Skip to product information
1 of 1

It's Hard to Be an Animal

Contributors:

Robert Isaacs (Author)

Contributors: Robert Isaacs (Author)

Regular price $18.04 USD
Regular price $18.99 USD Sale price $18.04 USD
Sale Sold out
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Format
Inventory
Taking Back-orders – ships in 2 weeks
ETA: From May 19, 2026 to May 19, 2026
This item is out of stock but it can be ordered and will ship in 2 weeks

BISAC categories: Fiction -> Magical Realism ->

BISAC categories: Fiction -> Coming of Age ->

BISAC categories: Fiction -> Literary ->

View full details

Product Description

For readers of Shark Heart and Hollow Kingdom, a funny, magical, and tender novel following a lonely, conflict-averse man whose sudden ability to understand animals sends him on a wild romp around NYC, and ultimately helps him discover his own voice.

Strolling through Central Park on a blind date with the hilarious, irrepressible Molly Bent, Henry Parsons is feeling hopeful for the first time in years ... when a migratory warbler, the sweetest of little birds, tells him to f*** off.

A gentle soul, troubled enough by the unkindness of fellow humans, Henry tries to brush the moment aside as a hallucination. But soon he's hearing voices everywhere: dogs mocking their owners, sparrows fat-shaming each other, police horses profiling attendees at a street fair -- even a pontificating, misogynistic snake.

The man who never speaks up for himself is now besieged by animals who do. When (inevitably) he overhears three rats discussing a corpse in the New York subway, he lets it slip to Molly. She's keen to investigate, and Henry's desperate for a second date, so he follows her nervously into an abandoned tunnel under the West Fourth Street Station. There, sure enough, they find a body ... and the murderers find them. Cue the most terrifying week of this cautious man's life.

Inspiration and courage arrive from a pair of feuding betta fish and his neighbor's yapping Pomeranian -- whose unexpected wisdom helps Henry find the courage to assert himself at last.
ISBN-10: 1538773287
ISBN-13: 9781538773284
Author: Isaacs, Robert
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781538773284

ISBN-10: 1538773287

Publish Date: May 19, 2026

On Sale Date: May 19, 2026

Language: English

Pages: 288

Dimensions: 8.25 × 5.5 × 0.68 in

Weight: 0.0 lbs

Product Reviews