Lily and the Octopus opens on a Thursday evening. Ted knows it was a Thursday because that's the dYou can read all of my reviews at Lit.Wit.Wine.Dine.
Lily and the Octopus opens on a Thursday evening. Ted knows it was a Thursday because that's the day he and Lilly, his beloved dachshund, reserve for talking about boys they think are cute. (They don't always agree but they do tend toward younger men.) He suddenly notices the octopus. On Lily's head. He's not sure how or when it came to reside there and he clearly feels some guilt over not having noticed it sooner. He, of course, understands what the octopus is but he will not call it anything other than "the octopus". Not when speaking about it to his best friend, Trent. Or to his questionably competent therapist, Jenny. Not even to Lilly's own veterinarian.
Throughout the book, we learn about how Ted came to choose Lily (the runt of the litter!), and the many adventures (real and imagined) they've had together throughout the years.
The one thing that struck me throughout this story was how authentic Ted's voice was. There was no doubt in my mind that Steven Rowley had loved and lost a dog at some point. The anthropomorphizing was so spot-on! I can just see Lily talking to Ted. A head tilt here, an averted gaze there. I totally get how he knew what she was thinking at every moment.
I don't think it's much of a spoiler to say that, at the end of this book, Lilly does lose her battle with the octopus. And yes, I did cry a fair amount. But this book is so much more than your typical loved-and-lost dog story . It's about self-discovery, unconditional love, and a life well-lived.
To be fair, I realize have a different perspective than most on the loss of an old dog such as Lily. You see, Lily was one of the lucky ones. She lived with and was loved by the same person her whole life. Only 10% of dogs are so lucky. 10%!! And though she was 12, which is not super-old for a doxie, she had lived a fairly long life. So, while I felt so sorry for Ted, I was able to feel happy for Lily in many ways. I see so much suffering and cruelty in the dog rescue world. I wish they could all live and die like Lily; with life-long respect, dignity, and love.
I loved reading this interview with the author featured on Electric Lit. He talks about giving Lily a voice, his insistence that Lily have an octopus (a giraffe would not have worked), and his unwillingness to allow the book to be de-gayed. The latter of which, thankfully, was not an issue to anyone except Surely (not her real name) on Goodreads.
I'm so happy that I finally read this book. Some part of me probably procrastinated in some Freudian way fearing the sadness but I needn't have worried. The scales still managed to tip toward happy here. And I can now cross this book off my 2017 Mount TBR Challenge. I'll also be posting a link to this review from Read Diverse Books as I'm participating in The Read Diverse 2017 Challenge this year as well. Read Diverse Books is committed to reviewing, discussing, and promoting books written by and about people of color and other marginalized voices. If you're not already subscribing, please check out Naz' blog!
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Full disclosure: I own a Newf. Therefore, there was little to no chance this book was getting less than five stars no matter what. But I'm happy to saFull disclosure: I own a Newf. Therefore, there was little to no chance this book was getting less than five stars no matter what. But I'm happy to say those five stars are well-deserved! I read this book in less than a day. It's a fast-feel good read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Colin Campbell was a man who'd hit a rough spot in life. His wife, the love of his life, left him suddenly and with no explanation. Truly devastated, he buried himself in work and picked up a few bad habits. He was still having a great deal of difficulty moving on when, months later, a coworker suggested he get a dog. Fortunately for all involved, this coworker was quite persistent (a role I myself have played many times), pointing him to Petfinder to find his doggie love match. And there he finds Kong (a name change was obviously in his future), a one hundred forty pound Landseer Newfoundland who'd had his own share of bad luck. Everything was about to change for both of them.
Without giving too many details of the story, I'll say it's a beautiful one, told with humor and honesty. The classic who-saved-who story that happens so frequently in rescue mixed with some very George/Colin-specific elements that are quite unique! I thought I knew what a "free day" was but I'll never again hear the expression without thinking of how it is defined in this book, as told to the author by his beloved grandfather. I highly recommend this book, especially to dog lovers.
And for those of you who are not fortunate enough to own an oofa-newf, and who may think the author is exaggerating in his telling of George's compulsion to "save" everyone in the water, here is a little video of my girl Belle. (She's ashamed of her short haircut so please, if you see her, don't mention it.) In it she is "saving" Jerry, the Labrador Retriever who DOES NOT NEED SAVING. Labs, as you may know, are very competent swimmers. It's a little long so if you want to fast forward, the "BIG RESCUE" comes at about 20 seconds prior to the end.
5/5 stars
Many thanks to Penguin Random House Canada, via NetGalley, for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. ...more
Ann Marie (Lit·Wit·Wine·Dine)
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