Bold, exhilarating, and wholly original, The Animals in That Country asks what would happen, for better or worse, if we finally understood what animals were saying. Setting off on their trail, with Sue the dingo riding shotgun, they find themselves in a stark, strange world in which the animal apocalypse has only further isolated people from other species. When he takes off with Kimberly, heading south, Jean feels the pull to follow her kin. As the flu progresses, the unstoppable voices become overwhelming, and many people begin to lose their minds, including Jean's infected son, Lee. And although Jean talks to all her charges, she has a particular soft spot for a young dingo called Sue.Īs disturbing news arrives of a pandemic sweeping the country, Jean realises this is no ordinary flu- its chief symptom is that its victims begin to understand the language of animals - first mammals, then birds and insects, too. Instead, she surrounds herself with animals, working as a guide in an outback wildlife park. She's never been good at getting on with other humans, apart from her beloved granddaughter, Kimberly.

Hard-drinking, foul-mouthed, and allergic to bullshit, Jean is not your usual grandma. Out on the road, no one speaks, everything talks. WINNER OF THE 2021 VICTORIAN PREMIER'S LITERARY AWARDS PRIZE FOR FICTIONĪ SLATE AND SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR WINNER OF THE 2021 VICTORIAN PRIZE FOR LITERATURE

The animals in that country 2021