Preview

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Unlikely Animals

By: Annie Hartnett
Narrated by: Mark Bramhall, Kirby Heyborne
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $18.00

Buy for $18.00

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

“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
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

“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

What listeners say about Unlikely Animals

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    497
  • 4 Stars
    148
  • 3 Stars
    50
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    4
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    518
  • 4 Stars
    88
  • 3 Stars
    25
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    449
  • 4 Stars
    128
  • 3 Stars
    40
  • 2 Stars
    13
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Unlikely Animals was wonderful

wasn't sure if I was going to like this strange tale but it was wonderful, totally enjoyed it..

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Engaging!

Thoroughly enjoyed this quirky, laugh-out loud tale of humanity and love and being there for each other.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Delightful story and characters

This book landed for me as a kind and quirky mix of delight, fantasy, and hopefulness with some real gritty issues and complexity handled in an easily palatable manner.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Perfect story

Narrator was great! Story was great! Saw this on tiktok and glad I tried it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The love!

This is so cute and quirky and fun to listen to!! I really love the characters, and I loved how they all came together in the end

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

witty

mystery and laughs and truth with relatable characters. I read this book in 3 days because I couldn't wait to find out what happened next

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A memorable cast of characters

About halfway through the book I was not overly impressed. I thought it was “fine” but nothing amazing. But that second half brought together this intricate, character driven storyline in truly delightful ways. The creative way the story is told, from the vantage point of the town’s graveyard residents, adds such a fun and insightful touch. Just truly marvelous all around!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Inventive , fresh, wonderfully narrated

What a surprising delight! I am seldom surprised by characters and story lines but this book, excellently narrated, does it all

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!