The Animal's Companion

Narrator Nicola Barber brightly conveys the author's love and wonder for the animal-human relationship and its emotional complexities. For example--why do we choose the pets that we do? Jacky Colliss Harvey's voracious curiosity won't disappoint listeners who love animals. However, Barber delivers the book's intellectually probing material as if she were talking to a pet, leaving listeners feeling slightly patronized and wishing for a crisper tone. Barber's saccharine delivery is especially mismatched as the author probes into prickly moral territory, like considering the lab rats in clinical trials for life-saving medications. Listeners will be left pondering the distinction between humans and animals and what it really means to be both a tool and a loved one. J.T. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine