Animals and Other Stories Audiobook By Jay Allison cover art

Animals and Other Stories

Try for $0.00
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.

Animals and Other Stories

By: Jay Allison
Narrated by: various
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $10.46

Buy for $10.46

Confirm purchase
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.
Cancel

About this listen

This radio series is a collection of short pieces reflecting on life, love, and death among the species. It contains monologues, montages, portraits, and dreams. Some are funny, some are strange, some enlightening, some sobering:
  • "Hide and Seek": Animal trainer and behaviorist Ken Decroo tells the story of the first time he talked to a chimpanzee and the chimp talked back. An aural metaphor ends this piece.
  • "Noah's Ark": A strange blend of Beethoven and speculation about the thoughts of cattle at the moment of death. (Caveat: contains some graphic description of the slaughtering process)
  • "Snakes": A montage meditating on the worth, or worthlessness, of the legless reptile. Civilized and primitive man collide...In discussing the snake, the human is revealed.
  • "Treeline": Vietnam veteran Jim McMullen tells of the time he shot a blackbird outside his hometown, and was compelled to destroy his weapons for good.
  • "Michi Belle White and the Birds": A portrait of a California woman who takes in sick wild birds and fills her house with them.
  • "Killer Whales": A brief sound essay on the derivation of this whale's name, its seductive behavior toward the producer's wife, and its penchant for making repulsive noises.
  • "Subtext: Communicating with Horses": An animal psychologist searches for the source of one horse's ennui. The horse responds with a story of dislocation and lost youth.
  • "Reflections of Fathers": a.k.a. "Bugs and Dads," this piece is about John May's insect museum, his love for his father, and the reflections of all fathers in all children.
  • "Dog's Dreams": A meditation on the longtime relationship between man and dog. What are our dreams about each other...and our nightmares?
  • "Cross my Path": Leo Grillo can't stand to see an animal suffer. So he's got about 300 stray dogs and cats, and if he can't find homes for them, he keeps them until they die of natural causes.
  • ©2000 Jay Allison
    Relationships Dogs Funny
    activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

    What listeners say about Animals and Other Stories

    Average customer ratings
    Overall
    • 3 out of 5 stars
    • 5 Stars
      3
    • 4 Stars
      0
    • 3 Stars
      3
    • 2 Stars
      1
    • 1 Stars
      2
    Performance
    • 1 out of 5 stars
    • 5 Stars
      0
    • 4 Stars
      0
    • 3 Stars
      0
    • 2 Stars
      0
    • 1 Stars
      1
    Story
    • 1 out of 5 stars
    • 5 Stars
      0
    • 4 Stars
      0
    • 3 Stars
      0
    • 2 Stars
      0
    • 1 Stars
      1

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

    Sort by:
    Filter by:
    • Overall
      3 out of 5 stars

    Not bad but not good

    These are a batch of VERY short radio spots, a few minutes each. They were marginally interesting, but unimpressive.

    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

    unusual, touching

    Each piece in this collection is fulfilling on several levels: emotional, structural, descriptive, and thought-provoking. Each story's way of being told (as either meditation or reflection or monologue or dream) matches the mood and atmosphere of the particular animal in that story. I particularly liked the memories of the older horse, the reasoning and understanding of cattle, and the prayer of the man who provided a home for orphan cats.

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

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!

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

    random opinions about animals

    What would have made Animals and Other Stories better?

    If any of it were actually based on facts about animals

    Would you ever listen to anything by Jay Allison again?

    Probably not.

    What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

    I was annoyed and incredulous. This book's stories have nothing to do with facts or truths about animals. It is a hodge-podge of mostly unqualified people giving you opinions of what they think animals are like in ridiculously melodramatic language. (As an example, there was a super long drawn out story where some lady went to a slaughterhouse and heard the animals telling her that they were glad they were going to slaughtered so they could be eaten by her...????) If you want to hear a bunch of randos give you their impressions of how animals are in their heads, by all means purchase this book. If you actually want to learn anything interesting or real about animals, I suggest that you purchase something by an author like David Attenborough.

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

    You voted on this review!

    You reported this review!