A Book That Makes Me Laugh // 30-Day Book Challenge - Day 7

Today is the seventh day of the 30-day book challenge, in which I will be writing about a different book or book series every day for 30 days, with each book chosen according to the daily prompt. Today's prompt is: "a book that makes you laugh".

I haven't always considered myself someone that was particularly close to their family. Not that I felt distant from them, just that I thought my relationship with my family was rather average in that respect. It's only been as I've got older, left home, and spoken to other people about their relationships with their families that I've come to realise I am comparatively rather close to mine.

Perhaps this is why, since going to university and moving away from my family, I've become increasingly fond of media which depicts family relationships. My current obsession in this vein is Bob's Burgers, in which the main family strikes what I believe to be a perfect balance between loving and charmingly eccentric. Another fictional family which manages to be sweet (without being twee) and funny (without being too dysfunctional) is the Durrell family, of My Family and Other Animals fame.

Nothing makes me happier than a well-executed, relatable family comedy (that is, a comedy focusing on a family). If Bob's Burgers marks the pinnacle of this sub-genre in television, then My Family and Other Animals is its potential literary counterpart. This is why I have picked this book as my choice for today's prompt, "a book that makes you laugh".

As far as I'm aware, My Family and Other Animals is quite a famous book. It was, after all, written about a famous family. The author, Gerald Durrell was a well-known naturalist and conservationist. Likewise, his brother Lawrence Durrell was a celebrated writer. As for the rest of the family, they might perhaps be less well-known if it weren't for the existence of Gerald Durrell's memoirs of their time spent in Corfu, of which My Family and Other Animals is the first in a series.

In case I'm wrong and this book is not quite iconic enough for you to have a proper outline of the plot (or perhaps you've just forgotten), here is a summary from Goodreads:

'What we all need,' said Larry, 'is sunshine...a country where we can grow.' ' 

Yes, dear, that would be nice,' agreed Mother, not really listening.  

'I had a letter from George this morning - he says Corfu's wonderful. Why don't we pack up and go to Greece?' 

'Very well, dear, if you like,' said Mother unguardedly.  

Escaping the ills of the British climate, the Durrell family - acne-ridden Margo, gun-toting Leslie, bookworm Lawrence and budding naturalist Gerry, along with their long suffering mother and Roger the dog - take off for the island of Corfu. But the Durrells find that, reluctantly, they must share their various villas with a menagerie of local fauna - among them scorpions, geckos, toads, bats and butterflies.

In short: slightly peculiar British family moves into a house in Corfu, where they encounter a range of animals and insects. Naturally, chaos and hilarity ensue.

The best thing about this book, to me, is the characters. Each member of the Durrell family is unique, with their own quirks that range from endearing to infuriating depending on the chapter. I'm not sure how accurate Gerald Durrell's depiction of his family is in comparison to real life, and to be quite frank I don't really care. He realistically portrays the mixture of love, irritation, and amusement that exists in all the funniest families, so whether it is true-to-life beyond that doesn't particularly concern me.

Whether the depiction of the many non-human creatures in the book is accurate is another question entirely, and unfortunately not one I'm able to answer. I would assume that Durrell himself, being a man who spent his life working with animals, would try to represent them as factually as possible in his writing, but then I don't know enough to say. Either way, I got the sense when reading that this was a book written by someone who truly loves and is fascinated by animals. All creatures, from the family dog Roger to the female mantis living in Gerry's bedroom, are depicted with warmth and humour. For the most part, Durrell's love for the animal world is infectious.

Getting back to the comedic aspect of the book - which this post is meant to focus on - the funniest and most memorable scenes come in the interactions between the two aforementioned main camps of the My Family and Other Animals books: the family and the animals. There are a number of really amusing scenes in the book, which I won't go into in much detail as I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it yet. That said, if you ever do read it, keep an eye out for the scenes with the scorpions and those with the Magenpies (you'll know what that means when they make their appearance).

Finally, I'd like to end this post by mentioning the recent adaptation of the Corfu trilogy on BBC: The Durrells. Out of principle, I don't normally like to mention film adaptations of books when discussing the source material, lest anyone be under the illusion that watching the film is an appropriate substitute for actually reading the book. However, The Durrells is such a good TV series that I'm willing to make an exception for it. It has all the charm and laughter of the book, in addition to some brilliant acting by a great cast. In addition to the original book (which you really should read regardless), I would highly recommend the series. Hopefully, at least one of them will make you laugh as much as I did.