In a quaint tourist village, Dorn makes miniature scale models displayed in the local shops. Yet life is far from idyllic; he suffers under the thumb of a rich, philandering younger brother and an unloving father, and cannot find the courage to admit his love to Ravenna, the ungainly schoolteacher.

Life takes a strange turn when the government-sponsored "Wild Home Project" is introduced and wolves, rats, minks, otters, and bears move into villagers' homes. Soon, Dorn receives a mysterious commission, finds a body in a park, and has several run-ins with a former classmate-turned police officer. When fire breaks out, Dorn takes on the unlikely role of hero in the hope of changing the course of his life.

A realist novel 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 FAGAN is the author of many novels and short story collections. 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. Fagan's novel, The Animals, won a 2022 Foreword INDIES Award.He is also an acclaimed writer of books for children, having won the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, the IODE Jean Throop Book Award, the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People and many more. Fagan's work has been translated into many languages. He lives in his hometown of Toronto.