My Family and Other Animals

How it reads

My Family and Other Animals is narrative nonfiction (comic family memoir, specifically), and its dominant mood is funny. The humour is the point, not garnish. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.

It's set in an international setting, in the historical past, told in the first person by a single narrator. Its central concerns are family, nature and coming of age. In weight it's light and escapist — easy to fall into.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending resolves happily. At 273 pages it's a quick read. It's well known, the kind of book most keen readers have heard of.