by Gerald Durrell (Author)
The story of the Durrell family after they left the island of Corfu and returned to England. Young Gerald's family hoped he'd outgrow his love of animals. It didn't quite work out that way.
After leaving the island of Corfu, the Durrell family and their Greek maid Maria Kondos moved back to Britain in 1939. It was difficult to find work, especially for a home-schooled boy, but Gerald managed to land a job as a helper at an aquarium and pet store. This is the story of those years, filled with humor--along with spiders, lizards and water fleas. Gerald Durrell would go on to become a revered world conservation hero, and champion of all animals, especially those under threat and overlooked by others. The breeding sanctuary he established in the English Channel island of Jersey, the Wildlife Preservation Trust International, has done much to preserve critically endangered species. He also became a celebrated author, penning memoirs that captured the imagination of generations of animal lovers, charmed by his warmth and good humor. Fillets of Plaice is a wonderful addition to the story of Gerald Durrell's life--a life very well lived with animals.Front Jacket
Durrell's hilarious and warm My Family and Other Animals began a trio of reminiscences of his life growing up with a slightly dotty family the overbearing and omniscient Larry; the affectionate and loving siblings, Margot and Leslie; and, of course, the overburdened and patient Mother on the island of Corfu in the 1930s, when a pound could buy a villa and life was conducted as a series of riotously high (and sometimes low) adventures. But what shines through these five vignettes is the author's engagement with and immense affection for animals in all their forms. From fish to fowl, from lizards to little water fleas (daphnia), Durrell's eye is acute and his prose is tart. You can read this book for the humor alone (for he did perceive his family as some rare and rarefied species), but between the lines you can discern the makings of a world-class naturalist and a cultivated and engaging writer.