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Animals

By: Emma Jane Unsworth
Narrated by: Chloe Massey
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Summary

Laura and Tyler are best friends who live together, angrily philosophising and leading each other astray in the pubs and flats of Manchester. But things are set to change.

Laura is engaged to teetotal Jim, the wedding is just months away, and Tyler becomes hell-bent on sabotaging her friend's plans for a different life.

©2014 Emma Jane Unsworth (P)2014 W F Howes Ltd
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Critic reviews

"I wish I had written this book… Withnail with girls" (Caitlin Moran)
"A gloriously over-the-top account of female friendship" ( Guardian)

What listeners say about Animals

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

Trying to hard

It could have been a great book if the characters were a little bit more believe. In most parts it felt that the author was trying too hard to portray the characters as unconventional as possible that they ended up coming across as not real. The narration was great just let down by the writing

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic narration

I absolutely fell into this story, and loved the descriptive richness. The narration was superb and I laughed so so so hard at the passage about meeting Jim’s parents for the first time.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Tales of excesses and debauchery

I loved this everyday debauched story of Manc party girls Laura and Tyler and their excesses and adventures. There are some genuinely laugh out loud that make me smile just thinking about it. We all know a Laura and a Tyler and I suspect that many have tales of booze, drugs and sex that would rival the lives depicted here and that is what makes this book such an entertaining read and author Emma Jane Unsworth has perfectly captured the traumas and exploits of the urban late 20s / early 30s generation. I loved Chloe Masseys' deadpan reading too.

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

One hangover too many

Initially mildly amusing but overwritten. Aimless characters and after a while it feels like spending time with the pub bore you duck behind a pillar to avoid. Good performance though.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Loved it!! Beautifully written ❤️

Life, drugs, relationships with a twist of fear and loathing. Great narration Chloe Massey. Defo worth a listen.

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

Nothing special

I don't like giving critical literary reviews, however I honestly don't understand how this was made into a feature film. The book made some good pop culture references but it just felt like it was trying to hard too be edgy and cool. Nothing particularly notable happened until the final chapter, during which I feel the author could have drawn out the main take aways from Laura's experience and how she is now more positive and focussed, away from toxic people. Unfortunately this wasn't really impactful and I left the audio feeling a bit "meh". I haven't watched the film (I don't operate that way ;) ) and perhaps my review would be less critical if I had read the book rather than listened. This is my first time listening to fiction for fun rather than to fall asleep to, however for anyone getting into audio books I would recommend sticking to non-fiction, unless its Stephen Fry's classic and sleep inducing rendition of Harry Potter.

Over and out ✌

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Such a fun gritty read

Deliciously dark and dirty. This is about best girlfriends friendship and how other relationships intertwine with it. such a good listen and pretty raw in places. I wasn’t expecting it to be a five star read and listened on a whim. Unsworth brings her characters alive and says it how it is.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

frustrating!

The narrator was great, super accents and well read. I found one of the characters particularly grating, with literally no redeeming features about her, and I struggled to understand why someone would be friends with her. Some interesting dynamics within the book, but I felt some aspects lacked depth or reason.

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    3 out of 5 stars

Great performance, ok story.

I saw the film before listening to the book, and found the film more engaging. The audio is well narrated- but the 2 main characters aren’t that likeable on the whole and I found it hard to follow with conviction.

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Perfect

Absolutely brilliant. The best narrator I have heard on audible, dipping in and out of each character’s accent- so impressive.

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3 people found this helpful