Sy Montgomery

A Surprising Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness

The Soul of an Octopus

Expanding on her 2011 piece in Orion magazine, a naturalist examines the surprising intelligence, emotions and various personalities of octopuses in this new book from the author of The Good Good Pig.

I’ve been looking up this book here under the title, “The Anatomy of an Octopus” and it’s no wonder nothing came up. Don’t know why I didn’t just search for the author’s name [shakes head in disbelief].

But this is such a delightful and fascinating read! It was recommended to me by a librarian at our local library when the book I initially wanted to borrow (Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller) was on hold for someone else. It was one of those things I didn’t expect to come across and be acquainted with but am glad I did nonetheless. The ocean is full of wonders and magic, and for a short while, Montgomery’s recollection of facts and stories about octopuses (not octopi!) made me want to become a marine biologist specializing in cephalopods, getting to observe them up close.

What a marvelous creature octopuses are—not just in terms of their physical form and capabilities (though that is a huge factor, of course) but also in terms of their intelligence and ability to form emotional bonds with humans. I hope to be reincarnated as one in one of my next lives.

frances

Less of a review, more of a confession:

I’ve been looking up this book here under the title, “The Anatomy of an Octopus” and it’s no wonder nothing came up. Don’t know why I didn’t just search for the author’s name [shakes head in disbelief].

But this is such a delightful and fascinating read! It was recommended to me by a librarian at our local library when the book I initially wanted to borrow (Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller) was on hold for someone else. It was one of those things I didn’t expect to come across and be acquainted with but am glad I did nonetheless. The ocean is full of wonders and magic, and for a short while, Montgomery’s recollection of facts and stories about octopuses (not octopi!) made me want to become a marine biologist specializing in cephalopods, getting to observe them up close.

What a marvelous creature octopuses are—not just in terms of their physical form and capabilities (though that is a huge factor, of course) but also in terms of their intelligence and ability to form emotional bonds with humans. I hope to be reincarnated as one in one of my next lives.

Keven Wang

Octopus is having a moment. Sy did a great job telling stories. I would consume it in audiobook format if possible since Sy reads it herself

Nick Gracilla

I wanted so much to enjoy this book (a late summer beach vacation read). But it was, frankly, mistitled. It was far from "a surprising exploration into the wonder of consciousness."It was much more about the author's endearing relationship with several octopuses (I learned it's not octopi!) who have rich personalities, enjoy being petted, occasionally squirt water at faces, and enjoy being petted. And, of course, they taste with their many arms. 

I was greatly hoping for a payout on Nagel's enduring question, "what is it like to be a bat?" — but instead, the question is only raised, many many times. That does not an exploration make.

Ben Jenkins

Unique exploration into the complex nature of one of the most fascinating sea animals presented in the form of an adventure journal of the author.

Radimir Bitsov

This was a pretty cute book with lots of moving scenes about the author's experiences with captive and wild octopuses. It is decidedly more popsci than hard nonfiction and reads more like a memoir than a book about octopuses. There are a few brief  passages on the nature of consciousness, but overall I don't think the material warrants the subtitle "A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness." My recommendation is - read it if you already have access to it or if you want to use an Audible credit (the author herself narrates the audio version), but don't rush out to buy it.

Ashlyn

This was a pretty cute book with lots of moving scenes about the author's experiences with captive and wild octopuses. It is decidedly more popsci than hard nonfiction and reads more like a memoir than a book about octopuses. There are a few brief  passages on the nature of consciousness, but overall I don't think the material warrants the subtitle "A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness." My recommendation is - read it if you already have access to it or if you want to use an Audible credit (the author herself narrates the audio version), but don't rush out to buy it.

⭐⭐⭐☆☆

A.L.L.

I enjoyed this book, but it didn't dive as deep into some questions as I hoped. She also didn't drive home some points as strongly as I think she could have, when making the case that Octopuses are highly intelligent, given the evidence that exists for them as highly intelligent, thinking, feeling, creatures. That's okay though, I still learned a lot and enjoyed it a lot.

Riah Forbes 

Four stars for this book, and five stars for all my friends who played along when I broke many casual conversational silences with "So, here's something CRAZY about octopuses..."

Kat A

The thing that bothered me with this book was that the author at no point discusses the faults and merits of keeping octopuses in captivity. Personally it is clear that living in an aquarium is not good for our fellow intellects of the sea and I am very skeptical that the creatures in the novel had a full, interesting life as she claims.

In 2011 Sy Montgomery wrote a feature for Orionmagazine entitled 'Deep Intellect' about her friendship with a sensitive, sweet-natured octopus named Athena and the grief she felt at her death. It went viral, indicating the widespread fascination with these mysterious, almost alien-like creatures. Since then Sy has practised true immersion journalism, from New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia and the Gulf of Mexico, pursuing these wild, solitary shape-shifters. Octopuses have varied personalities and intelligence they show in myriad ways: endless trickery to escape enclosures and get food; jetting water playfully to bounce objects like balls; and evading caretakers by using a scoop net as a trampoline and running around the floor on eight arms. But with a beak like a parrot, venom like a snake, and a tongue covered with teeth, how can such a beingknowanything? And what sort of thoughts could it think? The intelligence of dogs, birds, and chimpanzees was only recently accepted by scientists, who now are establishing the intelligence of the octopus, watching them solve problems and deciphering the meaning of their colour-changing camouflage techniques. Montgomery chronicles this growing appreciation of the octopus, but also tells a love story. By turns funny, entertaining, touching and profound, The Soul of an Octopus reveals what octopuses can teach us about consciousness and the meeting of two very different minds.

Risa C

I came into this book expecting a deep dive into the the inner world of octopuses, without having ever given thought to what makes them fascinating prior, and, as with all pop-sci non-fiction, hoping for at least one moment of awe and wonder at a fact or phenomenon made all the more stupendous for being true. What I found instead was a lot of navel-gazing prose more befitting a memoir and baseless conjecture about the thoughts and feelings of these undoubtedly intelligent creatures that was based more on the author's sentimentality than any actual science. There are a few octopus facts littered throughout the book and the author makes some effort to reference actual studies on octopuses conducted by scientists, but it does feel like the author made herself the main character of this book, and I was just not interested in reading about her.

I don't think the book was badly written, but it was just so different from what I had expected and had I known that prior to reading it, I would have never picked it up.

Stevie Blundell

it just never seemed to reach a point. I loved the diving stories, and the aquarium stories but I just couldn't care enough to finish the final 60 pages or so. it was repetitive and too rather aimless. it wasn't actually about the octopus, it was all about the author. 
I mean I tried to finish this book for over a year and just couldn't be bothered. I got distracted by books I actually enjoyed reading.

Jeremy Anderberg

“There’s nothing as peculiar as an octopus.”

It’s rather possible that I knew more than the Average Joe about octopuses before jumping into this book; I’ve perused Octopuses One to Ten plenty of times at the behest of the kids. (It’s a very fun book with great illustrations and easy craft ideas too.) And yet, after two days of furious reading, I came away flat out astonished by the wonders of this eight-legged ocean phenomenon.

I hadn’t heard of Sy Montgomery before reading this one, but I was soon entranced by the naturalist’s deft ability to combine personal narrative and real science into a cohesive story. It’s not just facts, it’s not just memoir — it’s really a perfect blending.

And boy, those facts. Octopuses are amazing creatures on so many levels. They can individually control each of their 1,500+ suckers; their skin is electric; they can change the shape of their pupils; they’re Houdini-esque escape masters, requiring intense exhibit planning to ensure they don’t get loose; they have clear and recognizable personalities . . . I really could go on and on and on.

Instead of doing that, I’ll just try to convince you to buy the book.

It’s rare that a science/memoir book would inspire action, but that was the case here. As I write this, I’m trying to figure out a way to get our small children to the aquarium without losing my mind, because that’s exactly what this book made me want to do. (Likely, I’ll do it no matter what, fully knowing I’ll lose my mind.)

The ocean’s wonders are unmatchable. Unknowable, even. Aquatic creatures are even weirder and more unique than the strange animals that roam our lands.

You’ll come away from this book with a new appreciation for octopuses for sure, and also for marine life in general. Maybe, if you’re like me, it’ll even inspire a visit to a place you haven’t visited in a long time.

Ruby Huber

Absolutely gorgeous. This book brought me to tears a couple of times, and even more amazingly it made me want to dive into the sea which is VERY out of character for me. All living things are beautiful and precious, but octopus are divine.

Laura Springall

I really enjoyed this! It has a lot of bad reviews with people saying it wasn’t scientific enough, but that’s exactly what I wanted. It’s raw, emotional, had me crying a few times, and had enough cool facts about marine life to satiate the science lover in me without going overboard. For me, if it had read like a science report I would have DNF’d it immediately. I really loved reading about the relationships with the octopuses, as well as everyone’s relationships to each other (although to be honest I cared about the octopuses more LOL)

There were a few things I didn’t like though, like that long chapter where Montgomery was learning how to scuba dive. I liked the chapters where she was actually diving, but the learning part was super boring and I skipped over it ngl. Also she repeated the same phrases A LOT. One example, I counted the use of “smaller than a grain of rice” for reference to the size of a baby octopus SIX TIMES. THATS WAY TOO MANY TIMES. There were a few other heavily repeated phrases but that was the worst one

Otherwise, I loved this! Would definitely recommend if you’re like me an enjoy science without all the boring bits

Katie

TW: Suicide mention, animal abuse mention

Sy Montgomery’s The Soul of an Octopus is much more a personal memoir rather than a scientific dive into data and facts about octopuses. This may put off some people, but certainly didn’t deter me; memoir is possibly my favorite genre of book!

...But, it’s very difficult to like a memoir when the subject of it is unlikable. Truthfully, I had greatly enjoyed the book up until about the end of the first half. At that point, the author makes a comment that I will just let speak for itself.

“As we stand watching the octopus, [Anna] confided that, even before her friend had killed herself, Anna had tried to kill herself, too. Shocked, I turn to face Anna as I gesture to Octavia. “You would leave this?””

How Anna remained her friend after this completely and utterly baffles me. The fact that she trivialized her friend’s suicidal thoughts... saying an octopus is more important than whatever struggles her friend is going through... it just... I really don’t have the words for it. I know she included it as some attempt at humor, which just made it all the worse.

In addition, I couldn’t understand how she seems to know and care about octopuses so very much and yet is perfectly complacent with Kali suffering her whole life in a cramped barrel. Especially after (view spoiler)[Kali had jumped out of her tank and killed herself in an attempt to escape (hide spoiler)], and the author’s attitude didn’t change in the slightest, it became a very depressing read in the end.

There is still knowledge to be gained from reading Montgomery’s book. I did enjoy a lot of the facts about octopuses, and if you can tolerate the sort of behavior mentioned above, her experiences at the aquarium and diving certainly are interesting. However, I ultimately cannot recommend this book given the circumstances.

The Soul of an Octopus A Surprising Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness

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