Hello, everyone! Welcome or welcome back to my blog. Today, I am back with another review. It is an author whose work I have read for the first time, and I really liked it. It is the famous conservationist Gerald Durrell’s novel, Three Singles to Adventure. So without further ado, let us begin:
About the Author:
Gerald Durrell, one of Britain’s most popular writers, was born in Jamshedpur, India, in 1925. In 1928 his family returned to England and in 1933 they went to live on the Continent. Eventually they settled on the island of Corfu, where they lived until 1939. During this time Durrell made a special study of zoology, and kept a large number of local wild animals as pets. In 1945 he joined the staff at Whipsnade Park as a student keeper. In 1947 he financed, organized and led his first animal-collecting expedition to the Cameroons. That was followed by an expedition in 1948 and a third in 1949, this time to British Guiana.
He also made expeditions to Paraguay, Argentina and Sierra Leone. In 1962 he went to New Zealand, Australia and Malaya to film the TV series Two in the Bush, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Film Unit. In 1958 he founded the Jersey Zoological Park, and in 1964 the Jersey Preservation Trust. He was awarded the OBE in 1983 for his services to conservation, and in that year his television series, An Amateur Naturalist, was first shown in the United Kingdom. Autumn 1987 saw broadcast of the ten-part BBC television dramatization of his book My Family and Other Animals.
Three Singles to Adventure:
Three Singles to Adventure is probably the most unique book I have read till date. First of all, the story begins, not with the first chapter as usual, but with the prelude. Secondly, the book is about two hundred pages long but in reading it, never have I once felt bored. There is always action.
Three Singles to Adventure is an account of one of Durrell’s animal-collecting expeditions. This time he and his partner Kenneth Smith leave for the British Guiana in South America on a quest to capture exotic specimens that have never been captured alive before.
The story begins in the small village of Adventure. It is here that Durrell starts his animal-collecting trip. With the help of local hunters and his vast experience with animals, they manage to collect quite a few interesting specimens. Some of these animals include anacondas, iguanas, teguxins, a currasow (christened by him as Cuthbert), opossums, ant-eaters, capybaras, sloths, woodpeckers, and cayman, to name a few. His travels take him through the vast, wild forests of Guiana, its savannahs, marshes, and waterways. After his animal-collecting trip in Adventure, he and his companion Bob (Smith had stayed behind in Adventure), travel to an even more obscure place called Rupununi, in search for more specimens. Finally, they travel to the coastal areas of Guiana and navigate its creeks and waterways in search of animals, relying on the hospitality of the local Amerindian tribes.
In Three Singles to Adventure, each chapter talks about their pursuit, capture, and its aftermath of a particular set of animals. For example, the first chapter is named Snakes and Sawinkis, another one is named Crab Dogs and Carpenter Birds. Three Singles to Adventure might be a little boring for people who do not like, and don’t want to have anything to do with animals. But for a person who takes even an amateur interest animal life will love reading this book. It provides you with information at the speed of an encyclopedia, and in the style of a thriller. The language and the way of writing will lead you to believe that this is a fictional novel, not a slightly glorified account of real experiences. And as Mr. Durrell himself says, “Bringing back a living collection of animals can be frustrating, exciting and damned hard work, but never dull!”
Outro:
So that is it for today, everyone! I hope you liked the review and will enjoy reading the book as well. To stay updated, please do follow my blog. You can subscribe to it here. See you next time. Until then, arrivederci!