Morgan's Reviews > The Octopus and I

The Octopus & I — 5★

I couldn’t have picked a more perfect book to start the new year with. 

It's amazing to think that this captivating work of fiction was Hortle's debut novel in 2020. I'd orginally heard of the book from none other than @southernisle_bibliophile whom I turn to for all my book recommendations that feature the sea + relationships + “women just trying to figure shit out” (a self-proclaimed genre I love)

My Thoughts: The story takes place on the Tasmanian Peninsula following female protagonist Lucy, a breast cancer survivor, who is drawn to the local octopuses as if connected by some invisible thread that eventually weaves their two stories. 

In this book I encountered love, loss, and the reality that sometimes a situation can be so life-altering that without realizing it, *you've changed.*You are somehow someone new — someone different — and with that comes the responsibility of learning how to honor that newness rather than pushing back against it. 

As for the writing itself, Hortle allows you to change POVs frequently, taking on the personas of so many different characters in addition to the local marine life who she personifies (the latter was a surprising treat).

I specifically appreciated how POVs differed so drastically in worldview: from an environmental-conscious diver, to two older women keeping alive the island’s Aboriginal traditions, to a corporate fisherman, a local seal & of course, an octopus. 

Dwelling in these contrasting worldviews  allowed me too see a bit of truth in each — almost siding with one idea/ideal, and then another in the next chapter. Things definitely clear up in the end, more or less. But in my opinion, this so poignantly mirrored the world we live in. 

In short, this is a story of self-discovery, our connections to our bodies, to the land, creation, as well as one another & what we decide to make of it. 

Spot on Shelf? Absolutely. 
I found comfort in how for much of the book Lucy is both aware & *okay with* no one really understanding what the octopuses mean to her and why she's getting so entangeled with them, quite literally. I also could relate to her wrestling with her body and how it was perceived/sexualized. I devoured this in two sittings.

*Personal plus* my previous-life-biology-major-self loved how much I learned about marine life and ecology.