This is the story of a five-year sojourn that I and my family made on the Greek island of Corfu. It was originally intended to be a mildly nostalgic account of the natural history of the island, but I made a grave mistake by introducing my family into the book in the first few pages. Having got themselves on paper, they then proceeded to establish themselves and invite various friends to share the chapters. It was only with the greatest difficulty, and by exercising considerable cunning, that I managed to retain a few pages here and there which I could devote exclusively to animals."
So begins "My Family and Other Animals", the first of a trilogy of prepubescent Gerald Durrell's expat life on the Greek island of Corfu with his eccentric family (mother, two older brothers and one sister). They lived there from 1935 to 1939. The beauty of the place depicted by Durrell is dazzling, in all seasons, in all times of the day.
"Outside, the island was striped and patched in black and silver by moonlight. Far down in the dark cypress trees the owls called to each other comfortingly. The sky looked as black and soft as a mole-skin covered with a delicate dew of stars. The magnolia tree loomed vast over the house, its branches full of white blooms, like a hundred miniature reflections of the moon, and their thick, sweet scent hung over the veranda languorously, the scent that was an enchantment luring you out into the mysterious, moonlit countryside."
His older brother, Lawrence Durrell, became an equally successful writer, especially with "The Alexandria Quartet", which I shall leave for another day. Right now, I'm about to settle down in front of a blazing fireplace with "My Family and Other Animals" (I have a good chance of finishing it as it is Padma's craft day when she joins the other members of the Stitch & Bitch Club in the local village hall). You may wish to follow me by reading it online here or, to whet your appetite, watch this BBC documentary of Lawrence Durrell's return trip to Corfu in 1976:
And if you're really into it, you can, as I did over the last few evenings, binge-watch "The Durrells" for hours on ABC TV's iview - click here.
Unfortunately, as my friends in Greece have since pointed out to me, viewing is restricted to Australian audiences, so have your Australian passport ready to hold up to the screen.
