Birds, Beasts, and Relatives

by Gerald Durrell

Book Overview

Volume two in Gerald Durrell's Corfu Trilogy, which was the inspiration for the Masterpiece PBS series The Durrells in Corfu.

Part coming-of-age autobiography and part nature guide, Gerald Durrell's dazzling sequel to My Family and Other Animals is based on his boyhood on Corfu, from 1933 to 1939. Originally published in 1969 but long out of print, Birds, Beasts, and Relatives is filled with charming observations,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0142004405
• ISBN13: 9780142004401
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.2" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Classic Durrell: wonderfully funny

I have been a huge fan of Gerald Durrell's books since childhood, especially the ones that his family features in, predominantly. This is the follow up to My Family and Other Animals and it is just as much fun! Highly recommended.

Another book of lovely excursions to the island of Corfu

This is another wonderful books of Gerald Durrell's memories of his time on the island of Corfu prior to the Second World War. He takes us back to another time and place before the world changed for good. Each chapter is a separate story and rememberence of those days when as a young man he marvels at not only the natural world around him, but also the various people he encounters and learns to appreciate. It is easy to get lost in one of these stories and feel like you are there with him on a hot summer day with his faithful dogs tagging along beside him. I recommend this book to anyone who not only loves nature, but also can appreciate a time gone by when people were different and even strangers were looked as guests. This book is one that I intend to read again and again in the coming years and will appreciate the stories just much each time as the first time.

My family and other animals

I read Gerald Durrell's books 10 years ago, while I was still living in Romania. I loved his books from the first page to the last and literally I couldn't put them down until I finished them. The best humour I ever met in books! His stile is unique. I am planning on reading all of them again in English. I would recommend them to anyone!

Magical!

The second book on his family's 5 years in Corfu, it follows in the footsteps of My Family and Other Animals as a brilliantly funny and fascinating book. Mr. Durrell has kept me in stitches for over 16 years and with each reread, I find myself enjoying the book more

A must-buy for every parent.

This book is a neccessity for every parent and child. It is very educational according to many schools, but for a child it is the most entertaining book I have ever read. Full of the dry humour Gerald Durrell is famous for, in the tradition of its parent book, " My family and other animals", it has the power to keep readers enthralled for hours. Be prepared to laugh when you read this book, it is one of those classics which have been made into countless plays in countries worldwide, without boring a single person