squidsmash's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
4.5
joerourke's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.5
a brilliant and witty recount of adventures and adjustment to a new way of life and all the benefits it can bring. gerry is an outsider who tries to fit in but finds his closest friends in the wildlife around him
aaron_j136's review against another edition
Down for now: will pick back up in the summer / warmer weather
Not really a winter read
Not really a winter read
charlotte_rigby's review against another edition
4.0
Thought this was really funny, loved the setting and anecdotes!
szveronika91's review against another edition
1.0
I really tried to finish this book, but I just gave it up. Even though I heard a lot about it, mostly positive opinions, as it was said to be funny and entertaining book, but it was one of the most boring books I've ever tried to read. Too long description about the island (mea culpa, I don't like endless descriptions of nature), and the family... They behaved themshelves like a travelling circus of irritating, irresponsible fools.... I'm sorry, Mr. Durell, but this books was not meant for me.
juliana_aldous's review against another edition
5.0
If there was ever a book about the value of a free-range non-traditional education, this might be it.
This book wraps up so many of my favorite genres into one delightfully written book. This is Gerald Durrell's memoir from when his mother and his older brothers and sister packed up and moved from England to the Island of Corfu during the 1930s. Gerry spends his time wandering the island with his dog Roger, learning about nature and collecting his own menagerie of creatures which grow to include a tortoise, magpies, a gull, and scorpions. His family provides more entertainment along with a colorful cast of side characters including a brother obsessed with guns, a boy-crazy sister with acne problems, their local Greek taxi driver who manages the family's affairs and the hypochondriac maid. He portrays his older brother (and one of my favorite authors) Lawrence Durrell as a snotty twenty-something nascent author complete with ego. Gerry's tutors also include a world-class natural historian and hunch-backed aviary owning fantasist who tells stories of saving damsels in distress.
Gerrald himself is a first-rate writer. It took me a bit of time to figure out that Roger was a dog and not a brother and I believe that was on purpose. I would come across a paragraph where he would mention Roger and then I would wonder why Roger was lying underneath the table which really isn't all that far-fetched with this family.
This is one of my favorite passages which showcases what Gerry is learning at this time. He meets his tutor's bedridden mother for the first time (and there is a hilarious reason why), but the passage is a lesson from the mother.
"They say,"--she announced--"they say that when you get old, as I am your body slows down. I don't believe it. No, I think that is quite wrong. I have a theory that you do not slow down at all, but that life slows down for you. You understand me? Everything becomes languid, as it were, and you can notice so much more when things are in slow motion. the things you see! The extraordinary things that happen all around you, that you never suspected before! It is really a delightful adventure, quite delightful!"
This book wraps up so many of my favorite genres into one delightfully written book. This is Gerald Durrell's memoir from when his mother and his older brothers and sister packed up and moved from England to the Island of Corfu during the 1930s. Gerry spends his time wandering the island with his dog Roger, learning about nature and collecting his own menagerie of creatures which grow to include a tortoise, magpies, a gull, and scorpions. His family provides more entertainment along with a colorful cast of side characters including a brother obsessed with guns, a boy-crazy sister with acne problems, their local Greek taxi driver who manages the family's affairs and the hypochondriac maid. He portrays his older brother (and one of my favorite authors) Lawrence Durrell as a snotty twenty-something nascent author complete with ego. Gerry's tutors also include a world-class natural historian and hunch-backed aviary owning fantasist who tells stories of saving damsels in distress.
Gerrald himself is a first-rate writer. It took me a bit of time to figure out that Roger was a dog and not a brother and I believe that was on purpose. I would come across a paragraph where he would mention Roger and then I would wonder why Roger was lying underneath the table which really isn't all that far-fetched with this family.
This is one of my favorite passages which showcases what Gerry is learning at this time. He meets his tutor's bedridden mother for the first time (and there is a hilarious reason why), but the passage is a lesson from the mother.
"They say,"--she announced--"they say that when you get old, as I am your body slows down. I don't believe it. No, I think that is quite wrong. I have a theory that you do not slow down at all, but that life slows down for you. You understand me? Everything becomes languid, as it were, and you can notice so much more when things are in slow motion. the things you see! The extraordinary things that happen all around you, that you never suspected before! It is really a delightful adventure, quite delightful!"