The Aye-Aye and I

The Aye-Aye and I

By Gerald Durrell
$17.50
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“Oh, the utter delight of adventuring in Madagascar with the late English naturalist Gerald Durrell and his poly-voiced narrator, Rupert Degas, who beautifully channels Durrell’s slightly raspy voice, his exuberant personality, and his enthusiasm for every variety of fauna, including human. The book describes a 1990s trip to Madagascar’s remotest regions to find and collect a breeding population of a mysterious and endangered lemur known as an aye-aye. As Durrell’s team and a BBC film crew endure drenching rain, oven-baked heat, and giant mosquitoes with edifying humor, Degas evokes a wealth of personalities and accents, adding technicolor to the lively writing. Where else, for example, could one meet a hammerhead shark with a mouth reminiscent of ‘Somerset Maugham’s drooping smile’? Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”

AudioFile

Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award

Gerald Durrell’s last book, The Aye-Aye and I records his final animal-collecting expedition, a trip to Madagascar in 1990, and his efforts to save the elusive and mythical lemuroid known as the Aye-Aye. Prompted by the country’s radical deforestation, and slash-and-burn agriculture, Durrell, his wife, and their team of zoologists embark on a mission to capture and conserve the species – distinguished by its ‘giant, chisel-like teeth’, ‘round, hypnotic eyes’ and large ‘spoon-like ears’. During the course of their journey, they encounter golden river snakes, flat-tailed tortoises, the gentle lemurs of Lac Alaotra, and the Malagasy chameleons. Durrell’s exuberant descriptions of the island, its people and ecology are among his best.