Encounters with Unexpected Animals
Stories
Failed to add items
Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.
Add to basket failed.
Please try again later
Add to wishlist failed.
Please try again later
Remove from wishlist failed.
Please try again later
Adding to library failed
Please try again
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
£0.00 for first 30 days
LIMITED TIME OFFER
Get 3 months for £0.99/mo
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.
Encounters with Unexpected Animals
Narrated by:
Christian Baskous, George Newbern, Max Meyers, Eddie Lopez, Kaleo Griffith
Pre-order Now for £12.99
-
Narrated by:
-
Christian Baskous
-
George Newbern
-
Max Meyers
-
Eddie Lopez
-
Kaleo Griffith
About this listen
Encounters with Unexpected Animals takes readers deep into the heart of bestselling author Bret Anthony Johnston’s home state of Texas, where teenagers search for love, parents grasp at connections with their children, and animals—real or imagined, familiar or unexpected—are reminders of the mystery, danger, and beauty of being alive.
In “Caiman,” a father buys a baby alligator in hopes of keeping his family safe. In “Soldier of Fortune,” a teenage boy dog-sits for his neighbors after tragedy strikes, and his innocent snooping uncovers the family’s most guarded secret. And in the luminous “Half of What Atlee Rouse Knows About Horses,” an elderly man’s heart is laid bare with the raw and breathtaking power of wild horses.
Johnston’s humor, empathy, and mastery of prose ring out through each story, bringing every finely-drawn character to radiant life. Individually, the stories are by turns suspenseful, poignant and exhilarating. Taken together, they reveal the abiding connections that lead us from sorrow and impermanence back to ourselves and, ultimately, to each other.
Critic reviews
Praise for Encounters with Unexpected Animals
“[Johnston’s] empathy for his troubled characters illuminates their predicaments and mistakes with a solemn, steady light.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Each entry portrays the complex lives of its characters with compassion, understanding, and incisive detail. These distinctive character-driven tales will linger in readers’ minds.”—Publishers Weekly
Praise for Bret Anthony Johnston
“A cause for celebration . . . literature of the highest order.”—The New York Times
“The language is luminous and the delivery almost flawless.”—The Boston Globe
“Tremendously moving . . . There’s real humanity in Johnston’s writing.”—The Washington Post
“Johnston’s exquisitely drawn men and women are riders on the storm . . . where the past
is too easily washed away and the ocean has no memory. . . . Stunning and complex.”—Los Angeles Times
“Flawless storytelling.”—John Irving, New York Times bestselling author of The Cider House Rules
“[Johnston’s] empathy for his troubled characters illuminates their predicaments and mistakes with a solemn, steady light.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Each entry portrays the complex lives of its characters with compassion, understanding, and incisive detail. These distinctive character-driven tales will linger in readers’ minds.”—Publishers Weekly
Praise for Bret Anthony Johnston
“A cause for celebration . . . literature of the highest order.”—The New York Times
“The language is luminous and the delivery almost flawless.”—The Boston Globe
“Tremendously moving . . . There’s real humanity in Johnston’s writing.”—The Washington Post
“Johnston’s exquisitely drawn men and women are riders on the storm . . . where the past
is too easily washed away and the ocean has no memory. . . . Stunning and complex.”—Los Angeles Times
“Flawless storytelling.”—John Irving, New York Times bestselling author of The Cider House Rules
No reviews yet