Unlikely Animals

A Novel

De: Annie Hartnett

Narrado por: Mark Bramhall, Kirby Heyborne

Duración: 10 h y 42 m

Resumen del Editor

“This tragicomic novel is heartfelt, touching, and delightfully quirky. You’ll fall in love with the offbeat cast of characters (both living and dead) and find yourself rooting for them right through the last page.”—Good Housekeeping (Book Club pick)

A lost young woman returns to small-town New Hampshire under the strangest of circumstances in this one-of-a-kind novel of life, death, and whatever comes after from the acclaimed author of Rabbit Cake.

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, Book Riot • Longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize

It was a source of entertainment at Maple Street Cemetery. Both funny and sad, the kind of story we like best.

Natural-born healer Emma Starling once had big plans for her life, but she’s lost her way. A medical school dropout, she’s come back to small-town Everton, New Hampshire, to care for her father, who is dying from a mysterious brain disease. Clive Starling has been hallucinating small animals, as well as having visions of the ghost of a long-dead naturalist, Ernest Harold Baynes, once known for letting wild animals live in his house. This ghost has been giving Clive some ideas on how to spend his final days.

Emma arrives home knowing she must face her dad’s illness, her mom’s judgment, and her younger brother’s recent stint in rehab, but she’s unprepared to find that her former best friend from high school is missing, with no one bothering to look for her. The police say they don’t spend much time looking for drug addicts. Emma’s dad is the only one convinced the young woman might still be alive, and Emma is hopeful he could be right. Someone should look for her, at least. Emma isn’t really trying to be a hero, but somehow she and her father bring about just the kind of miracle the town needs.

Set against the backdrop of a small town in the throes of a very real opioid crisis, Unlikely Animals is a tragicomic novel about familial expectations, imperfect friendships, and the possibility of resurrecting that which had been thought irrevocably lost.

©2022 Annie Hartnett (P)2022 Random House Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A quirky, poignant novel about family, community and love for our animal friends.”—The Washington Post

“This is a big novel doing big things. It bears some similarity to Hartnett’s much- loved first novel, Rabbit Cake. . . . But Unlikely Animals is a broader, brassier, and even more fiercely tender story. In this, her second novel, Hartnett lands an astonishing leap as a storyteller.”—The Rumpus

“Wistfully charming . . . This unapologetically genre-bending tribute to life and death, and the beautiful weirdness found in both, has potential to spark exceptional book club discussions.”—Shelf Awareness

so glad I finished this book

a really good nonsensical ramble that ended up coming together, making sense and being uplifting

incredible narration

What a quirky, delightful book. Never too intense although heavy topics are addressed. The narration makes this five stars.

Quirky and surprisingly deep

A lovely quirky story about grief. The Titanic scene at the end left me laugh/crying.

AMAZING

this is the perfect narrative and everyone should read it. funny, heartfelt, real, and surprising.

Excellently done …. Laughed out loud

Oh so so good, tender and funny all in one … loved every character e or animal

All around great listen

I really loved this sweet book. The characters were well developed and the story was so interesting! I looked forward to every listen!

Quirky in the Most Perfect Way

I don’t want to give away the plot, so I will just say that the author took on subjects that are typically very depressing and made them much lighter and at times downright funny. I couldn’t stop listening and didn’t want the book to end. I loved that the fox, dog, and a ghost helped to move the story along and acted as a metaphorical warm blanket of support and comfort at just the right times. The quirkiness of the characters kept me smiling. Instead of being sad or depressed at the end of the book, I felt like I had been embraced by a good friend.

Enjoyable

This was recommended to me by a friend. I was skeptical….but found every thing about this book delightful.

Charming book for animal lovers

This was such a fun read and I flew through it. The narration was brilliant and the characters are a lovely balance of realness and whimsy. A beautiful portrayal of the complexity of various relationships between humans and animals.

Love the characters and imagination

This book did exactly as I hoped. Didn't have to think too much, an easy listen, and, at the end, brought a smile in an otherwise busy day.