We the Animals Audiobook By Justin Torres cover art

We the Animals

Preview

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.

We the Animals

By: Justin Torres
Narrated by: Frankie J. Alvarez
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $9.32

Buy for $9.32

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

An exquisite, blistering debut novel.

Three brothers tear their way through childhood—smashing tomatoes all over each other, building kites from trash, hiding out when their parents do battle, tiptoeing around the house as their mother sleeps off her graveyard shift. Paps and Ma are from Brooklyn—he’s Puerto Rican, she’s white—and their love is a serious, dangerous thing that makes and unmakes a family many times.

Life in this family is fierce and absorbing, full of chaos and heartbreak and the euphoria of belonging completely to one another. From the intense familial unity felt by a child to the profound alienation he endures as he begins to see the world, this beautiful novel reinvents the coming-of-age story in a way that is sly and punch-in-the-stomach powerful.

Written in magical language with unforgettable images, this is a stunning exploration of the viscerally charged landscape of growing up, how deeply we are formed by our earliest bonds, and how we are ultimately propelled at escape velocity toward our futures.

©2011 Justin Torres (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Family Life Fiction Latino American Literary Fiction United States Heartfelt Growing Up Emotionally Gripping
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

" We the Animals is a dark jewel of a book. It’s heartbreaking. It’s beautiful. It resembles no other book I’ve read. We should all be grateful for Justin Torres, a brilliant, ferocious new voice." (Michael Cunningham, Pulitzer Prize–winning author)

What listeners say about We the Animals

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    194
  • 4 Stars
    86
  • 3 Stars
    49
  • 2 Stars
    22
  • 1 Stars
    9
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    205
  • 4 Stars
    68
  • 3 Stars
    21
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    5
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    160
  • 4 Stars
    76
  • 3 Stars
    44
  • 2 Stars
    18
  • 1 Stars
    11

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

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

A change in focus

This novel, which reads more like a memoir, begins with a wonderful tale of three rambunctious boys, fighting and causing trouble and trying to figure out their weird mother and financially strapped and sometimes absent father. Then, two thirds of the way through, the focus shifts to the narrator's self-discovery as he grows up. His differences separate him from his older brothers, which is downplayed but sad.

The novel is beautifully written, with a gritty realistic feel throughout, even in some of the less credible scenes. The characters are lively and likeable, often when they are being mean or irresponsible. As the narrator grows up, his writing becomes more poetic.

Frankie J. Alvarez does a good job with the narration.

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

Very much enjoyed until....

I thought this story was great (full of life about 3 young brothers growing up in a mixed race family with somewhat nutty but lovable parents) until, towards the end, it turns into a gay thing. Sorry, but does EVERYTHING need to turn into a gay thing?? I think not. 😕
Left me feeling very let down and disappointed.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

nothing special

this book was okay but nothing special. The author depicted a family in turmoil brothers that were closed but with parents that abused them. but then it all unraveled at the end and I didn't quite get the point of telling the story at all

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

Very good

this was a very good book. From the start the story is very relatable to me.

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

I love Justin Torres’ writing

I came to this book right after reading Blackouts. I simply enjoyed the narration. The words, lyrical descriptions of the story. Like a life being sung back to us in passing.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

Amazing narrator, interesting story

Somewhat dark story of brothers made great by the last two chapters and a phenomenal narrator.

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

Deeply emotional, raw and introspective

Trigger warning: This book does contain depictions of domestic violence (physical, verbal, and sexual) towards women and children.

The narration of the book was done well and really helped the characters come alive. I very much enjoyed listening to it.

The story itself explores the complexity of growing up with a confusing mix of all the good and bad moments of living in an abusive household. A deeply introspective look at how the little moments build upon more traumatic events till they reach that critical moment where everything comes crashing down.

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

Narrator is Phenomenal

Alvarez is REALLY talented. If you have to “read” this for school, don’t, listen to this guy read it instead. Wonderful job!! Thank you!! :D

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

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

sad story

This is an emotionally riveting book. I enjoyed the story until the last chapter. I struggled to understand the ending.

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

We are all Animals!

Rambunctious, noisy, boisterous, hungry, or simply just being adolescent, that makes you one of the animals. Be different, you will be a cast away, adrift, alone, left by your families, no longer be part of the pack. Dark lyrical prose to fine storytelling, we are all animals.

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

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful