In the novel, "A pandemic enables animals and humans to communicate", resulting "in a fierce and funny exploration of other consciousnesses and the limits of language.

[3][4][2] McKay said of her experiences recording the audiobook in March 2020:[5]I had spent years concocting the most impossible virus, only to witness a disease beyond my imagination infecting, killing and driving the real world towards global isolation.

It was a relief to get back into the booth and read the sections of the book where the animals start talking.The title is a homage to a 1968 poetry collection by Margaret Atwood.

"[8] The Guardian described it as an "extraordinary debut", and "a stirring attempt to inhabit other consciousnesses and a wry demonstration of the limits of our own language and empathy.

"[9] The director of the Arthur C. Clarke Award said, "The novel speaks for the silent victims of our real-world climate crises, but while the environmental and social themes are deeply serious, our judges also praised the book's dark humour, sense of character and place, and its active opposition to easy genre tropes.