“My family and other Animals” was written by Gerald Durrell in 1956. It is an autobiography of his childhood on the island of Corfu and it captures your interest from the very first page.I think that Gerald Durrell (born 1925 – dies 1995) must have had a wonderful, exciting, fun and adventurous childhood. The book describes in detail the adventures that Gerald had as a boy. It lets you join him as he experiences an action-packed childhood full of expeditions, pets and laughter.The language used in My Family and Other Animals can be quite complex at times. Words such as “Faunae” are often used in the text but you can generally get the meaning from the context – or, of course, a good dictionary. Don’t let it put you off though, the book contains beautiful passages of description that are almost poetic to read and pages upon pages of interesting wildlife facts. Top that with the hilarious dialogue between the members of Gerald’s family and you end up with a great book!I started this book because I read an extract in a comprehension I had to do and the extract was so interesting I had to try the book. I think it is the best autobiography I have ever read. Not only can Gerald write very well but he also had a very comical, interesting life to write about. He tells you about his thoughts and feelings, the silent conversations he has with himself or his wildlife; it is not just a collection of facts about what he did and when he did it.My favourite parts were the funny bits which included many memorable quotes such as when Leslie (Gerald’s brother) sees his mother’s new dog and exclaims, “Good God, it looks like a sea slug!” The whole family seem quite mad and the title “My family and other Animals” certainly seems very appropriate. Many of the things Gerald is allowed to do – going off by himself for hours on end, maybe even out on the ocean in his little boat – would never be allowed these days and it seems a shame that it is not safe to do these things because I...