Lily and the Octopus

by Steven Rowley

At first instinct, I want to show everyone this book and semi-force them to read it. It was amazing. I cried when I finished it, remembering my own dog’s health decline before we had to put him down. Truly an emotional flashback. It put into words the feelings I had no idea how to express, and reading it, even so many years after he is gone, made me feel more at peace with the entire situation.

As far as the book itself goes, it is very strange. At first I thought it was slightly absurdist, but the story of the octopus goes from being a silly absurd thing to a tragic enemy to the furry love of your life. It is a heartbreaking journey that makes you laugh, cry and everything in between.

I recommend this to everyone and anyone who has ever had a dog, it was amazingly beautiful and tragic. Metaphorically it’s a brilliant story about love and fighting until the death. A very real look at a not-so-talked-about subject, dog cancer. Like all cancer, it is terrible and painful and it will make you furious and depressed all in one. But this is a story about more than that, it is about a new beginning journey in the end of loss.

I had to have another book on hand to read to even out the sad parts. The end was a bit confusing for me as well, again it seems to be absurd so really I’m not even sure what happened in reality or what was metaphorical. They take a trip, a vacation of sorts, and an epic battle between the octopus and Lily, it’s a heart-warming tale of true strength.