Birds, Beasts, and Relatives by Gerald Durrell was the second of his books I read. It revisited the family's years on the Greek island of Corfu. Very good. I wondered about the extreme freedom young Gerry was allowed. He often wandered about the area on his own, dropping in on various Greek neighbors, who usually fed him and gave him wine. Hospitality there must have been really generous. I did a little research on the Durrell family (being curious) and the family did tend to have alcoholic tendencies...definitely Gerry, Larry and their mother had drinking problems...maybe the others siblings, not sure. That problem have had something to do with the mother not objecting to a minor having so much freedom. Nevertheless, the stories are very entertaining!
I also got through "my grandmother asked me to tell you she's sorry" by Frederik Backman. I could hardly put the book down! The first chapter can be confusing...probably because the author seems to let the reader see things through the eyes of the seven year old girl, so the girl's situation is not explained that well at first. She is very close to her eccentric 77 year old granny, who helps her by somehow taking her to a magical kingdom when they are in a state of between wakefulness and sleep. They also have a secret language. The girl is very sensitive and doesn't have any friends of her own age...in fact, she is constantly bullied by schoolmates. She, her mother and her mother's boyfriend live next door to granny, but the relationship between the mother and child is often strained and also the child rejects the boyfriend, even though he tries to be nice to her. Eventually, it's revealed the granny is dying. After granny dies, the child has to start delivering letters from granny...including one to a man she thinks is a monster who lives in the same building. And she has to tell a mysterious creature (through a door) that granny is gone, triggering loud howling. How she deals with her own grief and with the mission given to her by her granny is challenging, to say the least, for a young child. The "monster" and the creature the story calls a wurse will become more and more important to her as time goes by and more letters appear. She will get to know more about granny and those who receive the letters as the story progresses. And she will have to conquer her fears and grow closer to her mother. Glad I found this one!
to the book's editors, Lou Aronica & Shawna McCarthy. Now, if only I could forget some of my favorite books and re-read them...but I guess I should be careful what I wish for.
