My Family and Other Animals

Misaki Niikura

Author: Gerald Durrell

Genre: Nonfiction

Date started: 14^th March

Date finished: 16^th March

It is in 1935, on the Greek island of Corfu. The main characters are Gerald, Mother, Leslie, Margo, Larry, Spiro, George and Lugarezia. The theme is family.

An English family, the Durrells, go to live on the Greek island of Corfu. Gerald who is the youngest son is interested in all sorts of animals. There are many animals in the house, and there is danger at any time.

This family had all their usual illnesses. Mother and Gerald had bad colds. Leslie, who is Gerald’s brother, had a problem with his ears. Margo, who is Gerald’s sister, had worse spots then ever. Only Larry, who is Gerald’s brother, was healthy. They needed sunshine. They wanted to live in a country where they can grow, so they moved to Corfu which is a wonderful place. They met a lot of interesting people there, for example, Spiro who found the family’s house, the Rose-Beetle man who could not speak and wanted money and Kosti who was a prisoner. And all the time, Gerald learned about the animals and insects which he loved.

I like this book. This family was quite different from my family. I think their life was very interesting. I was surprised that this book was a true story. I want to experience a life like it. But maybe, I’ll give up if I live like this, because I don’t like insects and snakes.

I don’t have a pet, but I want to have a pet after reading this book.

I think the English level of the book was right. This book is pre-intermediate so there were no difficult words. I could understand this story. I recommend other students read this book. Maybe, if you read this book, you will be surprised about their life.