My Family and Other Animals, Volume 1956This book is an autobiographical account of five years in the childhood of naturalist Gerald Durrell when he lived with his family lived on the island of Corfu. Apart from Gerald (the youngest) and Larry (Lawrence Durrell, the novelist), the family comprised their widowed mother, the gun-mad Leslie, and diet-obsessed sister Margo together with Roger the dog. The procession of animals includes toads, and tortoises, bats and butterflies scorpions and geckos, ladybirds, glow-worms, octopuses and rose-beetles, Ulysses, the Scops owl, Quasimodo the pigeon, the puppies Widdle and Puke, and of course the magpies. The family is fiercely protected by their taxi-driver friend Spiro, and Gerald is mentored by the polymath Dr Theodore Stephanides who provides his education in natural history. |
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appeared arms arrived asked became bird boat called carried close coloured course covered creatures dark dear decided Dodo dogs don't door Eventually explained eyes face feet felt fire flowers followed garden gave give green hand happened head hill interest island it's keep Kralefsky Larry leaves legs Leslie lived look Margo mind minute morning Mother mouth moved never night olive-groves once opened paused peering piled pointed rest returned rocks Roger rose round seemed shell side slowly smiled sort sound Spiro started stopped suddenly suggested sure surprise tail talking tell Theodore thing thought tiny took town trees trying turned villa voice waiting walk wall wanted watched whole wings wonderful