Soule believed that the animals were not consistent enough with their real-world inspirations, and said, "It seems to me that the failure of this book (commercially it is already assured of tremendous success) arises from the fact that the satire deals not with something the author has experienced, but rather with stereotyped ideas about a country which he probably does not know very well".
sˈoʊl bᵻlˈiːvd ðætðɪ ˈænɪməlz wɜː nˌɑːt kənsˈɪstənt ɪnˈʌf wɪð ðɛɹ ɹˈiːəlwˈɜːld ˌɪnspɚɹˈeɪʃənz, ænd sˈɛd, "ɪt sˈiːmz tə mˌiː ðætðə fˈeɪlɪɹ ʌv ðɪs bˈʊk kəmˈɜːʃəli ɪɾ ɪz ɔːlɹˌɛdi əʃˈʊɹd ʌv tɹəmˈɛndəs səksˈɛs ɚɹˈaɪzᵻz fɹʌmðə fˈækt ðætðə sˈæɾaɪɚ dˈiːlz nˌɑːt wɪð sˈʌmθɪŋ ðɪ ˈɔːθɚ hɐz ɛkspˈiəɹɪənst, bˌʌt ɹˈæðɚ wɪð stˈɛɹɪˌoʊtaɪpt aɪdˈiəz ɐbˌaʊt ɐ kˈʌntɹi wˌɪtʃ hiː pɹˈɑːbəbli dʌznˌɑːt nˈoʊ vˈɛɹi wˈɛl".