Classics Challenge: My Family and Other Animals

Not knowing what to expect from this one, I found Gerald Durrell's My Family and Other Animals to be exactly what it says. It's about two things. His family - eccentric but lovable British expats living in Greece - and the animals he meets as he explores the island as a young boy. At the beginning it almost feels like two separate books. Despite the descriptive nature (and my self-proclaimed struggles with that), I did enjoy the nature sections a good deal but found myself more excited when we got back to his family. But as the book progresses, he sort of weaves them together until your laughing along at his families response to all the different treasures he finds invading their house.

He does get bogged down a bit. I mean, I love nature as much as the next gal but two pages about a tortoise is a bit much, and that's just the eating, it keeps going until you're hearing about tortoise courtship. But he also clearly loves nature and his enthusiasm rubs off of you so that reading those two pages about a tortoise eating is not nearly as boring as it sounds....but I still do think one page would have been sufficient. That's my one little beef with the book. Other than that, it is delightful. Some of the characters are hilariously funny in that awesome British way and there were a few scenes I read when Craig was gone and I really wanted someone to be around so I could share it with them. Craig was probably glad he was gone because I think my doing this really annoys him but he's too wise to say that. I'd ask him if I'm right but if he confirmed my suspicious I'd feel obligated to stop. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. 

There are two more books in the series. I'm not desperate to grab the next one right now but if my to be read pile ever dwindles they might make there way in there. I haven't watched the PBS show based on this book but I am curious now. I'm guessing it would be more people focused and since that was my favorite part, plus add in Masterpiece, can you go wrong?

My Family and Other Animals is my Back to the Classics Challenge Classic about an Animal selection.