My First Durrell - An All Time Favourite for All Ages

My Family and Other Animals must have been my first Gerald Durrell. Having been raised in a somewhat similar fashion to what young Durrell experienced, I spent time observing the fauna around me - mainly frogs and ants - but, as the years wore on, I also got to keep and observe rabbits and cats and some birds. Apart from keeping creatures, I spent a good deal of time observing them (mainly Indian squirrels) in the "wild" - the boughs of a large network of bougainvillea. It was in such a setting that I often dipped into favourite chapters of the book.

There are absolutely memorable sequences in the book which I cannot ever forget not only for the sheer beauty of the language but also because they tickle every funny bone.

My inner world is still rich with the book right down from the opening chapters where the family is first sketch etched on memory. The setting is a drear and drab England and the family suddenly decides to leave - lock, stock and barrel - for Corfu. There is a delightful mother, two eccentric elder brothers, and one pimply sister. The Internet will inform you that the sister protested that description. So did at least one brother, to my knowledge. 

It was, apparently, Lawrence Durrell, the brother who was and went on to become a minor noise in literature, who chose where they were to go.  At that point in my life I lived a delicious Jekyll and Hyde existence - one me was a character in my version of one of the books in the Alexandria Quartet (Justine?). The other was a female Gerald Durrell. 

As a matter of fact, however, it is the Gerald book or parts thereof that form some school coursework. Alas. If you want to know why I have this reaction, visit an earlier blog post.

Of course, today, all sorts of things, on the Net, might colour your ability to relish his writings. I point you back to what I have to say in that regard in the link given above: "good writers tend to be vilified by the media..."

Corfu, the idyllic Greek island - I'd dearly love to visit it - came alive for me in My Family and Other Animals. As did the characters. Such as Gerald's tutor. Durrell's is an unforgettable description of a typical scholarly man. 

Of this menagerie, I most cherish the Turk who came to date Durrell's sister. It gained a special place in my heart in adulthood when I not only met a man who is so true to the stereotype Gerald portrayed but a whole tribe of such people! There is nothing such beings cannot do that is not perfect. I'm sorry to say it is perfectly miserable to have to spend time with such characters but the memory of the book helps me smile through it.

At length the Turk turned to Larry:
  'You write, I believe?' he said with complete lack of interest.
  Larry's eyes glittered. Mother, seeing the danger signs, rushed in quickly before he could reply.
  'Yes, yes' she smiled, 'he writes away, day after day. Always tapping at the typewriter'
  'I always feel that I could write superbly if I tried' remarked the Turk.
  'Really?' said Mother. 'Yes, well, it's a gift I suppose, like so many things.'
  'He swims well' remarked Margo, 'and he goes out terribly far'
  'I have no fear' said the Turk modestly. 'I am a superb swimmer, so I have no fear. When I ride the horse, I have no fear, for I ride superbly. I can sail the boat magnificently in the typhoon without fear'
  He sipped his tea delicately, regarding our awestruck faces with approval.
  'You see' he went on, in case we had missed the point, 'you see, I am not a fearful man.”

― My Family and Other Animals

 

Enchanting and hilarious!

There are some film versions of the story such as the one below:

THE DURRELLS IN CORFU on MASTERPIECE | Official Trailer

In future blog posts, I hope to tell you something of other books of his that I have read. And I would dearly love to reread those or something new of Gerald Durrell.