Encounters with Unexpected Animals

Praise for the work of Bret Anthony Johnston

“A cause for celebration... Literature of the highest order.”—The New York Times

“Symphonic and suspenseful.”—Geraldine Brooks, author of March

“Enthralling... [an] exquisitely moral mystery of how we struggle to accept and love the people we call family.”—The New York Times Book Review

“The language is luminous and the delivery almost flawless.”—The Boston Globe

“Tremendously moving... There’s real humanity in Johnston’s writing.”—The Washington Post

“Johnston’s exquisitely drawn men and women are riders on the storm... Stunning and complex.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Fast-moving and emotionally sophisticated.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Flawless storytelling.” —John Irving, author of The Cider House Rules

“A colossal achievement.” —Megha Majumdar, author of A Burning

“Both devastating and transporting... so persuasive is the impact, the insight, the heat of south Texas.”—Amy Hempel, author of Sing to It

“[It] will take you in and hold you and not let go until it’s done with you, leaving you wiping at your eyes with the kind of soul-gratitude that comes only after experiencing true art.”—Andre Dubus III, author of Dirty Love

“Nothing short of masterly.”—Jill McCorkle, author of Old Crimes

“Few people can bring Texas to life on the page like Johnston.”—Gary Shteyngart, author of Our Country Friends

"Johnston writes with searing honesty and a deep compassion.” —Chris Offutt, author of The Reluctant Sheriff

"Johnston’s stories read as if they’d been written by someone who’s lived various lifetimes, time enough to develop real wisdom, generosity and the art of making strong clean sentences."—Jane Hamilton, author of The Pheobe Variations

“A magnificent portrait of how even as the rivets of our republic are popping loose, plumes of beauty still rise from the soil upon which so much wrong continues to repeat.”—Rick Bass, author of For a Little While