My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. Short summary

5 seconds

Darrell describes the events that happened to him and his loved ones while they were living on the Greek island of Corfu. Gerald describes in detail the personalities of his family members.

1 minute

Gerald recounts the events that happened to him, and to his loved ones, during their temporary residence on the Greek island of Corfu. When the Darrells lived in Greece, they were all young: Gerald was only 10 years old, his older sister Margot was 18, and his brothers Leslie and Larry were 19 and 23, respectively.

Her children did not know their mother’s exact age because she never celebrated her birthdays and, indeed, never even remembered them. The writer adds that his mother was old enough at the time to have four children. She was a widow.

Gerald compares his mother’s actions from that period of time to steering a ship through rough seas, surrounded by dangerous shoals and a crew that might not approve of her actions. The writer does not understand at all how she could cope with such management without losing her sanity.