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fishface's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
5.0
Intensifying my urge to visit Patagonia đŸ˜«
tobymacl's review
5.0
200 pages of joyous reminiscences of an animal collecting trip to Argentina for a private zoo on Guernsey. A good chuckle to be had a every few pages, by a lovely but driven and headstrong man, infinitely resourceful, approachable, inspiring whomever he meets quite genuinely, and with a turn of phrase both sincere and weightless. Dated in the occasional phrase (but who cares) but otherwise the perfect advertisement for passion, adventure and setting do!
pandecanela's review against another edition
3.0
Ok, denso como la mierda porque bĂ¡sicamente no tiene plot, pero la prosa es linda, el sentido del humor del flaco me cae, y nada, eso. Igual tiene algunas coass que son medio :/ como lo de que re estafaba a la gente cuando le compraba los animales, el hecho de que compre para llevĂ¡rselos a eeuu en primer lugar y dije ya que LE TIENE GANAS A UN LOBO MARINO?
catsforlenny's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.0
ellingtonfeint's review against another edition
4.0
Listened to on audio book, Scribd.
The descriptions of the animals are often so funny and based on a specific type of human, it shows Gerry's keen observation is not limited to the animal world. Listening to this I could really picture everything.
But seriously Gerry... not everything has to undulate!!!
The descriptions of the animals are often so funny and based on a specific type of human, it shows Gerry's keen observation is not limited to the animal world. Listening to this I could really picture everything.
But seriously Gerry... not everything has to undulate!!!
erebus53's review against another edition
3.0
I nearly gave this four stars but I think some of the [old white British guy from 1961] vibe rubbed me the wrong way a few too many times. I was raised with a love of both books and animals, so I am no stranger to the writings of Gerald Durrell. This book was the first I had read as an adult and I saw an entirely new spin on it all.
Durrell was the sort of man who if he wanted something he would just forge out and try and pull it off. He relied a lot on the good graces of the kind people he met. Who goes to South America to find animals for a zoo, just ... seeing what happens? And then leaves a garage full of critters to be cared for by the lady of the house while they bugger off down the road to the next town to see if they can get some more..? The audacity of the man leaves me feeling taken aback.
Durell has a very odd attitude to people. I get the impression that he observes them as though they are animals. He gives an extensive report of a very fat woman that he met on a plane, recounting the number of her chins and the attractiveness of her eyes in equal measure. He seems to recount the meeting with equal parts fondness and irritation, with no thought to the dignity of the woman he is describing in his book.
If there's one thing that frustrates me about old White dudes waxing lyrical about the wilds of South America, it's their habit of calling indigenous people "Indians". I was somewhat soothed that Durrell called out the artistic depictions of natives stealing off with White women for the deliberate propaganda it was, and said that if there was any of that sort of thing happening it was the Christian settlers who were the aggressors... but that doesn't win him enough brownie-points to get away with his story being peppered with flippant jokes including references to rape and slavery.
One chapter tells a story that feels similar to Where the Crawdads Sing. A man who is considered the village weirdo, lives on the outskirts of a remote village where he is an amateur naturalist. When he is not making ends meet, he is observing birds and has made extensive observations and exquisite paintings of them in biological studies. He hopes to one day publish a book, but is so poor that he can't afford the camera he wants and he struggles to get paints. It seriously feels like this account inspired the more modern work of fiction.
For all that Durrell abandoned a baby tapir in an old lady's garden without adequate shelter (spoiling her dinner party), and left a garage full of random animals to the ministrations of his hostess, while he went rambling, I warm to a man who has such vengeful anger against those who mistreat animals. His rescue of a maltreated ocelot was heartwarming, and his account of cosleeping with an ailing piglet to keep her warm when she had pneumonia, almost wins him back in my good graces.
I did enjoy hearing about some animals I have not heard of (ok.. two.. I said I was a nerdy kid who likes animals right?). I rolled my eyes as Durrell admitted that he wished he could become a fur seal so that he could have a sexy fur-seal wife (this was 16 years before he met his wife), and his raunchy (and jealous) accounts of the languorous lovemaking of elephant seals.... seriously... indecorous! .. but funny.
Durrell was the sort of man who if he wanted something he would just forge out and try and pull it off. He relied a lot on the good graces of the kind people he met. Who goes to South America to find animals for a zoo, just ... seeing what happens? And then leaves a garage full of critters to be cared for by the lady of the house while they bugger off down the road to the next town to see if they can get some more..? The audacity of the man leaves me feeling taken aback.
Durell has a very odd attitude to people. I get the impression that he observes them as though they are animals. He gives an extensive report of a very fat woman that he met on a plane, recounting the number of her chins and the attractiveness of her eyes in equal measure. He seems to recount the meeting with equal parts fondness and irritation, with no thought to the dignity of the woman he is describing in his book.
If there's one thing that frustrates me about old White dudes waxing lyrical about the wilds of South America, it's their habit of calling indigenous people "Indians". I was somewhat soothed that Durrell called out the artistic depictions of natives stealing off with White women for the deliberate propaganda it was, and said that if there was any of that sort of thing happening it was the Christian settlers who were the aggressors... but that doesn't win him enough brownie-points to get away with his story being peppered with flippant jokes including references to rape and slavery.
One chapter tells a story that feels similar to Where the Crawdads Sing. A man who is considered the village weirdo, lives on the outskirts of a remote village where he is an amateur naturalist. When he is not making ends meet, he is observing birds and has made extensive observations and exquisite paintings of them in biological studies. He hopes to one day publish a book, but is so poor that he can't afford the camera he wants and he struggles to get paints. It seriously feels like this account inspired the more modern work of fiction.
For all that Durrell abandoned a baby tapir in an old lady's garden without adequate shelter (spoiling her dinner party), and left a garage full of random animals to the ministrations of his hostess, while he went rambling, I warm to a man who has such vengeful anger against those who mistreat animals. His rescue of a maltreated ocelot was heartwarming, and his account of cosleeping with an ailing piglet to keep her warm when she had pneumonia, almost wins him back in my good graces.
I did enjoy hearing about some animals I have not heard of (ok.. two.. I said I was a nerdy kid who likes animals right?). I rolled my eyes as Durrell admitted that he wished he could become a fur seal so that he could have a sexy fur-seal wife (this was 16 years before he met his wife), and his raunchy (and jealous) accounts of the languorous lovemaking of elephant seals.... seriously... indecorous! .. but funny.
jeanetterenee's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
relaxing
medium-paced
4.25
katjah's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
medium-paced
3.25
It's a nice book to read, a bit dated with certain jokes and of course the whole premise of taking animals from the wild to put into a zoo, but the descriptions are fun and interesting to read and I quite liked the book.
seriema's review against another edition
3.5
The gunho stealing of animal from the wild is not great but it was published in the 1961 so it’s a product of its time. Hilarious though, Durrel is a great writer.