Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley Published by Simon & Schuster on June 7th 2016
Pages: 320
Goodreads
This is a story about that special someone: the one you trust, the one you can’t live without.
For Ted Flask, that someone special is his aging companion Lily, who happens to be a dog.
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.
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I bought this book a couple of weeks ago and I know I will be in tears when I read it. We lost our rescue dog a year ago with what was thought to be a brain tumour. We had our boy for 12 wonderful years and there is such a hole now he’s gone. It has been a comfort to know that on what both he and we seemed to know was his last day, he died without intervention and wasn’t alone.
Oh, I’m so sorry to hear about your poor boy. Thank goodness he had you for so many years of his life. I’m sure he knew he was well-loved. 🙂 And I’m glad to hear that his passing was an easy, peaceful one. The book will, no doubt, pull on your heartstrings but it’s by no means all doom and gloom. I hope you love it as much as I did.
I’m sure I will when I get to it. Tbh it sounds as though I’d be in tears without having lost Fergus, but the circumstances make it that much more real.
Loved your review! I also thought Lily had a wonderful life with Ted. I loved their game night discussions. I also loved his sessions with Jenny…too funny. I had no idea only 10% of dogs live with one owner, how sad. While this book made me cry as well, I felt it carried a happy message about loyalty and friendship.
P.S You can see pictures of Steven Rowley and his Lily on his instagram
Thank you, Renee! Yes, it’s very sad to know how many dogs get rehomed and/or end up in kill shelters.
I actually tried to work a mention of game night into the review but that paragraph was starting to get too wordy… Hilarious! And poor Jenny. I’m still not sure if she was a good therapist or not. She had that one shining moment. Lol.
I absolutely loved he and Lily’s Monopoly night! Jenny had her hands full with Ted that’s for sure. So much to love about this book:)
We had a 3 year old dog lose her battle with cancer, which was one of the most awful experiences I’ve ever been through. Losing a pet is so hard, as they really do become beloved family members. Did you ever read Where the Red Fern Grows when you were younger? Talk about pure devastation!
I’m so happy to see you are participating in Naz’s challenge too! Such an amazing idea!
I’m so sorry I didn’t see your comment until today! And I so sorry you had to go through that horrible experience. Three is so young. 😥 Losing an old dog is so hard but losing a young one is even worse, IMHO. I had one terrible year where I lost two 2 year old almost six months to the day apart. I was devastated. I have to admit, I’d never heard of Where the Fern Grows. I had to look it up. It looks wonderful but I suspect it will make me cry.
And yes, I agree Naz’s challenge is an awesome idea! I haven’t read as much toward it as I would have liked but I’m hoping to catch up soon.
Oh man. If you pick up Where the Red Fern Grows make sure to have TWO tissue boxes ready! That book will crush your soul 😭
Sounds like my kind of book!…
Oh no. This is such a sad sounding premise of a book… That said, I am definitely intrigued and want to read this book! I hadn’t heard of it before, so I’m glad I stopped by. Heartbreaking, but in the best sort of way. Lovely review!
Thank you, Jackie! I really enjoyed it and I hope you will too. I’d love to hear your thoughts. I found myself reading many more reviews for this book both before and after I read it. I actually enjoyed some of the reviews as much as the book! It must be because so many of them are written by dog people…
I have heard of this book – mostly because the title was unique but didn’t know what it was about. Though sad it sounds like something I need to get. Great review!!
Thanks, Grace! There were some tears but it was a great read. 🙂