It's Hard to Be an Animal (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781538783351)

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.

Author: Robert Isaacs
ISBN-10: 1538783355
ISBN-13: 9781538783351
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Language: English
Published: 05/19/2026
Pages: 368
Format: Paperback
Size: 8.25h x 5.50w x 0.92d
Large Print