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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
emotional
slow-paced
I really wanted to like this book…. But unfortunately, I didn’t. I found it really hard to get into and didn’t personally enjoy it.
For anyone looking for a book related to the ocean / actual octopuses, be aware that the book doesn’t focus literal octopuses (aside from a few pages where 2 characters visit the aquarium and the octopus symbolism of the title is explained.) Instead, the book focuses on the lives of two Canadian college students and their relationships both sexual and familial. Building off of the idea that octopuses sacrifice their lives for their reproductive needs, the book explores what sacrifice for reproduction looks like for its main characters. It’s an interesting idea, and the multifaceted way the author has this play out (as a sexual relationship between TA and student gone wrong, as an affair between a parent and a family friend, as a student’s obsession with discovering the truth as to why her parents’ marriage is crumbling and subsequent obsession with an older boy, among other smaller stories) highlights the universality of this concept.
My main issues with the book come from it’s writing style. I felt like the book really dragged and could have benefited from eliminating some chapters and restructuring the novel to flow better. I get the sense that the author wanted us to feel the frustration of her main character in terms of the long time it took for the “big reveal” of the source of conflict in her parents’ marriage, and she succeeds at this, but it doesn’t pay off for the reader the way it does for the main character.
For anyone looking for a book related to the ocean / actual octopuses, be aware that the book doesn’t focus literal octopuses (aside from a few pages where 2 characters visit the aquarium and the octopus symbolism of the title is explained.) Instead, the book focuses on the lives of two Canadian college students and their relationships both sexual and familial. Building off of the idea that octopuses sacrifice their lives for their reproductive needs, the book explores what sacrifice for reproduction looks like for its main characters. It’s an interesting idea, and the multifaceted way the author has this play out (as a sexual relationship between TA and student gone wrong, as an affair between a parent and a family friend, as a student’s obsession with discovering the truth as to why her parents’ marriage is crumbling and subsequent obsession with an older boy, among other smaller stories) highlights the universality of this concept.
My main issues with the book come from it’s writing style. I felt like the book really dragged and could have benefited from eliminating some chapters and restructuring the novel to flow better. I get the sense that the author wanted us to feel the frustration of her main character in terms of the long time it took for the “big reveal” of the source of conflict in her parents’ marriage, and she succeeds at this, but it doesn’t pay off for the reader the way it does for the main character.
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage
Minor: Sexual violence, Suicide attempt
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It seems the author wanted to make a book about motherhood, and female friendship, and love, and family, but it’s in Edinburgh and in college so it has to be dark academia (with lots of forced Kafka, the odyssey and Jane Eyre references because of course). Also one of the characters is for whatever reason a writer of mystery books so there has to be a “mystery” to be solved in there as well. Plus side plots that add nothing to the story and have the main character acting completely out of character.
It wants to be a lot of things and ends up being a bit of jumbled mess. I still finished it and if you don’t think too much about it it’s a cute read but I wouldn’t read it again or five it more than 2 stars.
It wants to be a lot of things and ends up being a bit of jumbled mess. I still finished it and if you don’t think too much about it it’s a cute read but I wouldn’t read it again or five it more than 2 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No