An autobiographical account of the five years of his childhood between 1935 and 1939, My Family And Other Animals is written by the conservationist Gerald Durrell. These five years of his life were spent in a Greek island named Corfu, with his family. The family lived in three villas and thus, this book too is divided in three sections describing the life of his family there.

The Durrell family was comprised of different people with different temperaments. It includes Gerald’s widowed mother, sister Margo, brother Larry, gun-mad Leslie, and dog named Roger. The youngest among them is Gerald. There are also some absurd yet lovable characters in this book, some of which include Larry’s literary and artistic visitors, Gerald’s tutors, local peasants, the taxi-driver friend named Spiro, and Dr Theodore Stephanides.

My Family And Other Animals takes the readers through the journey of the family’s experiences on the island, the rich natural diversity of the island, and colourful villas. This book is an interesting account of the author’s childhood with a touch of humour and wit. It was published by Penguin UK in 2006, and is available in paperback format.