Quotes from Birds, Beasts and Relatives

Gerald Durrell ·  248 pages

Rating: (4.7K votes)


“It was my birthday. I lay there savouring the feeling of having a whole day to myself when people would give me presents and the family would be forced to accede to any reasonable requests.”
― Gerald Durrell, quote from Birds, Beasts and Relatives


“Per tutta risposta Mosè smise di bere quel nettare russo per guardarlo bene in faccia.
"Ciao vecchio finocchio", lo salutò. E poi ricominciò a bere e ad ubriacarsi.”
― Gerald Durrell, quote from Birds, Beasts and Relatives


“The bear, I decided, had got to become mine. The dogs and my other animals would soon get used to it and together we could go waltzing over the hillsides.”
― Gerald Durrell, quote from Birds, Beasts and Relatives


“«Secondo me, bisogna trovargli un nuovo istitutore», disse Larry. «Ti allontani da casa cinque minuti, e quando torni, lo trovi che sta sbudellando Moby Dick nel portico.»”
― Gerald Durrell, quote from Birds, Beasts and Relatives


“«Secondo me», stava dicendo Larry, «è un poltergeist maledettamente grosso.»
«Non puo essere un poltergeist, caro», disse mamma. «I poltergeist sono quelli che fanno volare le cose.»
«Be', qualsiasi cosa sia, se ne sta lassù a trascinare le sue catene facendo un fracasso dell'accidente», disse Larry, «e io esigo che venga esorcizzata. Tu e Margo siete le esperte del paranormale. Dovete pensarci voi, andate lassù e procedete.»”
― Gerald Durrell, quote from Birds, Beasts and Relatives



“Roger and I would squat in the heavily scented shade of the myrtle bushes and watch the array of creatures that passed us; at certain times of the day the branches were as busy as the main street of a town.”
― Gerald Durrell, quote from Birds, Beasts and Relatives


“I visualized myself walking proudly through the olive groves, preceded by the dogs, Ulysses, and my two magpies, and trotting at my heels, four tame hedgehogs, all of which I would have taught to do tricks.”
― Gerald Durrell, quote from Birds, Beasts and Relatives


“Adult ant-lions come in a variety of sizes and, for the most part, rather drab colouring. They look like extremely untidy and demented dragon-flies. They have wings that seem out of all proportion to their bodies and these they flap with a desperate air, as though it required the maximum amount of energy to prevent them from crashing to the earth.”
― Gerald Durrell, quote from Birds, Beasts and Relatives


“Surely you're joking Theodore?' he protested. 'You mean to say that each snail is both a male and a female?'

'Yes indeed,' said Theodore, adding with masterly understatement, 'it's very curious.'

'Good God,' cried Larry. 'I think it's unfair. All those damned slimy things wandering about seducing each other like mad all over the bushes, and having the pleasures of both sensations. Why couldn't such a gift be given to the human race? That's what I want to know.”
― Gerald Durrell, quote from Birds, Beasts and Relatives


About the author

Gerald Durrell
Born place: in Jamshedpur, India
Born date January 7, 1925
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“Simon closed his eyes again. He nodded slowly. “So we’re slaves to love. And who we’re given to love, that’s a lottery too. Is that what you’re saying?” “It’s brutal, but that’s how it is,” Sissel declared. “And the gods laugh,” Simon said.”
― Jo Nesbø, quote from The Son


“We talk a bit, until Tess is sufficiently calm, and then I take her upstairs and see her snuggled back into bed with Cyclops and one of Maura’s romance novels. Strange bedfellows, but both seem to comfort her, and it serves to remind me again that she is a strange mix of woman and child, carrying a burden far too heavy for her.”
― Jessica Spotswood, quote from Star Cursed


“You may exist in
this world--but I exist too
and I will not yield”
― Matthew Quick, quote from Sorta Like a Rock Star


“Technically, our name, to those who speak science, is Homo sapiens— wise person. But we have been described in many other ways. Homo narrans, juridicus, ludens, diaspora: we are storytelling, legal, game-playing, scattered people, too. True but incomplete. That old phrase has the secret. We are all, have always been, will always be, Homo vorago aperientis: person before whom opens a vast & awesome hole.”
― China Miéville, quote from Railsea


“first of all nothing will happen
and a little later
nothing will happen again”
― Leonard Cohen, quote from Book of Longing


Interesting books

The Bone Collector
(131K)
The Bone Collector
by Jeffery Deaver
Kiss of Midnight
(54.5K)
Kiss of Midnight
by Lara Adrian
Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest
(76.8K)
Band of Brothers: E...
by Stephen E. Ambrose
Long Walk to Freedom
(50.6K)
Long Walk to Freedom
by Nelson Mandela
Contact
(102K)
Contact
by Carl Sagan
Demonglass
(81K)
Demonglass
by Rachel Hawkins

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.