Call number
590 DUR
Collection
Series
Publication
Penguin Books (1976), 192 pages
Description
A Zoo in My Luggage is the colorful, first-hand account of Gerald Durrell's six-month animal-collecting trip in British Cameroon, and his attempts to create his own zoo. Motivated by a passion for wildlife, and a desire to save endangered species from extinction, Durrell assembles a glorious panoply of exotic animals - including a female baboon called Georgina, who later runs amok in a department store; a black-eared squirrel, who tries to bury nuts in his ear; and a gentlemanly chimpanzee named Chumly, who greets him with an outstretched hand. Aided by the Fon of Bafut, who houses the collection (and hosts many long and lively parties), Durrell amasses more than 250 animals. He struggles to find a home for the animals back in England, until a stroke of luck leads him to Jersey, and the eventual founding of Durrell Wildlife Park (now Jersey Zoo).… (more)
Subjects
User reviews
LibraryThing member cookbookkid
For animal lovers who can laugh at all the silly things animals do. The story is about a man who goes to collect animals to start a zoo. Most of the story is set in Africa. The ending was the only disapointing part is was lacking the hummor the rest of the book employed.
LibraryThing member BoundTogetherForGood
Interesting but not quite as good as I expected.
LibraryThing member IonaS
This is another enjoyable and amusing book by Gerald Durrell, an account of one his animal-collecting expeditions to Bafut in the British Cameroons in West Africa. I didn´t know where this was and had to look it up in my atlas; the country must now have changed its name.
Previously, while
Durrell had written about the Fon following a previous stay with him, but had become afraid that his portrait of him might have been “open to misconstruction” and the Fon might have felt that Durrell had portrayed him as a senile alcoholic. So prior to the present trip he writes to the Fon asking with some trepidation whether he, his wife Jacquie and his team might again be allowed to enjoy his hospitality. It turned out however that the Fon had been most flattered by the unexpected fame he had encountered after being depicted in depth in Durrell´s book (I don´t know yet which one that was); many Europeans had visited the Fon with Durrell´s book in their hands, and the Fon had ended up autographing all these books, as though he himself had been the author!
Durrell and wife are accommodated in the Fon´s Rest House and their extra team of two arrives later; many of the locals begin to queue up outside with animals (“beef”) they have collected to sell to them, news of their arrival having hastily spread.
We´re apprised of the antics of a baby black-eared squirrel they receive, called Squill-bill small and of Bug-eyes, a needle-clawed lemur. On reading Durrell´s books we realize that each individual animal has its own distinct personality, just as we humans do.
When talking to the Fon and the other locals, Durrell and the others use a form of pidgin English, only half of which I for one could understand.
The Durrells and the Fon enjoy many entertaining get-togethers, with much dancing, singing and drinking, not least the latter.
They are presented with many monkeys, and one of their favourites is a half-grown female baboon called Georgina. She has “a wicked sense of humour”, and this leads to many both amusing and less amusing escapades.
Back in England, Georgina runs riot in a large department store, so they require the aid of two constables together with Durrell´s sister Margo to capture her.
At the end of the book, Durrell by a stroke of serendipity finds a suitable place to deposit his animals and set up his zoo – in Jersey.
Durrell is a master story-teller and recounts innumerable riotous episodes.
To sum up, another delightfully entertaining book by Gerald Durrell, though perhaps it does not quite reach the level of “My family and other animals”, which is my favourite. The writing is excellent, there are many fascinating descriptions of the various animals´ behaviour, and humour abounds!
Previously, while
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collecting animals in that country, Durrell had been permitted to stay in the Palace of the Fon of Bafut. I don´t know what a Fon is, neither could I find the word in any dictionary, but Durrell states that he was a “potentate”. The Fon in question has innumerable wives and hordes of children; he is tall, elderly, and extremely entertaining.Durrell had written about the Fon following a previous stay with him, but had become afraid that his portrait of him might have been “open to misconstruction” and the Fon might have felt that Durrell had portrayed him as a senile alcoholic. So prior to the present trip he writes to the Fon asking with some trepidation whether he, his wife Jacquie and his team might again be allowed to enjoy his hospitality. It turned out however that the Fon had been most flattered by the unexpected fame he had encountered after being depicted in depth in Durrell´s book (I don´t know yet which one that was); many Europeans had visited the Fon with Durrell´s book in their hands, and the Fon had ended up autographing all these books, as though he himself had been the author!
Durrell and wife are accommodated in the Fon´s Rest House and their extra team of two arrives later; many of the locals begin to queue up outside with animals (“beef”) they have collected to sell to them, news of their arrival having hastily spread.
We´re apprised of the antics of a baby black-eared squirrel they receive, called Squill-bill small and of Bug-eyes, a needle-clawed lemur. On reading Durrell´s books we realize that each individual animal has its own distinct personality, just as we humans do.
When talking to the Fon and the other locals, Durrell and the others use a form of pidgin English, only half of which I for one could understand.
The Durrells and the Fon enjoy many entertaining get-togethers, with much dancing, singing and drinking, not least the latter.
They are presented with many monkeys, and one of their favourites is a half-grown female baboon called Georgina. She has “a wicked sense of humour”, and this leads to many both amusing and less amusing escapades.
Back in England, Georgina runs riot in a large department store, so they require the aid of two constables together with Durrell´s sister Margo to capture her.
At the end of the book, Durrell by a stroke of serendipity finds a suitable place to deposit his animals and set up his zoo – in Jersey.
Durrell is a master story-teller and recounts innumerable riotous episodes.
To sum up, another delightfully entertaining book by Gerald Durrell, though perhaps it does not quite reach the level of “My family and other animals”, which is my favourite. The writing is excellent, there are many fascinating descriptions of the various animals´ behaviour, and humour abounds!
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LibraryThing member leslie.98
I enjoyed this nonfiction book but don't think it was quite as good as some of the other Gerald Durrell books I have read. Maybe I should have read it rather than listening to the audiobook...
LibraryThing member PhyllisH
My least favorite of the Durrell books.
LibraryThing member ahef1963
A Zoo in my Luggage is the story of naturalist Gerald Durrell's second animal-collecting venture to what were then called the British Cameroons. It is now an independent nation called Cameroon. The story is an excellent one, full of adventure and humour, and detailed and highly engaging tales of
The most memorable part of the book is not the animals, but the local headman, the Fon of Bafut. Readers of Durrell will remember the Fon from an earlier book The Bafut Beagles. The ruler of this area of north-west Cameroon is a wonderful figure. Did you know that much of our common knowledge about the Fon has been gleaned from Durrell's portraits of him? This Fon was named Achirimbi II. He was tall; erect of bearing, clad usually in yellow robes and a skull-cap, generally holding tight to a endless glass of scotch, and he is an aficianado of dancing, women, and booze. He had dozens of wives. He is a fascinating character, whose appearances in the book brighten the story immeasurably. There are Fons of Bafut to this day, although they wield less power, and act mainly as local magistrates and administrators under the central government of Cameroon.
Durrell's fame is at least partially because he excels at anthropomophizing the animals he collects. He gives them names, he describes the animals in hilarious anecdotes, and attributes to them quite human characteristics. In this book there are no lack of funny animals to delight the reader.
The book would have received five stars had it not been for the timely, but intolerable way of speaking of native Cameroonians? Camerooners? Google tells me that Cameroonian is the correct demonym. There is also something left to be desired in the unethical way in which Durrell simply marched in and captured wildlife. I do realize that this was the common way of speaking and acting in 1957, but it is off-putting.
The narrator, Rupert Degas, is excellent, and he does voices incredibly well.
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capturing animals and socializing with the natives.The most memorable part of the book is not the animals, but the local headman, the Fon of Bafut. Readers of Durrell will remember the Fon from an earlier book The Bafut Beagles. The ruler of this area of north-west Cameroon is a wonderful figure. Did you know that much of our common knowledge about the Fon has been gleaned from Durrell's portraits of him? This Fon was named Achirimbi II. He was tall; erect of bearing, clad usually in yellow robes and a skull-cap, generally holding tight to a endless glass of scotch, and he is an aficianado of dancing, women, and booze. He had dozens of wives. He is a fascinating character, whose appearances in the book brighten the story immeasurably. There are Fons of Bafut to this day, although they wield less power, and act mainly as local magistrates and administrators under the central government of Cameroon.
Durrell's fame is at least partially because he excels at anthropomophizing the animals he collects. He gives them names, he describes the animals in hilarious anecdotes, and attributes to them quite human characteristics. In this book there are no lack of funny animals to delight the reader.
The book would have received five stars had it not been for the timely, but intolerable way of speaking of native Cameroonians? Camerooners? Google tells me that Cameroonian is the correct demonym. There is also something left to be desired in the unethical way in which Durrell simply marched in and captured wildlife. I do realize that this was the common way of speaking and acting in 1957, but it is off-putting.
The narrator, Rupert Degas, is excellent, and he does voices incredibly well.
Show Less
Pages
192
ISBN
0140020845 / 9780140020847