My Animals and Other Family

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Several weeks later, Gerry attempts to capture a terrapin named Old Plop and instead, captures two water snakes.

It was no half-hearted spring, this: the whole island vibrated with it as though a great, ringing chord had been struck. I have read many autobiographies about celebrities, horse riders and sports professionals but none of them are as spectacularly fantastic and as interesting as Claire Balding’s.Although My Family and Other Animals is presented as autobiographical, the events described are not always true. The magnolia tree loomed vast over the house, its branches full of white blooms, like a hundred miniature reflections of the moon, and their thick, sweet scent hung over the veranda languorously, the scent that was an enchantment luring you out into the mysterious, moonlit countryside.

An amazing life of where animals come in the pecking line before humans, (in some cases that is true) as well as a long line of heritage (which is baffling) and a grandmother who is not afraid to speak her mind about everything. Now we have snakes in the bath and huge flocks of albatrosses flapping round the house, making noises like defective plumbing. And despite the fact that I have no knowledge of or interest in horse racing, I did find this account of growing up as the (inevitably, horse-mad) daughter of a racehorse trainer quite interesting. Certainly there were other critters in my neighborhood, where we spent our days exploring, catching pollywogs and traipsing through the woods or swinging on vines all while trying to avoid snakes and such, or catching lightning bugs at night (but then releasing them back to the darkening skies), but I can’t imagine bringing home even a snake, let alone some of the creatures young Gerald brought home.Her story provides a great personal view of that life, although I was a bit lost with her education. I need to find some successful female role models with upbringings that I can actually relate to instead.