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8 min read
Reader ratingreader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
4.6
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Birds, Beasts and Relatives by Gerald Durrell Review: A Joyful Return to Corfu's Wild Heart
The second volume of Gerald Durrell's beloved Corfu Trilogy deepens the naturalist memoir begun in My Family and Other Animals, following the young Gerald and his wonderfully chaotic family through further adventures on the Greek island — blending sharp comic observation, rich portraits of wildlife, and an abiding love for a landscape that shaped one of the twentieth century's great conservationists.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Readers who loved My Family and Other Animals and want to follow Gerald Durrell deeper into his naturalist obsessions, or anyone drawn to memoir that blends comic family chaos with serious wildlife observation and a vivid sense of 1930s Corfu.
Worth it if
You come to it having read the first volume of the Corfu Trilogy — the emotional payoff and the comedy of the Durrell household land far more fully with that context already in place.
Skip if
Readers who pick it up expecting the same ratio of family-comedy to wildlife writing as My Family and Other Animals may find the heavier naturalist focus a slight adjustment, and those reading out of sequence will miss much of the character groundwork that gives the family episodes their warmth.
What readers & critics say
Reviewers consistently praise Durrell's ability to blend nature writing and memoir with comic flair: raincityreads.com describes the book as "half nature guide, half coming-of-age tale, and all charmingly funny memoir," while beenews.com notes that Durrell's detailed accounts of endangered species on Corfu give the book genuine conservation resonance beyond charming reminiscence.
Sources: Rain City Reads, BeeNews, Sue's Book Reviews, JaneGS Blog, Write Out Loud Blog4.6from 1,817 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
Age & Reading Level
Recommended age
Adult
Reading level
Adult
Skip if you're looking for laugh-out-loud family comedy above all else and have little interest in detailed wildlife and nature observation.
In This Review
- What Works & What Doesn't
- What the Book Actually Is
- The Naturalist at the Center
- Comic Texture and Family Portraits
- Place, Culture, and the World Beyond the Island
- Who This Book Is For and Where It Sits
What Works & What Doesn't
What Works
- Deepens the naturalist focus of the trilogy, with Durrell's wildlife observations carrying real zoological and conservation weight
- Vivid, specific portrait of Corfu in the 1930s — landscape, culture, and local characters rendered with particular detail
- Durrell's comic gift for capturing his eccentric family's personalities remains a strong narrative engine
- Works on multiple levels: as memoir, nature writing, and a record of a conservationist's formative years
- Readily accessible in the Open Road Media Kindle edition as part of a complete trilogy
What Doesn't
- Best read in sequence after My Family and Other Animals — its emotional payoff is reduced without the first volume's context
- Some readers note that the heavier emphasis on wildlife, while enriching, comes at a slight cost to the family-comedy balance that made the first book so immediately engaging
This review covers the content and published reception of Birds, Beasts and Relatives based on available sources; hands-on application is not assessed here, as this is a memoir rather than an instructional text.
Birds, Beasts and Relatives (The Corfu Trilogy Book 2) by Gerald Durrell front cover
What the Book Actually Is
Birds, Beasts and Relatives is the second installment of Gerald Durrell's autobiographical Corfu Trilogy, following the Durrell family as they return to the Greek island of Corfu in the 1930s. The book continues from where My Family and Other Animals left off, with a young Gerald — already a committed naturalist by the age of ten — living in an unconventional household alongside his mother and siblings, all while pursuing his obsessive fascination with the island's wildlife. The narrative moves through episodes of animal rescue, family comedy, and encounters with local culture, including the chaos surrounding King George's return to Greece and the disruptions introduced by visiting personalities such as the memorably eccentric Prince Jeejeebuoy. It is autobiography, nature writing, and travelogue woven into a single, distinctive voice.
“cordoned off from the rest of the world's conflicts, almost like a little bubble”
The Naturalist at the Center
Where the first book in the trilogy established the premise, Birds, Beasts and Relatives places Durrell's passion for wildlife even more firmly at the heart of the narrative. His detailed observations of Corfu's animals — their behaviors, habitats, and, in some passages, their precarious situations on the island — carry real zoological weight alongside the comedy. Published sources note that Durrell's accounts of endangered species on Corfu speak meaningfully to conservation concerns, making the book something more than charming reminiscence. The young Gerald's eye for animal behavior gives each creature its own personality and place in the story, rendering the natural world of Corfu as vivid a character as any member of the Durrell household.
Comic Texture and Family Portraits
One of the trilogy's most celebrated qualities is Durrell's gift for rendering his family on the page with both affection and precision. The chaos of the Durrell household — its personalities colliding, its visitors arriving uninvited, its domestic arrangements perpetually disrupted by Gerald's latest animal acquisitions — provides the comic architecture that holds each episode together. Some readers, as one blogger at Earnestly Eccentric noted, find that the book's deepened focus on wildlife comes at a slight cost to the family-dynamic comedy that made the first volume so immediately winning, though the same reader described it as "an absolute delight to read." The balance between Gerald's interior world as a naturalist and the outward farce of family life is what gives the Corfu Trilogy its distinctive register.
Place, Culture, and the World Beyond the Island
Durrell's portrait of Corfu functions not merely as picturesque backdrop but as an active shaping force on the narrative. The island's landscape, wildlife, and Greek culture — observed through the eyes of an English boy who clearly loves his adopted home — are rendered with specificity and warmth. As the Earnestly Eccentric blog observed, Durrell paints Corfu as "an idyllic picture of the island," almost "cordoned off from the rest of the world's conflicts, almost like a little bubble" — which makes the book's ending, when the family's time on the island must draw toward a close, land with unexpected emotional weight. The 1930s setting gives the memoir a quality of preserved time, capturing a Corfu that no longer exists, and the book's cultural observations — Greek customs, local characters, village life — add texture that goes well beyond a simple nature diary.
Who This Book Is For and Where It Sits
Birds, Beasts and Relatives is best approached as part of the Corfu Trilogy rather than a fully standalone read, since its emotional resonance depends on familiarity with the family established in My Family and Other Animals. That said, the Open Road Media Kindle edition — published in October 2016 — makes the whole trilogy readily accessible to new readers. The book will reward readers drawn to nature writing, memoir with a strong comic sensibility, or mid-twentieth-century travel writing rooted in a specific place and era. Durrell's legacy as a conservationist and founder of the Jersey Zoo lends his childhood observations a retrospective significance: the seeds of a lifelong commitment to wildlife are visible throughout, making this as much a document of a vocation taking shape as it is a collection of funny, tender stories about a boy and his animals.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Birds, Beasts and Relatives worth reading?
The review describes it as a rewarding read for anyone drawn to nature writing, memoir with a strong comic sensibility, or mid-twentieth-century travel writing rooted in a specific place and era. One reader quoted in the review called it 'an absolute delight to read,' and the review highlights Durrell's distinctive voice as a key strength throughout.
Who is the target audience for this book?
The review recommends it most strongly to readers who enjoy nature writing, comic memoir, or travel writing set in a specific historical era. It also notes that Durrell's legacy as a conservationist and founder of the Jersey Zoo gives the book retrospective significance, making it appealing to readers interested in wildlife conservation as well.
Can you read this book as a standalone book?
The review advises approaching it as part of the Corfu Trilogy rather than a fully standalone read, since its emotional resonance depends on familiarity with the family established in My Family and Other Animals. That said, the review notes the Open Road Media Kindle edition makes the whole trilogy readily accessible to new readers.
What is this book actually about?
It is the second installment of Gerald Durrell's autobiographical Corfu Trilogy, following the Durrell family as they return to the Greek island of Corfu in the 1930s. The narrative weaves together episodes of animal rescue, family comedy, and encounters with local Greek culture, all filtered through the perspective of a young Gerald who is already a committed naturalist.
What are the main themes in this book?
The review identifies nature and wildlife observation, family life and comedy, and a deep sense of place as the book's central themes. It also highlights conservation as a meaningful undercurrent, noting that Durrell's accounts of endangered species on Corfu give the book weight beyond charming reminiscence.
How does this book handle conservation themes?
The review notes that Durrell's accounts of endangered species on Corfu speak meaningfully to conservation concerns, making the book something more than charming reminiscence. Durrell's legacy as the founder of the Jersey Zoo lends his childhood observations a retrospective significance, with the seeds of a lifelong commitment to wildlife visible throughout.
How does this book compare to My Family and Other Animals?
The review observes that this second volume places Durrell's passion for wildlife even more firmly at the heart of the narrative compared to the first book, which focused more on establishing the family premise. Some readers, as noted from the Earnestly Eccentric blog, find that the deepened focus on wildlife comes at a slight cost to the family-dynamic comedy that made the first volume so immediately winning.
Does the book have less family comedy than the first volume?
The review acknowledges this as a mild caveat, citing a reader at the Earnestly Eccentric blog who noted the book's deeper focus on wildlife comes at a slight cost to the family-dynamic comedy of the first volume. However, the same reader still described it as 'an absolute delight to read,' suggesting the shift in balance does not undermine the overall experience.
What is the writing style like in this book?
The review describes Durrell's voice as distinctive, blending autobiography, nature writing, and travelogue into a single register. His prose gives each creature its own personality and renders the natural world of Corfu as vivid a character as any member of the Durrell household, combining zoological detail with warmth and comedy.
How is the Corfu setting portrayed in the book?
The review emphasizes that Corfu functions not merely as picturesque backdrop but as an active shaping force on the narrative, rendered with specificity and warmth through the eyes of an English boy who clearly loves his adopted home. The Earnestly Eccentric blog is quoted describing Durrell's Corfu as 'an idyllic picture of the island,' almost 'cordoned off from the rest of the world's conflicts, almost like a little bubble.'
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
- 1
- 2
- Further reading
- 3
Gerald Durrell, Wikipedia
- 4
- 5
newbookrecommendation.com
- 6
- 7
raincityreads.com
- 8
fantasticfiction.com
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