Eight legs and so much more!

Would you listen to Soul of An Octopus again? Why?

This is a really beautiful book. Sy definitely did her homework when it comes to the hard science, but her natural curiosity and passion for understanding the natural world comes through in the most joyfully contagious way. I admire her for writing from both persecutive so deftly! She is not afraid to put herself in the picture and by proxy the reader. Her emotions are heartfelt, but also not left unexamined. Even when anthropomorphizing the Octopus she takes the time to explore and also explain how those sentiments are both helpful and harmful at times.

What other book might you compare Soul of An Octopus to and why?

I don't think that I have read any other naturalist writing that exactly compares to this book, but the first thing that comes to mind would be Michael Pollan's book Botany of Desire. However I think that the qualities that make me want to compare these two books is the attempt at seeing life from the perspective of the subject. That at the natural passion of the writers.

What does Sy Montgomery bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I personally love when the authors read their work, because so often you can hear the emotion in their voices as they retell the stories that they have written.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There were actually a few, but I feel like I shouldn't spill the beans here. I experienced both swells of joy/awe and deep sadness. There were a couple times in the book when I was brought close to tears.

Any additional comments?

This book is definitely worth the read! Especially if you are a naturalist at heart!

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90 people found this helpful

A memoir more than science nonfiction

Any additional comments?

This book is more a memoir including some facts and many subjective observations about octopuses than it is a scientific look at octopuses. As such it's an interesting memoir and a fascinating picture of the personalities of a number of different octopuses that the author meets, as well as several aquarium staff members. It certainly highlighted how intelligent these creatures are, how little we still know about them, and it certainly made me want to go visit some octopuses in an aquarium.

However, if you're looking for any depth of scientific fact or even any depth of philosophical discussion, the book is rather lacking in this department. The author seems to spend some time justifying to herself that it's ok to keep octopuses in captivity -- even when they may occasionally tragically die accidentally -- without really examining the details of both sides of the argument. It feels as if the book COULD have been much more than just a memoir, so it's disappointing in that sense. And if you really don't care about the personal thoughts and philosophizing of the author then you'll probably find it annoying. But, if you're interested in octopuses, stories about them, and random tidbits of science and information, then you may still enjoy this book. Certainly, the more people become interested in learning more about these creatures, the better; so go pick up the book if you think you might like to learn more.

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64 people found this helpful

Something different

A family member's obsession with cephalopods brought me to this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It opened up a whole new world for me and I didn't find it overly sweetened or pedestrian. If I was forced to quibble, it would be about the nature of consciousness being glossed over too much. But the content was well presented.

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62 people found this helpful

Good for the first 20% - Then disappointing

I was really excited about this when I saw it, because there aren't many that I know of about the intelligence of octopuses. The first 20% of the book contained some interesting situations and examples of octopus intelligence, but nothing I had not heard before. I was hoping to hear something really interesting and new. After that, it was riddled with facts about other animals more so than the octopus.

The hardest part about this audio book was that the author was the reader, and she really tries too hard to inject emotion into it. Over-emphasizing is the only way I can describe it. For me, it was super-distracting.

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59 people found this helpful

Vapid, Speculative, Maudlin

The author purports to show the depth and wonder of the octopus, but does quite the opposite. She relentlessly projects her own thoughts and feelings onto the octopuses (the correct plural), speculates wildly on the workings of the creatures' minds, and shamelessly anthropomorphizes. She spews out a nauseating series of half-baked pseudo-spiritual musings (stroking an octopus is an "uplink to universal consciousness", and being bitten by an animal is a way to connect with the wild; oh, puh-leeze).

Even other animals at aquarium she frequents are subject to her desperate desire to read the minds of other creatures. When an electric eel emits a shock during sleep, Montgomery immediately "knows" that she has witnessed the animal's dreams. (Oy vey).

The author reads the book aloud, and I often felt she was speaking to four-year-olds -- condescendingly.

How much more she could have done with this fascinating topic by emphasizing the scientifically verifiable aspects of octopuses. The raw truth is awe-inspiring; the author's self-indulgence is not. (I really don't care about her hyper-romantic mental image of octopuses and their mothers linking arms through millions of years).

The facts and research she presents are interesting (hence the two stars for "overall"), but comprise only a small portion of this treacly mess of a book.

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58 people found this helpful

Not exactly "soul-searching"

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

While most people will learn a lot of facts about octopuses getting through this book, it might be more time-efficient to read a few Wikipedia articles. This book is twice as long as it needs to be, with boring details of the author's many visits to the aquarium, learning to scuba dive, and going on vacation to scuba dive. Much lighter on the science than I expected: the "exploration into the wonder of consciousness" basically consists of a massive amount of gee-whiz anthropomorphism, with the text carelessly assigning all sort of emotions, thoughts, feelings, and opinions on captive animals based on the author's subjective assessment of their appearance and behavior during fleeting encounters, rather than a more structured narrative of the author's love affair with the New England aquarium exhibits built on solid and cutting-edge marine biological research into cephalopod intelligence, which is mentioned only in passing.

Would you ever listen to anything by Sy Montgomery again?

No.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Sy Montgomery?

No.

Did Soul of An Octopus inspire you to do anything?

Seek out more rigorous forms on non-fiction covering the life sciences.

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34 people found this helpful

Disappointing

Light on science and information / heavy on description. This is more a personal journey than a deep dive into the science of octopuses.

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33 people found this helpful

Fun fluffy

Really a story about community than cephalopods. But... a lot of cool factoids and a fun read. As a diver her training story was horrific to hear. God I hope she gets a lot more training and learns more. The book is a little shaky on the dive stuff and makes be doubt her research in general. For example aluminum tanks of equal volume are heavier than steel., not the other way as she described. They are common in the US because they are cheap and work ok in warm water...not because they are a new technology. Anyway a very poetic book about one of my favorite critters.

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29 people found this helpful

Starts well but becomes emotional

Started well with lots of facts, but then became very emotional and anthropomorphic. Overall good.

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25 people found this helpful

Insightful.

This story is beautiful and well written, with interesting insight into the personalities of octopuses. Throughout the narration, I find myself longing to switch places with the author, so that I may experience the things written if first hand.

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16 people found this helpful