I volunteer at a Zoo, so obviously I support situations in which animals are raised in captivity.
My biggest problem with this book, though, is the casual way the author glosses over the reality of keeping captive animals. If she explored consciousness, other than to suggest that yes, octopuses do indeed have them, I missed it. I have no doubt of the author’s good intention, but even the subtitle, A Surprsing Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness, is rather a mystery to me. Instead, these passages read more like extended commercial breaks that happen while you are waiting for the star performer to return. Nothing is inherently wrong with that it could be interesting and heartfelt, connecting with these people who connect with the octopus. She also spends a great deal of time describing the volunteers and keepers at the New England Aquarium. I’m baffled that, given the complicated subject matter, the author felt the need to pad this book up with irrelevant details, such as the 30 pages she spends describing her own SCUBA training (This may come as a shock, but I don’t care how many times you tried to clear your ears, Sy).
I don’t blame her for being excited I do blame her for taking a topic as engrossing and complex as octopus behavior and turning it into her own personal diary. At times, it seems little more than an exercise in self indulgence as the author celebrates her good fortune at being allowed to regularly go behind-the-scenes of the Aquarium to pet their resident octopuses. They are renowned escape artists with a decentralized nervous system unlike anything we know of in the vertebrate world.Īlas, having a fascinating topic doesn’t automatically make for a fascinating book. And why shouldn’t she? Octopuses are amazing creatures, invertebrates with three hearts and nine brains who can change color in response to mood or to camouflage themselves. Montgomery is effusive in her enthusiasm for octopuses and describes how she weeps tears of joy the first time she sees one in the wild. She does this largely by spending time with the octopus keepers and their charges at the New England Aquarium, with a side trip diving in the Caribbean to see their wild brethren. The Soul of an Octopus follows author Sy Montgomery’s quest to get to know octopuses. Now a few golden embellishments stare up at me from the pages, questioning me as to whether I will doom them to remain pressed in a book I’m unlikely to reference frequently. Is anything quite so disappointing as picking up a book that you fully expect to be a five-star read and being met with something you can only generously call mediocre? I was so excited at the prospect of learning about octopuses, those wonderful invertebrates, that I sat down with my beloved book darts, certain that I’d want to permanently tag many interesting passages. Scroll all the way to the bottom for movie recommendation!
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