A journey to west africa to collect endangered species for his zoo in Jersey where he preserved animals against extinction. Durrell funded his zoo greatly with his writing. This is one of his books describing the trials and tribulations of finding and catching animals in the wild. A good read for what it is.

The only good stories in this book were "Marrying off Mother" and the story of Esmerelda the truffle pig. It tided me over until I found the sequel to "My Family and Other Animals" - "Birds, Beasts and Relatives".

Glad I borrowed this one from the library...

I read this book hoping for another gem like "My Family and Other Animals". Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

Although "Marrying Off Mother" has much of the same wonderful timing & wit that's in other Durrell books, it seems to be missing their soul. This is a cynical book, and the timing & wit (that in earlier books shows Durrell's innonence and passion) conveys smugness and superiority in "Marrying off Mother". This attitude wears thin pretty quickly.

If you're interested in reading Durrell, I strongly recommend "My Family and Other Animals". But not this book.

I had high hopes of being impressed, but the 8 stories fell short of the expectaions created by that fine novel 'My Family and Other Animals'.

Yes there are flashes of the Durell humour, but the quality of the writing is sometimes strained - especially apparant in 'Marrying Off Mother' where information about things and people ate given in terse little bites that do not have the charm of a more full-bodied development. Also some of the stories are too improbable for suspension of disbelief, ie. the story of the gambling nun. 'The Jury' is like something out of 'Tales of the Unexpected' or 'Tales from the Dark side', and bears some resemblence to Somerset Maugham's darker tales of Malaya. Also some of the world-weary author comes through in the stories, which means the wry and humourous 'voice' of ten year old Durell, created so beautifully in 'My Family and Other Animals' is merely imitated. The only place it fully succeeds is in Antoine's little speech in 'Marrying Off Mother' - which is worth reading the whole book for!

Perhaps I am being grossly unfair in expecting something like 'My Family and Other Animals' - each book and story should stand on its own. It is worth reading just to get a taste of what other things interested Durell. Some of the stories do not actually have animals in them!

A little boy calls this magical Greek island home. He and his dog, Roger, live on Corfu. They have many animal friends living with them. One sunny morning, while on a walk, they rescued a tortoise who had fallen into the sea. Toby feels left out because there is only one of him and there is two of everyone else. Share the search for a wife with Toby.

This book was alright, not one of my favorites. You and your child may enjoy it though. It is a great book to use your imagination with. From the drak snakes to the furry blue bumblebees, the illustrations are great. Don't let my opinion stop you, read this book for yourself.