On Gerald Durell

 My first introduction to Durrell was in early high school through the story "My Donkey Sally".  The story was about Gerry's family giving him a donkey as a surprise birthday gift. At that time, I found the story quite amusing. So one day when I chanced upon his book "My family and other animals", I bought it out of nostalgia. It took me an year to get around to reading it. Now Gerald Durrell is one of my favourite authors.  I have read about 6-7 of his books over the last year. This post is my attempt to capture some of my thoughts on his books.

His books I have read so far are in three broad categories.

• Animal books
• Family fiction
• non family fiction

The Animal books are his best. Here is where he talks about his work at the Jersey zoo and the animal collection trips he went on. You can feel his love for animals and passion for conservation when you read them. You can visualize yourself alongside on his travels. When reading "Two in the Bush", I had this urge to go to New Zealand and checkout all the beautiful birds he is describing. He describes an approach to Takahe valley through a gorge over a lake. You could feel how beautiful it would be if you ever made the trip.


In the "Family Fiction:", he presents a fictionalized account of his family's (mis)adventures during their time in Corfu. Each person in his family is painted as a uniquely idiosyncratic character. These stories make for a very humourous read.

His fiction with characters other his family is quite good too. While most of these stories are humorous, there is one "The Entrance" that surprised me quite a bit. This one is a ghost story. I had no inkling he would attempt writing such a story and he did a pretty good job.

All in all, pick up a book by Gerald Durrell if you find one. You will enjoy it quite a bit.