Three Singles to Adventure by Gerald Durrell

 

First Line: The following book is an account of a trip I made to British Guiana during 1950 with my partner, Kenneth Smith.

 

In 1950, Gerald Durrell set off for British Guiana (now Guyana) to collect native wildlife and bring it back to his Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust and other zoos. It was a journey filled with adventures of all sorts of landscapes and wildlife. Monkeys, sloths, piranhas, ill-tempered anacondas, and an anteater determined to escape-- Durrell experienced them all and more.

 

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Being in need of an exotic locale and unfamiliar wildlife, I turned to one of the best sources for both: Gerald Durrell. When starting out on their adventures in Guyana, Durrell and his partners discovered that there was a place named Adventure, and none of them could resist: they went to the train station and asked for Three Singles to Adventure.

When reading Durrell's memoirs about his travels collecting wildlife, readers get a good idea of how to collect, care for, and transport animals to zoos. Once an animal is captured, the work has only just begun for these people. But this is probably the weakest of the reasons to read this and others of Durrell's memoirs. What sticks with me most are his anecdotes. How charming and lovable tree porcupines are. How an overly affectionate bird named Cuthbert loved to lay across everyone's feet. 

Durrell can also have readers laughing when he tells us "...how difficult it is to explain to a policeman why you are carrying a capybara through the streets at one o'clock in the morning." I wouldn't want to explain that either. But where this man can have me absolutely enthralled is when I read his descriptions of the landscape. In Guyana, I was with him in the canoe as it swept beneath orchid-decorated trees and eased through carpets of water lilies while the air vibrated with gold, blue, green, scarlet, and bronze dragonflies. I also found myself with a teary eye and a smile on my face as he described a group of dirty, tattooed, tough-as-old-boots merchant seamen who would make daily trips to the hold to watch the birth and development of tadpoles.

I greatly enjoyed my time with Durrell in Guyana, and I'm already wondering where he and I will be going next.

Three Singles to Adventure by Gerald Durrell

eISBN: 9781504042857

Open Road Integrated Media © 2017

Originally published 1954.

eBook, 177 pages

Memoirs

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

The Water Rat of Wanchai by Ian Hamilton

First Line: When the phone rang, Ava woke with a start.

Ava Lee works for a mysterious businessman she calls "Uncle." Uncle's business is tracking down large sums of money that have disappeared, and he relies on Ava because she's very, very good at what she does. As a forensic accountant, she can track down money anywhere and get it back, usually without violence (which is something she's almost got Uncle trained not to resort to).

This time, one of Uncle's friends has requested help for his nephew, who needs to recover five million dollars from a business deal that went sideways. Ava steps in and finds herself on a journey from Seattle to Hong Kong to Bangkok to Guyana and the British Virgin Islands. In Guyana, she might have met her match: Captain Robbins controls the police, the politicians, and the criminals-- and he's decided that he wants the lion's share of Ava's five million dollars.

Over the past few years, I've kept hearing rave reviews about this series from a very trusted source, and I finally decided that now was the time to sample Ian Hamilton's wares. Shall I just say that I'll be back for seconds, thirds, fourths, and more? I've always been a fan of heist books and films, especially when the loot is being stolen from despicable algae masquerading as human beings. That's exactly what Ava does here, and not only from the original thief, but also from Captain Robbins who has an idea that Ava Lee is really good at what she does, but he still thinks he can keep the upper hand on this pretty little lady.

Besides being a top forensic accountant, Ava Lee is also a martial arts expert. Do not mess with her. She's super-intelligent, she's cool, she's unattainable, and if she needs to, she will take you out. What I liked about her is that she usually took people out without using violence. When television and movies began showing women being able to win knock-down drag-out fights with men, I was happy and did a little bit of cheering, but those fight scenes get really old, really quick. Don't get me wrong, I do like a good fight now and then, but I prefer intelligence over physical strength. Ava does, too. The only thing that I didn't care for is the fact that every man who met Ava started drooling and wanting her to go out with him. Show some self-respect, guys! (Besides, you're drooling up the wrong tree; Ava is gay.)

Hamilton's story is fast-paced, with unexpected flashes of humor, and plenty of tension and suspense. An added bonus that I loved was the fact that Ava Lee is an excellent tour guide. I felt as though I were in each of those countries with her, and I was just as happy to leave Guyana as she was. Yes indeed-- character, story, setting... they all make this a book to savor. Now I'm going to begin savoring the rest of the series!

The Water Rat of Wanchai by Ian Hamilton

APA The Deadly Touch of the Tigress
ISBN: 9781250032270

Picador Books © 2014

Paperback, 400 pages

Private Investigator, #1 Ava Lee mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.