The Animals: The Playlist
Today’s book playlist was made by Cary Fagan to compliment his new novel, The Animals.
A realist work with the air of a fairy tale, The Animals is a surprising, funny, and thought-provoking story that explores the nature of relationships faunal and human, and reminds us of the challenges of finding one’s place in society . . . and that living with a wolf is not a very good idea.
Cary writes:
“The music I listened to while writing The Animals was mostly bluegrass, blues, and old time music—the sort of music that I play every week in jams with friends. I’d been listening not to old recordings but to more recent versions from the great musicians who have been reinvigorating this music.”
Find the official playlist below, or listen on Spotify. Enjoy! The Animals is available to order from our online shop (now 25% for our Holiday Sale!) or your local independent bookstore.
The Old Jawbone by Molsky’s Mountain Drifters
Ain’t No tellin’ by John’s East River String Band
Six Feet Under by The Horsenecks
Dust in the Lane by James Bryan & Carl Jones
Ain’t Nobody by Dori Freeman
A Pony Named Fox by Andrew Collins
Pretty Little Saro by The Farwells
Call Me Long Gone by The Slocan Ramblers
Little Rock Getaway by Andre Dal
Lost John by Frank & Allie Lee
Porter’s Reel by David Bragger
Hills of Mexico by Lonesome Ace String Band
Undone in Sorrow by Riley Baugus
Tippy Toeing by Nadine Landry and Stephen “Sammy” Lind
Butterfly Waltz by John Grimm
Cary Fagan is the author of eight previous novels and five books of short stories, including The Student, Great Adventures for the Faint of Heart, and A Bird’s Eye. He has been nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Writers’ Trust Fiction Award, the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction, and has won the Toronto Book Award and the Canadian Jewish Book Award for Fiction. He is also an acclaimed writer of books for children, having won the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, the IODE Jean Throop Book Award, a Mr. Christie Silver Medal, the Joan Betty Stuchner—Oy Vey!—Funniest Children’s Book Award, and the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People. Fagan’s work has been translated into French, Italian, German, Dutch, Spanish, Catalan, Turkish, Russian, Polish, Chinese, Korean and Persian. He still lives in his hometown of Toronto.
