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The Animals in That Country
- Narrated by: Laura Jean McKay
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
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The Animals in That Country
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Publisher's Summary
Winner of the Arthur C. Clarke award.
Out on the road, no one speaks, everything talks.
Hard-drinking, foul-mouthed and allergic to bullshit, Jean is not your usual grandma. She’s never been good at getting on with other humans, apart from her beloved granddaughter, Kimberly. Instead, she surrounds herself with animals, working as a guide in an outback wildlife park. And although Jean talks to all her charges, she has a particular soft spot for a young dingo called Sue.
As disturbing news arrives of a pandemic sweeping the country, Jean realises this is no ordinary flu: its chief symptom is that its victims begin to understand the language of animals — first mammals, then birds and insects, too. As the flu progresses, the unstoppable voices become overwhelming and many people begin to lose their minds, including Jean’s infected son, Lee. When he takes off with Kimberly, heading south, Jean feels the pull to follow her kin.
Setting off on their trail, with Sue the dingo riding shotgun, they find themselves in a stark, strange world in which the animal apocalypse has only further isolated people from other species. Bold, exhilarating and wholly original, The Animals in That Country asks what would happen, for better or worse, if we finally understood what animals were saying.
Critic Reviews
"A game-changing, life-changing novel." (Ceridwen Dovey)
"Deliriously strange, blackly hilarious, and completely exhilarating." (James Bradley)
"Engrossing, subversive and surprisingly profound." (J.P. Pomare)
What listeners say about The Animals in That Country
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ann Culy
- 11-05-2022
Pushes the boundaries
This really stayed with me and rang true . I have looked at my animals I live with with respect!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 28-09-2022
Interesting
I found this story unique and wanted to find out what happened next at every chapter's end.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- The McBeans
- 04-08-2020
Interesting concept not fully realised
This is a very interesting idea developed with a poetic sensibility that offers a way to think about inter-species communication. It is let down by a reading performance by the author who would have been well advised to employ a professional for the task. Despite this, it will repay your attention with enough to think about to justify your time.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- David Gowers
- 19-10-2021
Interesting story, average narration
I was initially excited to listen to this, especially with the author reading it herself, but it got a bit difficult to keep up with because the narration got stilted in places where I didn't think it should have, places where it didn't seem to make much sense. Which is a real shame because this is a great concept for a story. Maybe I'll track down a physical copy and read it for myself, see if that makes a difference
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anna Richardson
- 17-05-2021
Great aussie story - excellently voiced
Amazing gripping story which held my interest til the end. I love the way the Author described the characters and didnt try to 'pretty' them up for the sake of the story. The authors voice was calm, clear and inviting.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Sessi Riebi
- 16-10-2021
Great story, average narration
Great story, especially in our current pandemic world. Much of it is very well written although sometimes hard to follow. Must say I found the narration pretty dreadful - unless trained I don't think authors should read their own novels!? Notable exception was some of the animal dialogue which was really clever, and funny. Anyway I persevered, and eventually it grew on me. I would definitely recommend this book, but maybe as one to read rather than to listen to.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Chris Bartkus
- 22-02-2021
Distracting narration
I was excited when i heard it was to be the author narrating her own book, but now i know why most other books use performers to do the narration; it was a bit flat and distracting.
The writing is good, and the story is original, but i never managed to fully get into it.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 05-11-2021
Unique!
I enjoyed the humour, sometimes dark humour and sometimes quirky, which took the edge off during darker parts of this novel. It took me a while to get into the book but once I did I started to get in sync with the new language / the style of speech of the animals and it grew on me. I think this is written very well. It’s unpredictable and engaging!
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- AJR
- 24-11-2021
Great idea, but somehow didn't quite pull it off.
Great concept, would have been better read by a professional actor rather than the author, but I suspect she wanted to get the animal voices how she had envisaged them. Rather an abrupt end!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Joe's Auntie
- 25-11-2020
A fabulous book and the best narration
I really love this book - I have sent it to family members to share the love!
I had read it but still purchased the audiobook for a long road trip. Having the author narrate added an extra dimension of enjoyment, and I didn't want it to end. Great characters throughout, and a truly original story - an Australian classic in the making
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2 people found this helpful
