anyway, it felt great to read-live the life in Corfu through animals. I didn't mind the liberties Durrell took with the story, as it was told from a 10 year old boy's point of view.
My inner child -an 8-year old boy with scraped knees- was endlessly pleasant both with the exaggerations and the details, neither seemed to much.
That being said, I was thinking of a short vacation, and the first book swemed to be enough. Therefore I abandoned this book, with love.
Anyway, it felt great to read-live the life in Corfu through animals. I didn't mind the liberties Durrell took with the story, as it was told from a 10 year old boy's point of view.
My inner child -an 8-year old boy with scraped knees- was endlessly pleasant both with the exaggerations and the details, neither seemed to much.
That being said, I was thinking of a short vacation, and the first book swemed to be enough. Therefore I abandoned this book, with love.
July 21, 2018
Read during my high school years and really loved it. Made me want to travel.
April 5, 2020
Se estás farto desta maldita corentena e queres soñar co aire libre e a natureza nun terreo exótico como é unha illa grega, acompañado de personaxes un tanto peculiares, esta é a túa triloxía.
Na miña humilde opinión, non é doado reseñar libros de non ficción, pero vouno intentar. Esta é a autobiografía de Gerald Durrell durante os cinco anos que pasou en Corfú (Grecia) xunto a súa nai, súa irmá e seus irmáns. A illa constituiu o seu fogar e un gran almacén de animais de todo tipo, amizades algo peculiares pero das que quedan contigo por sempre xamais e lembranzas marabillosas.
Se hai algo que desborda esta triloxía é o amor pola natureza en xeral e polos animais en particular, ata un punto que eu consideraría un tanto excesivo (a bichuillada está moi ben, pero haina que manter, e a saber a de cartos que gastaban niso). Ademáis, ¿para que quere iso todo na casa? Se xa ten todo o campo para eles!
Tamén hai multitude de anécdotas divertidas, tanto protagonizadas pola familia, os diversos convidados na súa casa coma os amigos que foron facendo, con especial protagonismo de Lugaretzia, Spiro e o doutor Teodoro Stefanides. É imposible que algunha delas non che saque un sorriso.
Recomendado para todos os que ansíen viaxar a través da lectura a unha illa paradisíaca no mar Mediterráneo e coñecer por igual os seus habitantes humanos, animais e mesmo vexetais.
Na miña humilde opinión, non é doado reseñar libros de non ficción, pero vouno intentar. Esta é a autobiografía de Gerald Durrell durante os cinco anos que pasou en Corfú (Grecia) xunto a súa nai, súa irmá e seus irmáns. A illa constituiu o seu fogar e un gran almacén de animais de todo tipo, amizades algo peculiares pero das que quedan contigo por sempre xamais e lembranzas marabillosas.
Se hai algo que desborda esta triloxía é o amor pola natureza en xeral e polos animais en particular, ata un punto que eu consideraría un tanto excesivo (a bichuillada está moi ben, pero haina que manter, e a saber a de cartos que gastaban niso). Ademáis, ¿para que quere iso todo na casa? Se xa ten todo o campo para eles!
Tamén hai multitude de anécdotas divertidas, tanto protagonizadas pola familia, os diversos convidados na súa casa coma os amigos que foron facendo, con especial protagonismo de Lugaretzia, Spiro e o doutor Teodoro Stefanides. É imposible que algunha delas non che saque un sorriso.
Recomendado para todos os que ansíen viaxar a través da lectura a unha illa paradisíaca no mar Mediterráneo e coñecer por igual os seus habitantes humanos, animais e mesmo vexetais.
July 7, 2017
Absolutely adorable. Enjoyed from beginning to end. The mini-series is also wonderful, visually and for entertainment value, but the books are even better. They really changed around some of the circumstances in the show, I guess to bring some pathos and melodrama, but it didn't need it. Just following the book would have been even better.
Can't believe I'd never heard of this guy. His humor is so perfect. Many laugh out loud moments. He also writes rather nicely...really. He uses a ton of metaphor, which can get really tedious with some writers, and while I began to notice more often that he used it so often (!) I found the metaphor so well done that I marveled at his imagination.
Highly recommend. Both for natural history lovers and literature lovers, humor lovers and family drama lovers. Just wonderful. Plus, on kindle for 3.99 or so.
Can't believe I'd never heard of this guy. His humor is so perfect. Many laugh out loud moments. He also writes rather nicely...really. He uses a ton of metaphor, which can get really tedious with some writers, and while I began to notice more often that he used it so often (!) I found the metaphor so well done that I marveled at his imagination.
Highly recommend. Both for natural history lovers and literature lovers, humor lovers and family drama lovers. Just wonderful. Plus, on kindle for 3.99 or so.
July 12, 2021
A delightful book for the armchair traveler
At last I reached the end of book 3 of the trilogy, and I will miss young Gerald Durrell and Corfu. All three books are informative and entertaining. Durrell has a natural sense of humor, but I was really intrigued by his descriptions of the Corfu animals and environment, and I stopped often to look for images and maps of the creatures and Corfu.
At last I reached the end of book 3 of the trilogy, and I will miss young Gerald Durrell and Corfu. All three books are informative and entertaining. Durrell has a natural sense of humor, but I was really intrigued by his descriptions of the Corfu animals and environment, and I stopped often to look for images and maps of the creatures and Corfu.
May 24, 2024
Acúmulo de anécdotas hilarantes de una familia monoparental inglesa instalada en Corfú, narrada por el menor de los cuatro hermanos, cuya fascinación por los animales marca el ritmo de cada una de sus aventuras.
May 8, 2022
I think I’ve generally said everything that’s really worth saying on my reviews of the individual books, but I figured I’d throw up a quick blurb for this one. These books tell the story of Gerald Durrell and his family’s five year stay in Corfu, and their popularity is pretty clear from the As Seen On Masterpiece sticker on the cover.
The books are a nice mix of humorous stories of the Durrell family’s wacky adventures and Gerald’s fascination with the natural world that would go on to shape his whole life. Gerry himself was between 10 and 15 during the events of the books, so I’m sure that some of the foibles of his mom and siblings are exaggerated, though even if that’s the case Larry in particular is not a very pleasant person. The books tend to have an episodic structure with no real overarching plot between chapters, and within chapters there’s often a shift from one topic to another as things go along. So a TV sitcom was the natural adaptation of the source material.
I had a lot of fun reading these books and I’m pretty sure I’ll want to revisit them in the not too distant future. Just like a sitcom, now that I know the basic premise and cast of characters, I’d be able to reread from the beginning or just revisit specific chapters. And Gerald’s great writing style has made me interested in checking out the books he wrote about his adventures as an adult. I’m also pretty curious to read the various books that have sprung up about the other family members, because I imagine they have interesting stories to tell and different perspectives on events. All in all, I definitely recommend checking this out, because whether you’re interested in the family comedy stuff or the young naturalist describing the world he experiences stuff, there’s plenty to enjoy here.
The books are a nice mix of humorous stories of the Durrell family’s wacky adventures and Gerald’s fascination with the natural world that would go on to shape his whole life. Gerry himself was between 10 and 15 during the events of the books, so I’m sure that some of the foibles of his mom and siblings are exaggerated, though even if that’s the case Larry in particular is not a very pleasant person. The books tend to have an episodic structure with no real overarching plot between chapters, and within chapters there’s often a shift from one topic to another as things go along. So a TV sitcom was the natural adaptation of the source material.
I had a lot of fun reading these books and I’m pretty sure I’ll want to revisit them in the not too distant future. Just like a sitcom, now that I know the basic premise and cast of characters, I’d be able to reread from the beginning or just revisit specific chapters. And Gerald’s great writing style has made me interested in checking out the books he wrote about his adventures as an adult. I’m also pretty curious to read the various books that have sprung up about the other family members, because I imagine they have interesting stories to tell and different perspectives on events. All in all, I definitely recommend checking this out, because whether you’re interested in the family comedy stuff or the young naturalist describing the world he experiences stuff, there’s plenty to enjoy here.
February 28, 2019
The pros: Lovely descriptions of the island, the weather, and the wildlife that even I (very non-visual when I read) could see clearly in my mind's eye; charming and absurd family stories that often made me laugh out loud; deft character sketches; and a wealth of interesting information about animals, particularly birds, reptiles and insects. The cons: a wealth of not-so interesting information, at least for the reader who doesn't love spiders and beetles quite so much; a sense that Gerry's love for nature, while sincere and all-consuming, was rather the grasping, "I must possess all things whether or not they want to be possessed" kind (although it's relieving to know that his life's work focused on conservation and preservation); and, when reading all three books in a row, a growing sense that he has boiled each family member down to just one personality trait. (Plus a few anecdotes and asides that are somewhat disturbing from a modern perspective.) By the end of the trilogy, the Durrells felt like a family I knew personally, like old neighbors who had moved away but sent periodic updates on their life... and I was glad they'd kept in touch.
August 30, 2022
I really enjoyed Gerry’s childhood tales of life in Corfu, especially the dynamics between the family. It would have been 4 stars for book 1, possibly also book 2, but by the time I got to book 3 I became slightly bored of the repetition. Hence the 3 stars. I would not recommend reading these back to back but each book is enjoyable.
September 8, 2018
What a wonderful read! Seemingly impossible situations proved hilarious and all the real life characters were absolutely priceless. There wasn't a boring page in this trilogy.
December 5, 2018
Loved the series, not the book. Just could not get into it and became bored.
February 24, 2017
I seem to be in a minority of readers who didn't rate this book very highly. I found myself ambivalent about the story as I was reading. I wanted to like it better than I did.
Overall the book is very well written it terms of composition and structure. The descriptions of Corfu and daily life made everything come to life - you could see, hear, and taste what was going on. The vignettes about the family were funny and human. One could see any of us in that situation either tearing our hair out and giving up, or else rolling with reality and enjoying life.
So what was my problem? I guess I'm not a naturalist. I got bored quickly with the endless description of the non-human animals and their habitats. I understand that was Gerald Durrell's love and what drove him. I admire him for his work conserving animals and their habitats. However, after hundreds of pages I just couldn't read any more of it.
So knowing something about Gerald Durrell, why did I decide to read this? It was the recent PBS series "The Durrells in Corfu"that sent me to this book. I loved the family, the calamity, the way they battled and fought, and their wonderful friends. I want an adventure like that! Because of the TV show and reading more about him, I've now added Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria Quartet and Avignon Quintet to my "to read" pile .
Would I recommend the book - yes - it just wasn't for me.
Overall the book is very well written it terms of composition and structure. The descriptions of Corfu and daily life made everything come to life - you could see, hear, and taste what was going on. The vignettes about the family were funny and human. One could see any of us in that situation either tearing our hair out and giving up, or else rolling with reality and enjoying life.
So what was my problem? I guess I'm not a naturalist. I got bored quickly with the endless description of the non-human animals and their habitats. I understand that was Gerald Durrell's love and what drove him. I admire him for his work conserving animals and their habitats. However, after hundreds of pages I just couldn't read any more of it.
So knowing something about Gerald Durrell, why did I decide to read this? It was the recent PBS series "The Durrells in Corfu"that sent me to this book. I loved the family, the calamity, the way they battled and fought, and their wonderful friends. I want an adventure like that! Because of the TV show and reading more about him, I've now added Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria Quartet and Avignon Quintet to my "to read" pile .
Would I recommend the book - yes - it just wasn't for me.
March 2, 2019
In viewing the PBS Masterpiece series The Durrells in Corfu, I was spurred on to read the original material, and I was not disappointed. Gerald Durrell, youngest of four children, records his eccentric family’s doings in a rather unique and remarkable manner. In all three books—My Family and Other Animals (1956); Birds, Beasts, and Relatives (1969); The Garden of the Gods (1978)—Durrell wafts back and forth between two kinds of scenes. In one type, he writes extensively of his family: his mother, his brothers Larry and Leslie, and his sister Margo, not to mention a host of odd characters both Greek and British, who visit the Durrells in Corfu. In the other type, Durrell writes elegantly of his love for the natural world: spending entire chapters sometimes describing odd or unusual creatures from the very small to much larger, from owls he rescues to a stubborn mule he bargains for. I just kept reading from the 750 pages, with delight, until I was finished—almost sorry that the adventures were over. Well worth your time if a saga about a British family living on a Greek island just prior to World War II interests you.
December 21, 2014
Laugh out loud funny. The first book is the strongest, but the others are also very good: some great set pieces and the characterisation is excellent. It's full of similes, personification and other devices that serious literary types might sniff at, but I say just jump in and enjoy the ride.
June 4, 2016
This is such a fantastic book. So funny, thoughtful and delicate in its treatment of family life in Corfu. Seeing the world through the eyes of a young Gerald just makes you love animals in the uniquely caring and scientific way that he does. A great read.
July 16, 2015
Fantastic holiday reading, just right for a hot Mediterranean summer. Gerald's family are actually more interesting than the animals! Plenty of humour and interest - lovely.
August 7, 2015
I loved this. It was beautifully written, portrayed the people with fondness and amusement and made me laugh helplessly on more than on occasion. Highly recommended.
January 1, 2017
The TV series made me yearn for more. This book is an absolute delight from start to finish.
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