My Animals and Other Family

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None of the family's three villas proved to be suitable locations fifty years on, and substitutes had to be found (for the record, the Villa Fundana near Skripero stood in for the Strawberry-Pink Villa, the Curcumeli Villa at Afra was used for the interiors of the Daffodil-Yellow Villa and the Bogdanos Villa near Pyrghi for the exteriors, while the Snow-White Villa was impersonated by Kyriakis' House at Poulades). [2] Clare's personality is infectiously warm and endearing and this tome expertly reveals how this came to be. She describes her formidable grandmother's reaction to the birth of a girl as "It's a girl, nevermind, keep trying!" before dumping the basketed child on the floor. This constant debouching over her gender no doubt has spurred Balding on to become one of the UK's best known and well-loved broadcasters, all before her early forties. I must admit my favourite parts in the book were the interactions within the family. He is there with his widowed mother, his brothers Laurence(Larry) and Leslie and his sister Margot. The conflicts that arose thanks to Gerry’s finds were laugh out loud funny. All those family moments were just brilliant. Strawberry pink, to be exact. The colour of the first house the Durrells rented on Corfu. The villa had an air of pink-faced determination.

I LOVED this book and have chosen for Book Club. I loved the way she described all the dogs and horses she had over the years - I laughed out loud at some of her adventures and also cried! Durrell ci offre un bellissimo quadro dell'isola di Corfù attraverso la descrizione dei paesaggi e degli abitanti del luogo. Every week when it came on TV I would not talk to anyone. I would not answer the telephone. Unlike someone who did not like the music I loved it. This is one of the happiest, most enjoyable, series I've ever seen. No, it is the happiest most enjoyable. I wish there were ways to see it streaming. Everything about that series was perfect. The cast was perfect, the settings beautiful, and the comedy of errors hilarious. If anyone wants to find something they can just let go, and enjoy, this is it. If you've not read the books please do.

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A Greek housekeeper who continuously moans and entertains the Durrells’ guests with generous displays of her gums. 'There was only one thing in life that could bring a smile to Lugaretzia’s gloomy countenance, a glint to her spaniel eyes, and that was a discussion of her ailments.' Clare Balding is a well known sports presenter with a special interest in horse racing. I have no interest in sports and an out and out dislike of racing......but I adored this book, and could not put it down. Jersey – Living Here – Durrell to take centre stage". BBC. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012 . Retrieved 27 January 2011. It is the first and most well-known of Durrell's Corfu Trilogy, together with Birds, Beasts, and Relatives (1969) and The Garden of the Gods (1978). I just finished My Family and Other Animals. It's VERY, very good. It's light, it’s fun and in fact what it teaches about animals, human beings included, is absolutely spot-on! It teaches about animals which a lay person doesn't usually get all that inspired about - snakes and lizards and turtles and bugs. Some special birds too. I was running to Wiki time and time again to see these creatures. One can't help but be drawn in because the stories about the strange bugs and beasts are so bizarre! Fun stories based on the author’s own diaries, begun when he was ten, visiting Corfu with his family for the first time. Stories both about his strange pets and the bedlam that repeatedly arises in this very special family. The eruptions of total bedlam will surely have you reminiscing about your own familial calamities.

Mostly neurotic artists and writers. Invited spontaneously, in large amounts: 'Sometimes the fresh load of guests would turn up before we had got rid of the previous group, and the chaos was indescribable'. A side note to any fellow Brits who once strode majestically in platform shoes: the price on the book was a nostalgic three shillings and sixpence). Pubblicato nel 1956, “La mia famiglia ed altri animali” è un testo autobiografico del naturalista inglese Gerald Durrell. Mother's dog. Dodo constantly challenges beauty standards. Affectionately called by Larry 'that canine Frankenstein'. The Real Durrells invite the Other Durrells, Spiro, Theo and all who worked on the production (even the Producer). For the sake of the reputation of the BBC, please endeavour to remain sober for at least fifteen minutes. [2] Cast [ edit ]Chances are this book will be loved by readers from about 9 years old to infinity. Most children will probably focus on crazy adventures while more mature audience will indulge in Durrell's irony and beauty of his writing style. I think the omnipresent humour is the strength of the book but its weakness at the same time: if it's not compatible with yours, you will probably get bored and frustrated. Gerald "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 Durrell 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.

Each chapter in the book covers one of the stages or milestones of her life, and focuses on the animal that played a key role at the stage. I liked the format of the book, as well as her writing style. It's very well written, fluid and with just the right amount of detail to keep you engaged. I loved to see her bond with her brother, and the constant support of her mother. I didn't like her father too much, who seems to be a little self-absorbed and very chauvinistic. But her grandmother comes across as a really mean person who is particularly scathing to her, and I didn't like her at all. I laughed at so many of the personal anecdotes, savored the beautiful descriptions of the island, and was entertained by his interactions with many of the island locals. The encounter with the Rose-beetle Man (what a fantastic figure this man must have been!), a meeting with a convict let out for a temporary jaunt, and the appointments with various tutors (including one with quite the impressive bird collection) all pointed to the fact that Gerry lived quite an extraordinary young life. I expected to be amused by and pleased with this story, but what I found to be a pleasant surprise was that Gerald Durrell could really write! I didn’t just highlight the funny stuff (although there are loads of those bits marked up too), but passages like this one left me gaga over his choice of words: During the Second World War, the Durrells went to Corfu and Gerald as a ten year old could not have been happier, he would roam the entire island with his collection jars, his butterfly nets and his dissection box. Durrell had already written several successful books about his trips collecting animals in the wild for zoos when he published My Family and Other Animals in 1956. Its comic exaggeration of the foibles of his family – including his eldest brother Lawrence Durrell, who became a celebrated novelist and poet – and his heartfelt appreciation of the natural world made it very successful. Durrell was able to found the Jersey Zoological Park (now known as the Durrell Wildlife Park) in the Channel Islands. He also became known as a novel-writer and television personality. His books helped stimulate the development of tourism in Corfu. [1] Summary [ edit ] As winter comes, Leslie begins hunting boar on the mainland. Larry maddeningly insists that hunting is easy, even after Leslie performs an especially difficult maneuver. Leslie invites Larry to come out to show everyone how it's done. Larry not only misses the birds, but falls into the deep mud and can barely get out. Angry, he takes three bottles of brandy to bed, drinks two, and falls asleep. A coal falls out of his fireplace and sets a supporting beam on fire, which sends the family into a tizzy when they discover it. Larry, unconcerned, instructs his family on how to put it out from bed. When spring arrives again, Mother receives a letter from Great-Aunt Hermione asking to visit. Nobody likes Hermione, so Larry insists they need to move to a smaller house so she can't come.

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Tuttavia, lo stesso autore afferma che, inizialmente, il libro doveva essere esclusivamente dedicato alla descrizione degli animali dell'isola, quindi era plausibile che una parte del libro fosse dedicata ad essa. I rented My Family and the Other Animals on a friend's recommendation and am happy that I did. I think I'm going to have to own this movie now. I will certainly watch it again - if just to catch all the lines that were delivered (with either Greek or English accents depending on who was speaking) while I was laughing too loudly to catch the dialog! This movie proves that if the story (which is based on real life in this case), the writing, and the acting are all impeccable (which is true of this movie) one doesn't need much more that a nice villa set in a beautiful location in Southern Europe and some local talent to make a fantastic little movie. The town hall of Corfu announced in 2006 that it would rename Corfu Bosketto (a park in the city of Corfu) Bosketto Durrell, after Gerald and Lawrence Durrell as a mark of respect.[15]