I will be leading a book discussion at the Boston Athenaeum: Two Views of Corfu, April 25 at 10 am

Join us for a discussion of two very different books which feature the same landscape and main characters. Most people know only one of the Durrell brothers, but each one has his own brilliance. Lawrence writes about the historical and literary landscape in an artistic and serious manner, while Gerald focuses on the local wildlife, a group which includes his older siblings. The juxtapositions between what each one thinks is important and noteworthy makes reading the books in tandem a delight. Gerald doesn’t deign to mention his brother’s wife; Lawrence ignores the fauna. Gerald has nothing to say about Greek myths; Lawrence pretends he is not with his family. Read one book or both and join a short visit to the gorgeous Greek island of Corfu. If the conversation leads to a wider discussion of Lawrence’s fiction (The Alexandria Quartet), Gerald’s impressive improvements in how zoos are designed and the Boston area’s best Greek restaurants, all the better.

Lawrence Durrell – known for fiction: Alexandria Quartet (Justine, Balthazar, Mountolive, Clea) and The Avignon Quintet (Monsieur, Livia, Constance, Sebastian, Quinx)

• light humor: The Best of Antrobus, Esprit de Corps
• travel writing: Prospero’s Cell (Corfu), Reflections on a Marine Venus (Rhodes), Bitter Lemons (Cyprus), Spirit of Place (collection of travel writing)
• children’s fiction: White Eagles Over Serbia
• biography: Larry: A New Biography of Lawrence Durrell, 1912-1945; Lawrence Durrell: A Biography by Ian S. MacNiven
• if you like his fiction, maybe try: The English Patient
• if you like his light humor, maybe try: Hotel Splendide, La Bonne Table, Bemelmans
• if you like his travel writing, maybe try: Provence, F. M. Ford; The Station, Robert Bryon

Gerald Durrell – known for autobiographical books set on Corfu in his childhood: My Family and Other Animals, Birds, Beasts and Relatives; The Garden of the Gods

• animal collecting/ creating a zoo: Three Singles to Adventure. A Zoo in my Luggage, The Bafut Beagles, The Whispering Land, The Aye-Aye and I, Menagerie Manor
• animal/ nature conservation: The Ark’s Anniversary, Amateur Naturalist
• children’s fiction: Rosy Is My Relative
• autobiography: Myself and Other Animals
• biography: Gerald Durrell: The Authorized Biography by Douglas Botting
• visit: Jersey Zoo, https://www.durrell.org/visit-jersey-zoo/
• if you like amusing adventures, maybe try: Whatever You Do, Don’t Run: True Tales of a Botswana Safari Guide and A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush

Other texts

• Whatever Happened to Margo? Margo tells HER side of the story!
• Dining with the Durrells: Stories and Recipes from the Cookery Archive of Mrs Louisa Durrell – mom’s recipes!
• The Durrell-Miller Letters: 1935-1980

Back from Ubar or What to Read if You Insist on Staying Home

Cultural Refraction: Using Travel Writing, Anthropology and Fiction to Understand the Culture of Southern Arabia – 2009

Travel Writing

“Yemen with Yul,” travel essay published