Lily and the Octopus

Bought this book since I, too, had lost my beloved dachshund and figured I would appreciate and sympathize what the author was writing about. There was too much symbolism for me. A straight cut story that was heartfelt and sincere without having to read between the lines would have been better. I understood what the author was doing but it was too strange for me. I still sympathize with him and his loss as any pet lover would.

This is an emotional book if you're a pet person!

I adored Lily. She was sweet and funny and brave and you could tell she had a big heart.

Ted I found to be an oddball. Never really clicked with him other than his love of Lily.

Big hate for the Octopus!

A touching read, but have tissues by your side!

So the title of this review is a little harsh but I've earned my Mourning Black so I stand on where I'm going.

Having experienced the extreme heartbreak of losing 2 fur babies within a month of one another just a year ago, this book was just not capable of being magically surreal enough to help heal the still-lingering hurt that a deep-loving animal mama or daddy feels. I did appreciate the noble attempt at a happy ending which at least kept me from bawling to the last page, but it still felt somewhat empty compared to the chapter after chapter of building loss.

I do believe this book was written as well as a book on this topic could possibly have been treated but I will admit that the quotes and name dropping and movie and celebrity references that seemed to be ceaseless were tiresome for me personally. The literary quotes not so much as the rest, however.

Ultimately, as a great lover of magical realism, I was disappointed by the dream excuses as they seemed just too convenient but did cherish the careful attention to detail about Ted and Lily's relationship and how deeply they loved one another. I obviously disagree with Lily's (conveniently imagined) decision that a month is more than ample time to grieve though.

This is a book that describes the richness of being in love with your dog, and realizing, when their time is up, that you may have carved away the richest portion of your heart for that "canine person." That space was set aside so that no one else could enjoy that depth. I empathize.

The story of Lilly's death was written with sensitivity and pain. Unfortunately, it was almost the only part of this book that drew me into to the aurthor's story, the rest had nothing to do with Lilly or, if it did, was purely weird fiction. I would not recommend this book.

I love this book, Lily and her owner. Great read because, as a dog lover, I've loved and lost so many. I am down to one now and she is 10 years old and I find myself becoming alarmed when she does anything out of her normal day - a hiccup will almost send me into a tizzy. My granddaughter and a 13-year old friend both read it and loved it too.

This book warmed my heart. Thank you for sharing this story. There was a bit in the middle that befuddled me, but I powered through and was glad that I did. The beginning and the ending were flawless. A really touching sweet read.

i am a dog lover and I loved Life of Pi but this book ripped off the fantasy idea without the charm or suspense. The only redeeming factor for me was that I listened to it on audible and the narrator was fantastic.

This book was not what I was expecting. It took a while to get into and then I liked it - until the characters go to sea. I get calling the tumor an octopus, but the decision to go to sea was just plain crazy. It sounded more like a bad LSD trip. I thought it might turn out it was a bad dream but it wasn’t. So those four chapters - well I don’t understand their purpose and they added nothing to an otherwise good story. When that part ends the story picks up again like it never happened. And even though the sea adventure was insane and made no sense, why would a man who adores his dog; his sick dying dog; take her out to sea alone when he has no sailing experience. Did he want to kill them both? Did he want to scare her to death? Who knows. I guess I’m just disappointed and don’t enjoy books I don’t understand. I’m quite surprised at the rave reviews.

I did not enjoy this book. I didn't care for the writer's style. Even though i too lost a dog to a brain tumor, this book did not move me. It reminded me a lot of my dog but the author was not very convincing.

I struggled with symbolism in the book. I am sure the ocean voyage scene was meant to have some significance but it was lost on me. It might have been a good short story but as a novel i did not enjoy it. Sorry

I was very excited to read this book, but unfortunately I found it difficult to get through. I understand the connection between an owner and pet and live my dog immensely. However, the octopus was just too much and I found myself unable to call next with the way the story was written.

The book had its moments, however, it was mostly about a guy who couldn't stomach reality. I didn't like the personification of the dog or the octopus, but the ending was both heart wrenching and beautiful. I didn't love it nor did I hate it.

I'm not quite sure how this became a NY Times best seller. It's extremely juvenile and lacks pith. Difficult to buy in to as an adult reader given the childish approach to his relationship with his dog and the "octopus" otherwise a brain tumor and his unrealistic though portrayed as real life conversations and "playtime" with his dog. Wish I could get my money back.

I should preface my review with my strongly held view that many pet owners coddle, indulge, spoil, anthropomorphize and ruin their pets (frequently as a substitute for human interaction). This novel is about such a pet owner, who discovers his Dachshund Lily is suffering from cancer. He refers to the cancer as an "octopus" due to the shape of the tumor (hence the title) and also anthropomorphizes the tumor. What follows is an account of the owner's fight against the tumor (Lily takes it mostly in stride) -- some of it semi-realistic and some of it an odd, gratuitous, and dreamlike account of a battle at sea among the three main characters (Lily, the narrator, and the octopus), which felt largely like filler material to make this story novel length (it originally started as a short story, according to an article about the author that prompted me to buy it).

Make no mistake: the book has a lot of passion and some humor. The narrator, a gay man who has broken up with his partner; has Mommy issues, a bad therapist, and a dwindling career; and plays monopoly on Friday nights with Lily is occasionally funny in his angst in a hapless sort of way. Lily is excitable and occasionally amusing. But there wasn't a lot of narrative drive here and a great deal of feeling sorry for oneself. Moreover, it felt like a long session listening to an indulgent pet owner drone on about his four-legged friend.

Perhaps it would be more of a hit with those who are indulgent pet owners. For someone seeking drama and human relationships, this will be no substitute.

i found the character so self-indulgent and annoying. the book read as one long tantrum from a spoiled child. this is unfortunate because i was intrigued by the story line of a gay man who loved his dying dog. i expected sweet surprises and deep emotional thought. instead, i got petulant whining from a bitter and angry person. not even the tumor as octopus was a creative twist. the octopus really was just that, an imagined octopus that, weirdly, he fought at sea in an odd and out of place chapter. i expected that the author would have been more creative with his use of the octopus as a metaphor. instead, it was a cartoon octopus that poked fun at the author and endlessly riled him with verbal jabs. then, there were his conversations with his dog. oh my god, the dog was so annoying with the most limited vocabulary. the dog was basically no different than the irritating voice in the baco-bits commercial, bacon, bacon bacon!!! i was ready to put the book down after the first two chapters but steeled myself through it and wished i hadn't. i would never recommend this book.

I'm listening to Disc 6 right now and the story has gotten beyond STUPID - can't finish this piece of crap. In the beginning there was a fanciful story but it just gets stupider and stupider as it goes on. Wished I hadn't wasted all this time listening to it. It is NO WHERE close to the THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN - that book is outstanding. Boxing up for the library to donate now.

Keeping with past trends, I tend to have the hardest time writing reviews for books that I absolutely love. This is one of those. I read this book over 2 months ago and have been unable to put into words what I feel about it.

Lily (a dachshund) and Ted (a man) are the best of friends and do everything together. Lily is quite the character and is, typical to dog personality, excited about pretty much everything. SHE! SPEAKS! IN! EXCLAMATIONS!

One day, Ted is horrified to find that an octopus (read: tumor) has taken residence on Lily's head. This is no ordinary octopus though -- it has a personality too, and it's trying to take Lily away from Ted. But Ted's not going to let Lily go without a fight.

The story takes the reader through Lily's decline in health and Ted's journey to fight the octopus. He goes through an emotional and sometimes insane journey to finally accept that the Octopus may win. This book *will* make you cry, especially if you currently have a pet or have lost a pet.

Emotional and heartbreaking (and somehow heartwarming at the same time), LILY AND THE OCTOPUS is a must-read for 2016. This is already on my list of the top books of 2016. Put everything else down and pick this up immediately.

I won this book from Goodreads First Reads, but have given my honest opinion in this review.

I don't have a thoughtful review. I just hated this book. It was disjointed and not quite fantastical enough to be good fantasy. And the main character was unlikable.

I read it about two months ago, and I still think about it sometimes and get mad.

This book was a huge waste of time ---- really, really weird. And I mean, really weird. And depressing. And hard to follow. I very rarely don't finish a book once I'm invested and I stayed with this until the end and it never improved. I rarely give reviews but felt the need to warn others. Definitely not similar to other pet/dog books of late. I absolutely hated.

I am sure the book is good -- if you want to read a story about my beloved breed and a gigantic tumor (octopus.) Unfortunately from the promo I received which led to my ordering the book I was given absolutely know idea this was the topic of the book. Having lost a dog to an aggressive tumor this was the last thing I wanted to read -- and it bothered me that the promo did not give me a clue that this was the subject matter.

Mr. Rowley’s book is an unflinchingly honest look at love, loss, and the lengths to which we will go in order to protect ourselves and those we love from the suffering that both can bring. His writing instantly befriends you; as his confidante you will recognize yourself in his behavior, commiserate with his predicament, and very likely cry before you are finished, but it will be an honest cry, not a manipulated one. In a field full of sappy dog tales, I am grateful for his courageous, unpretentious, and treacle-free storytelling. I look forward to more from this impressive new author (and maybe also to make him my new best friend).

This book is about Lily and Ted who are the best of friends for over 12 years. It just so happens that Lily is a dog. This book didn't have a detailed blurb on the cover. It only hinted that it's about a man and his dog but you get the feeling that it'll bring out some emotion in you. You just know it.

I understand on a personal level the relationship between a dog and his/her human. I've always had a dog in my life, a couple living over 16 years, so this book interested me in that respect. Dogs become part of your family. They're the family members who forgive you in an instant, show utter devotion and are there for you through thick and thin.

This book is about the bond between Ted and Lily. Lily is a sweet Dachshund and her best friend is Ted, an emotionally frail 42-year-old man who is trying to overcome the end of his long-term relationship. Ted is very lonely and sad and its Lily who is pretty much the only constant joy that he has in his life.

And then the octopus came.

Lily is diagnosed with a brain tumor (which they refer to as 'the octopus') and their world is thrown into a tailspin. The scenes with Lily were sweet and Rowley captures the innocent devotion and 'live in the moment' attitude of dogs. Unfortunately, the octopus bits were my least favourite part of the book. I liked Ted and could empathize with how he had to come to terms about losing his best friend but after awhile his total dependency on wee, sick Lily got old.

Many people are over-the-moon gushing about this book. I'm not one of those people. While this book did have its great scenes (mainly at the end) there was a large part of the book that was just plain bizarre. I'm referring to a large scene about three-quarters of the way in when Ted and Lily go on a fantasy-based adventure to hunt the octopus. It was odd (not the good quirky kind of odd) and I didn't like it.

There were parts that were touching I admit that it got the tears flowing and a rather large lump in my throat as it brought me back to losing our dog, Brandy. It's a very difficult and emotional time and Rowley captures those feelings with sensitivity and complete accuracy.

While this wasn't a favourite of mine, this was an emotional book with a strong 'nod to the odd' that should appeal to those who have deep attachments to furry folk.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for providing me with a complimentary e-book copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Gordon Korman's "No More Dead Dogs" said it well when its main character declared (paraphrasing here) "in any book with both a dog and an award sticker on the front, the dog is going down." As a librarian with a huge soft spot for animals of all kinds, including and especially dogs, I find this is true for any book with both a dog and any kind of accolade on the front -- award sticker, bestseller declaration, hyperbolic quote from a review, etc. This is neither a good nor bad thing -- it simply seems to be a fact that in almost any book that heavily features a dog, the dog will most likely die by the end of the book from either old age, disease, accident, or heroic sacrifice. This makes reading any dog book a potentially heartwrenching read... and "Lily and the Octopus" is no exception.

And yet for all its heartbreaking content, "Lily and the Octopus" is still a wonderful read, deeply affecting and showing just how closely we bond with our canine companions... and what happens when that bond is threatened.

Ted, a single homosexual writer, has mostly cut himself off from the world at large, with his best friend and companion being his Dachshund, the titular Lily. One night Ted discovers something frightening -- a strange mass, which he dubs "the octopus," has developed on Lily's face. In denial about the situation, Ted sets out to remove the octopus from his beloved dog at any cost, a mission that have him trying everything from visits to the vet to weirder solutions like buying inflatable sharks and threatening the octopus with a meat cleaver. As Lily's condition worsens, however, Ted must come to grips with what's happening to his beloved dog, and decide whether to retreat further into his world of fantasy -- a world where the "octopus" is a sentient villain he's capable of defeating -- or face his grief head-on and find the courage to say goodbye...

Steven Rowley writes with a gentle, thoughtful tone that draws the reader in and holds them. He balances out vivid descriptions of Los Angeles' bustle and beauty with passages wrought with genuine emotion, and carefully builds a picture of our protagonist and his relationships with others around him. He even builds Lily up as a character in her own right... though it's largely left up to the reader whether Lily's personality is real or a construct of Ted's own imagination.

At first I was thrown off by the book giving both Lily and her "octopus" speaking lines -- was this book shooting for magical realism? I wouldn't have complained if that were the case -- magical realism isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it can make for a unique reading experience. But as the reader progresses through the story, these passages end up making sense. We as humans tend to give voices to animals and inanimate objects, and Ted giving voice to both his beloved pet and her dreaded illness helps him put a face on both Lily and her foe... and gives him something to fight. This ends up developing in a sequence about two-thirds of the way through the novel that is never really made clear -- is it a dream sequence, a flight of Ted's imagination, or did it really happen? That's left up to the reader to decide.

"Lily and the Octopus" is an unusual but poignant and emotional read. It's a story of one man's grief at losing a beloved figure in his life, and the means he uses to deal with his grief and come to terms with the inevitable. If you loved "The Art of Racing In the Rain" and/or "A Dog's Purpose," you'll most likely love "Lily and the Octopus" as well.

Steven Rowley has written a story about a bond and a love he shares with his dachshund, Lily, and it’s a story that not everyone can comprehend. But those lucky enough to have had a dog (cat, rabbit, bird) that you feel is truly family then this novel will nuzzle into your heart and soul.

I’m a cat lover, two of my favorite books are Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the Word by Vicki Myron and Homer’s Odyssey: A Fearless Feline Tale by Gwen Cooper. These are books I read years ago and they took up permanent residence in my heart - Lily and the Octopus is certain to join them.

Steven Rowley delivers a novel full of real and raw emotion. It’s about love, loss and joy. I giggled and laughed my way through the chapters. And I cried….that ugly cry that you should be alone for. Steven takes us to some strange places but it’s a journey we all know.

Lily and the Octopus is easily a one or two sitting read. The writing has a flow and a cadence that picks up and sweeps the reader along. The reader feels like they are talking with a friend, the characters are so real and identifiable.

Lily and the Octopus is a book for those with furry soulmates. If you have a “family dog” that lives in your backyard or a cat that haunts your home like a ghost; this book will have no meaning for you. If you identify with your furry family like people - this book is for you.

Curl up with your cat or dog on the sofa and spend an afternoon with Lily. Grab the tissues. This is most certainly a worthwhile read.

Lily and the Octopus is Steven Rowley's novel based on the loss of his own dog, Lily. This is one of the few times I agree with the blurb, the magic is in the reading, or in the journey.

This book is about love and what we will do for it. It revolves around Lily but includes love of all kinds. Relationships with other humans and the ups and downs that come with them. Love between family members with all of the baggage that usually entails. Of course the love for a pet, especially a dog, which is a constant positive while all of the others fluctuate or even disappear.

The fact it is a dog story will be the main draw for most readers, myself included. This will not disappoint in that regard. We see how a beloved dog can serve as therapist, best friend, companion and so much more. Even if some of Ted's interactions with Lily are different from our own interactions with our dogs, the core of those interactions will still translate to what we all do with our dogs.

This is a love story, plain and simple. As such, the ups are so amazingly high but the downs can be devastating. To modify a common comment about books involving children: hug your pets (well, maybe not if it is a fish) a little longer tonight and let them know they are loved. Our time together is far too short; they show and give their love every waking moment, we need to do our best to deserve and return that love to them.

Reviewed from a copy made available through Goodreads First Reads.

I thought it would be a heartwarming story about a man and his dog who love each other. I listened to one disc and was so disappointed. The summary was misleading. It was a story about a man's failed relationships with men. Not a fan.

Steven Rowley strikes a brilliant balance of humor with deep insight on life and love in Lily and the Octopus. You do not have to be a dog lover to relate to this story. As someone who has never felt a profound connection to any animal or pet, I found myself laughing and weeping alongside Ted’s experience with his beloved dachshund, Lily. The book is so beautifully written that it leaves you holding on to each sentence the way you might pause to reflect on a recent epiphany. Steven Rowley’s writing is so fiercely smart, utterly hilarious and his perception on love and life will resonate to your core. This book is more than a love story; it is a deep contemplation on the meaning of life and our connection to those around us, human or animal. You will find yourself laughing and crying while reading the words within the same sentence. Only a brilliant writer can evoke such powerful emotion within every page of a book.

EXCERPT:
The octopus has a good grip and clings tightly over her eye. It takes me a minute, but I gather my nerve and poke it. It's harder than I would have imagined. Less like a water balloon, more like . . . bone. It feels subcutaneous, yet there it is, out in the open for all to see. I count its arms, turning Lily's head around to the back, and sure enough, there are eight. The octopus looks angry as much as out of place. Aggressive perhaps is a better word. Like it is announcing itself and would like the room. I'm not going to lie. It's as frightening as it is confounding. I saw a video somewhere, sometime, of an octopus that camouflaged itself so perfectly along the ocean floor that it was completely undetectable until some unfortunate whelk or crab or snail came along and it emerged, striking with deadly precision. I remember going back and watching the video again and again, trying to locate the octopus in hiding. After countless viewings I could acknowledge its presence, sense its energy, its lurking, its intent to pounce, even if I couldn't entirely make it out in form. Once you had seen it, you couldn't really unsee it—even as you remained impressed with its ability to hide so perfectly in plain sight.

ABOUT THIS BOOK: Combining the emotional depth of The Art of Racing in the Rain with the magical spirit of The Life of Pi, Lily and the Octopus is an epic adventure of the heart.

When you sit down with Lily and the Octopus, you will be taken on an unforgettable ride.

The magic of this novel is in the read, and we don’t want to spoil it by giving away too many details. We can tell you that this is a story about that special someone: the one you trust, the one you can’t live without.

For Ted Flask, that someone special is his aging companion Lily, who happens to be a dog. Lily and the Octopus reminds us how it feels to love fiercely, how difficult it can be to let go, and how the fight for those we love is the greatest fight of all.

MY THOUGHTS: I expected this to be a sad book, given the subject, but it wasn’t, at least not to the degree that I imagined. And I am writing this as the person who, when my dog went missing the week before last, spent two whole days driving around the streets searching for him, mobilising the town and rural posties to look for him on their rounds, and harassing the vets, the pound and the SPCA. Day three found me in tears, quite certain that he had gone off to die, as elderly blue heelers are prone to do, completely immobilized by my grief. Happy ending, he was located late on the afternoon of the third day, hungry and footsore, making his way back home. $200 later in pound fees and a quick trip to the vet to have him checked over and he was home. Where he had been for those three days remains a mystery; no one sighted him, and he's not talking!

Anyway, back to Lily and the Octopus. Dogs make the most amazing friends. They are loyal and loving. The emotions we, their humans, feel when our dogs' health is failing, are extreme. Ted is alone, other than for Lily, and has endowed Lily with many human traits. Well, maybe Lily could play Monopoly. Just because I have never tried playing board games with my dog doesn't mean that it can't be done. He is heavily emotionally invested in her, and when her life is threatened, he fights that threat every way he knows how. And in doing so, he learns a lot about himself, about responsibility, and about making tough decisions.

So, I didn't cry while reading this book. I smiled a lot, at times recognizing myself in Ted. It was a sweet, nostalgic read for me, bringing back memories of previous dogs I am lucky enough to have had in my life.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

As most pet owners can agree, our pets help to make our life worth living and the same can be said about the author. This is his story about his dog, Lily, a small dachshund, and how she saves his life and teaches him to live. His dog is his confidant and friend with whom he has long conversations with, to help him work through his difficulties, sometime she even answers!

The author has a wonderful story telling style. He faces some difficult challenges in his life but his narrative is expressed with humor that has you laughing through the tears. He draws you into the tale and has you rooting for the happy ending and assured he has succeeded. His use of symbolism gets to the depth of his feelings.

I can’t say too much more about this story without spoiling the plot. I recommend it for everyone who has ever loved a pet and called them family. It is definitely for the mature reader as it deals with an extremely adult subject.

I requested and received this book for review from NetGalley.

Oh, boy...books about humans and their dogs. I have to admit that I don't read too many of them because I tend to feel all the feels and sometimes I can't handle all the feels. Honestly, I barely handled all the feels in this one so, you know, consider yourself warned.

Now, the thing with books about humans and their dogs is that they all tend to be incredibly similar. That may be because the love between a person and their pet is universal, but it doesn't change the fact that if you've read one, you've read them all. Well, all of them except this one.

This is a hard review to write because I just really don't want to say too much about the book. This is really one where you really have to experience it without too much foreknowledge because it will go places you never expected.

That being said, I will try and talk around the book a bit. First off, I loved Rowley's writing. He's able to really dig deep down into the emotions of his character in ways the characters do't even realize it. I found this feature, more than anything, to show Rowley's true skill.

I liked Ted as a character--I'm not sure I especially related to him beyond his attachment to Lily (and anyone who has had a treasured pet would), but I liked him enough that I was interested to see where his story would go. He was definitely an odd bird, yet he wasn't so strange that he seemed unrealistic.

While this book does end up where you would expect, the journey it takes is completely unexpected. I don't know if this is magic realism or just some strange workings of the mind...or something in the mind of one of the characters. Either way, it adds something to this book that I haven't found in any other similar work. Reading it, you won't be sure where the story goes next--but not in a way that you ever feel untethered.

I hope that this all makes sense. As I said, I tried to talk about this book without actually talking about the book. But, this is a book that I really think anyone and everyone should read.

This is an unusual book. It's so much about the Love of a Dog and it's so much about LIFE, because this LOVE is bigger than, encompassing the pain of living, this wild weird ness we deal with in loving something so much, and then having to contend with losing this. The use of the word octopus to describe the tumor, the tentacles reaching into this dog, squashing Lily's sweet essence, is fresh and unusual, in its insistence throughout this book. This personification of that evil. I came to this, after reading so many books about the wise and loving ways of the octopus. As in Sy Montgomery and other books. And there are people who collect on line, octopus in all kinds of art. There is this cult of the octopus, and this was an evil take on this. Sort of the crab in cancer, except called Octopus. I was deeply moved by this book. Anyone who has loved a dog would feel this. I think maybe I didn't love enough, for such is the Love for LILY. The ILY in I Love You, something I know about this name, how LIL too as in small, is just so big. A dog, a god, what is, a committed relationship, man's best friend. I found the sea part took me a lot out to sea, and I wasn't sure about that voyage. But sure, I understand about making concrete this octopus, and conquering it. A Moby Dick obsession. Though that felt like real cruelty to me, to conquer that inner wail, as in a different kind of book. We all go to the Wall, the Wailing Wall, because life does present what feels like such unconscionable pain. I love the sheer honesty of this book, the raw honesty, the magical thinking. If we could only slay that monster and keep those we love safe and sound. Thanks to Steven for his Lily. It is a book worth reading.

I'm a dog loving Veterinary Technician.

The book was weird at first and I wasn't sure it was for me. By 50 pages in, I was hooked and head over heels. Crying, laughing, and truly enjoying the metaphorical/imaginary battle against the very real cancer taking his best love away from him. I had read reviews about the boat trip described in the book and I can see how many would not like it/understand it, but I knew it was the story happening inside his head and I thought it was perfectly fitting for the way he perceived the fight against "the octopus" and I loved that part!

One of my sweet dogs just died just 2 months that ago at the age of almost 16, her "sister" is almost 15, declining rapidly, and her time is also definitely coming fast, so this book is incredibly relevant to this time in my life, grieving before, during, and after their deaths, though neither died or will die of a cancer we are aware of. The many feelings described in this book had me nodding and sobbing and warmed my heart. I could relate to all of them.

In 2009, I did lose THE doggy love of my life at just 9 years old to an "octopus" that lived in his chest and took him from me 5 weeks after diagnosis. While I love my other 2 old dogs, he was my furry soulma

If you like Matthew Quick and his odd, quirky characters who see the world clearly but waaaay off center, then you ought to read Steven Rowley's Lily and the Octopus. Main character Ted (don't call him Ed!) lives mostly in his own head, with his own metaphorical view of reality. On the surface, he is a gay, 40ish writer, with self-esteem, familial and relationship issues. His one anchor (nautical reference used deliberately) is his 12 year old dachshund Lily, whom Ted loves fiercely. Ted and Lily converse, travel, eat pizza, play board games -- THEY! ARE! BEST! BUDS! FOREVER! But real life does not come with forevers; there is always an octopus lurking around somewehere. And Ted is determined to fight the octopus that threatens Lily with every ounce of strength he possesses. I was with Ted on his literal and figurative battle all the way until the boat trip which was just too far afield for me. I actually feared for Ted's sanity, which perhaps was the point. Anyone battling an octopus for the life of a loved one (human or canine) has undoubtedly felt the same way. But the ending of the book holds out hope for the future, with nary an octopus in sight.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it's a wonderful tribute to the love we have for our pets. I totally understand that. I grew up with a dog for 14 years and he was my closest confidant and friend. It was devastating when he died. Now, I have a wonderful cat and can't even contemplate the inevitable day when he goes to that 'rainbow bridge'. So I understand the basic premise of the book and enjoyed the imagery of Ted and Lily's relationship and love. But on the other hand, the book lost me somewhat during the bizarre part of being at sea searching for and fighting the octopus. I thought it detracted rather than added to the story - but that's just my opinion.

There's no way anyone who now has or has ever had a 'furry child' can read Ted and Lily's last scene without being emotional. I admit to crying and going through a lot of Kleenix as I felt Ted's pain. It's wonderful, though, that he had those 12 years with Lily - the pure love of a pet. And wonderful for us, the readers, that he felt compelled to put their story into a book.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for giving me an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What an amazing book!!! Remember when someone tells you, you need to read this book, well, this is that book!!!

This book took me on a great journey, I laughed and I cried. This book is about Ted and Lily, his best friend, his dog. Lily is growing older and Ted becomes faced with the decision that none of us want to make, but one that we know we have too, when we love our pets. When you read the book, you will feel the love that Ted has for Lily, how difficult it is to let go and he fights for her so much.

I laughed at how he and Lily talked, how they did things together. I could feel every emotion, I really enjoyed this book, even knowing the book would end sad, but it was a great book to read. I recommend this book very highly!

For those who don’t know me, I’m a huge animal lover. I currently own (or am owned by) 4 cats and 3 dogs. But one is particularly close to me. My German Shepherd, Shyera, is my furbaby. She’s my best friend and an amazing dog. I honestly can’t imagine my life without her. So when Lily and the Octopus popped up on my book club list, I knew it was going to hit me hard. In fact, I’ve never had a book affect me so much.

In Lily and the Octopus, we’re introduced to Ted and his dachshund Lily. They have a routine and a close relationship. They even carry on conversations with one another. But in the midst of their day-to-day life, Ted notices an octopus on Lily’s head. How it suddenly came to be there, he doesn’t know but it’s there now and he must do something about it. Steven Rowley does an amazing job of bringing the reader into the struggles of trying to save the one you love from something that’s so hard to fight. How do you decide between what your heart wants and what is right? And how do you handle the consequences of your decision?

I’m not kidding guys. You will need boxes upon boxes of tissues. Lily and the Octopus explores all that it means to fall in love with a four-legged friend, to have them integrate themselves so completely into your life, and the trials and tribulations that come when an octopus decides to visit. I highly recommend picking this book up the next chance you get!

I was in a hurry, so when the cashier at B&N suggested this book, I bought it without a second thought. Then I started reading it without doing my usual pre-reading analysis; I just jumped right in. That's precisely the way this book was meant to be read. I genuinely don't understand why people explain the story line in their reviews of this book! That's like handing someone a Christmas present and immediately telling them what's inside. Like a Christmas present, you must unwrap this story to reveal the surprises within. This is a story that must be read within a vacuum: sans expectation. Tabula Rasa.

This book will "show" you its story, it doesn't "tell" the story. In short: reading the reviews of this delightful book will dramatically change your reading experience.

Enjoy!

I almost didn't love this book. When the author first introduced the octopus, I knew who he was immediately. I kept trying to follow the extended metaphor and got a little lost as he delved deeper into magical realism. This is what made me almost not love it. But, then he reemerged and I could connect.

His writing was poetic prose. I could feel how much he loved Lily.
***************SPOILER ALERT**************************
When Ted finally admitted defeat and called the vet, I began weeping and didn't stop until he walked out of the vet's office. I felt like we'd lived the same experience. It's been over 8 years, but I feel like I read the same script from the vet. The two shots. What my dog would feel after the first. How I could give the word for the second. How I tried to determine the right amount of time to spend in the room after--how short is considered callous and how long is overindulgent. I wasn't sure how much more there was to say after her death. What was left? But, I was so moved by his description of his first date with his now boyfriend. It was full of hope and promise (I know that sounds cliche). The way he wrote, though, you could feel the lightness and heaviness of the moment at the same time. I don't know how else to describe it. He wrote like it felt to fall in love.

Anyone who has ever loved a dog will love LILY AND THE OCTOPUS. It is full of emotion, poignancy and those bittersweet moments all of us have experienced with our dogs. Furry little Lily is a charming yet opinionated character, one to be reckoned with, for sure. Her friend, Ted Flask, knows what a special creature he has and how fortunate he is to be given the years to share with her. His life pretty much revolves around Lily. Actually, lately, his focus may have become a bit too obsessive. (“Thursday nights are the nights my dog, Lily, and I set aside to talk about boys we think are cute.”) Well, each of us approaches the dog/human relationship differently.

But it’s one of those Thursday nights that are set aside to talk about cute boys that Ted first notices the octopus. He realizes his dog has grown old, but now she has grown an octopus. On her head. Horrified, he tries to shoo it away, scare it off of her and plead with it to leave, but it won’t budge. Instead, it seems to mock him, taunt him and grip Lily even tighter. Panicked, Ted gropes blindly for answers. Ever since he broke off a six-year relationship with Jeffrey, he’s been groping --- for direction, for connections, for happiness. His friends have been pushing him to get out more, have some fun and meet new people. But his attempts at dating have been lethargic, to say the least. More and more, it’s as if he’s just going through the motions.

Ask him, and he’ll tell you he just wants to get home to Lily and forget the whole dating scene. It’s not that he’s numb or jaded. It’s not that he doesn’t know how to love. He loved Jeffrey --- fiercely. And he loves Lily --- fiercely. But there’s that awful thing called loss. That he can’t handle. Now, since that Thursday night, thoughts of the octopus have been consuming him. The evil octopus that clings to his dog’s head, hanging on tightly, its eight arms dangling down her face. With every ounce of resolve, Ted vows that it will not take Lily.

They explore all of the medical options available to them. None, as we know, are good. But miracles can happen. Something may be able to defeat the octopus, especially given the right weapons. So Ted will fight. Yes, he will fight that hateful octopus to the end. In fact, the fight that Ted puts up to save Lily is truly epic.

Heartwarming and beautifully written, LILY AND THE OCTOPUS is all the more endearing in that it’s based on a true story. Author Steven Rowley has dedicated the book “For Lily,” his Lily, quite obviously a giant of a dog in his eyes, never mind her tiny size. Dachshunds, after all, don’t come very big (except in personality). Readers will feel Rowley’s deep passion for Lily and will want to champion Ted’s cause, yell at the octopus along with him, fight the good fight for this tough little dog and for any dog who ever had to jump in the ring and go 10 rounds with an octopus.

Dog lovers will discover that LILY AND THE OCTOPUS is easily the book at the top of this summer’s reading list. And if you’re not a dog lover, it’s still the book for you. It’s simply that good.

Reviewed by Kate Ayers

Why is it that every dog book that I read leaves me in tears? I am a huge dog lover so I am always drawn to this kind of book even though I know that I will be a mess before it is over. But the journey is usually worth it in the end and this book was no exception. So many things in this book reminded me of my own special dogs and I really enjoyed getting to know Lily and Ted.

My sweet Hershey
Lily is a dachshund and more importantly, Ted's best friend. They have been through so many things together during their 12 years together. They have a routine and enjoy their time together. This story takes you through so many of their milestones with each other including Lily's adoption, Ted's relationships, and health issues. I loved Lily and Ted's conversations with each other and could totally relate to them since I often converse with my own dog pack.

I spent most of this book being reminded of all of the dogs that I have been lucky enough to have in my life. I grew up with my Tiger dog who turned out to be a wonderful dog that I still love immensely even though she has been gone for over 20 years. As an adult, Hershey blessed my life. I was able to have her for a best friend for 13 ½ amazing years. She was a very intelligent Golden Retriever Rottweiler mix and the perfect member of our family. She died in September 2015 and we still miss her so very much. We currently have 3 dogs in our family. Our Cookie is a Chow mix that is still going strong at 12 years of age. We added two puppies to the mix in late 2015 and our Stella and Molly are still keeping me on my toes.

Michael Urie was a fantastic narrator for this story. He did such a great job with both Ted and Lily's voices. I have to say that they way he delivered Lily's lines were exactly how I would imagine my dogs would talk...you know, if they could talk. This was an emotional story and he really captured all of that emotion. I honestly don't know how he managed to deliver parts of this book without breaking down because I had tears streaming down my face just from listening to it.

There were some parts that I didn't care for as much. Some of the parts involving the octopus just seemed to pull me out of the story. I was always able to jump back in when the book switched gears but it would lose me a bit during those scenes. That is really my only complaint regarding the book and it is really just that the book chose to go in a direction that I wouldn't have went.

I would highly recommend this book to others. I do think that the audio is a fantastic way to experience this story and do recommend it. I did make the mistake of listening to this book at work. I quickly figured out that I had to stop and finish it at home or I would have been a blubbering mess at the office. So choose your listening or reading place well...and bring tissues. I would definitely read more from Steven Rowley in the future.

I got the audio version of Lily and the Octopus solely on the basis of my fascination with the title! Really, who could resist a novel called Lily and the Octopus? Not me. It just was simply one of the cutest names I've come across for a novel. And for a long while I loved the content as much as the title. This was the author's, (Steven Rowley) first time out writing a book and he wrote from the heart and clearly from his own experience. He thankfully knows his way around language. The story is tender and sweet. It's about how a person who is unsure of his ability to fully love another being finds himself utterly and endlessly in love with the puppy, Lily a dachshund, who comes into his life and stays for over 12 years, which is 84 in human years.

There is a lot of dialog in this book. And most of it is between Ted, the somewhat neurotic human and Lily, the dog. I mean real discussions. Not only do they converse, but Thursday nights are their nights for discussing good looking guys from screen and stage, Friday's for playing Monopoly and Saturday is pizza night. Mostly, in fact, their bantering is a large part of the charm of the book. You grow to appreciate the banter and mostly the wisdom that is Lily's appeal.

Now for the Octopus. As a metaphor for the virulent tumor on poor Lily's head, the Octopus works perfectly.. But at a point I found it's use to become tiresome, annoying, even exasperating if not at times cloying. I don't want to include any spoilers (I hope I haven't thus far), but the sequence on the troller, Fishful Thinking, though interesting at first, became downright obnoxious.

As an audiobook, it worked well and was mostly wonderful.
Michael Urie was so natural in telling the story about Ted's life, with the love of his life, Lily his dog, that you never grow tired of listening to him. That is until Lily becomes her enthusiastic self and practically screams her Joie de vivre in one long, Loud syllable at a time, making me want to turn it off. I guess it was the narrator's way of talking puppy excitement talk, but there had to be a better way. However in spite of this one annoyance, I would look for other books read by Michael Urie.

I found a great quote on the publisher, Simon & Shuster's webpage that summarizes the essence of the book better than I can: "Combining the emotional depth of The Art of Racing in the Rain with the magical spirit of The Life of Pi, Lily and the Octopus is an epic adventure of the heart." I especially recommend this book for people who are dog lovers and love a tender story. I give the book a 3 1/2 star rating.

This is a book about Ted, a single gay man in his early forties whose partner in life is his 12 year old dachshund, Lily. He struggles with forming and keeping relationships without just about everybody except for Lily and his best friend. As the years went on he became so close to Lily that he would hold constant conversations with her and was fairly certain that she spoke back. He didn’t need anyone else in his life. Until the day he realized Lily had an “octopus” on her head. He knew that her days were coming to an end which sparked the downward spiral of Ted discovering how isolated and alone he truly is and how he’ll ever manage to cope without Lily in his life.

This book felt, to me, like a creative writing assignment that went too far. At the beginning I found the conversations Ted and Lily had, observing their weekly routines, to be endearing. Sweet almost. If I were living alone with a dog I’d have a fairly similar lifestyle, I bet. But after awhile, I just got so angry with Ted for insisting Lily’s tumor was an octopus to anybody and everybody he came into contact with. The octopus’s ability to talk and taunt Ted was absurdly annoying. At one point you lose sight of what’s reality and what was just fantasy in Ted’s head. I’m still not sure if their “last journey” was entirely a figment of Ted’s imagination or not. It just got to be way too over the top for me.

That being said, it was still a sweet ode to a life well lived with the companionship of a good dog. And even though you know the entire time that the octopus will eventually get the best of Lily, it still wrecked me when it happened. Overall, I liked parts of the story, simply because it was about a dog and I happen to love dogs. But all the creativity and assigning a tumor the evil identity of an octopus was beyond what I could really enjoy in a book. I will, however, never think of octopuses the same way again.

“We’re going on an awfully big adventure.” Death. Death is an awfully big adventure. But not this time. Not this adventure. The greatest adventure, our adventure, is the fight to live.

Lily and the Octopus is a story of man’s best friend becoming one man’s nearly only friend, the turmoil of loss and the joy of moving forward. Ted is a neurotic, self-doubting, emotionally stunted man who deeply loves his dachshund, Lily. They share an almost human friendship complete with gossiping about boys and sharing meals.

“Dogs, on the other hand… dogs have pure souls. Look at me.” I grab her chin and look straight into her eyes. “Dogs are always good and full of selfless love. They are undiluted vessels of joy who never, ever deserve anything bad that happens to them. Especially you. Since the day I met you, you have done nothing but make my life better in every possible way. Do you understand?”

When Lily develops a growth above her eye, The Octopus- a euphemism for a fatal tumor, Ted’s world is turned upside-down. He is forced to imagine his life sans Lily and he is unprepared for what this holds.

"Less than twenty-four hours since the arrival of our..cephalopod houseguest, I already recognize a trait we share: I, too, am hiding in plain sight, I am walking through life invisible, sulking like a failure, hoping few people notice me."

Ted has turned into himself and away from the world. After his last serious relationship ended, he saw no real desire to continue the charade of dating. However, he made pitiful attempts to satisfy his therapist. His one true love is Lily. The fear of losing his dearest friend grips Ted so ferociously that he begins to imagine conversations with the octopus- who is an arrogant SOB, which is to be expected from a tumor parading as a sea creature. Fueled by a desire to stave off the impending death of Lily, Ted charters a boat and embarks on a fantastical quest to hunt down the octopus and inflict, full force, the amount of pain it is burdening Lily with.

"I look at my sleeping love and silently beg her forgiveness. What have I gotten us into? She doesn’t need this. She doesn’t want this. She doesn’t understand revenge. And while I prefer to think of our voyage as an offensive maneuver, there’s no denying that’s partly what it is. Revenge. You weighed anchor in our waters, now we sail deeply in yours."

It is after this journey into Ted’s subconscious that he awakens to Lily in the grips of a seizure and he knows the time has come.

"It is in this pain that we are tested. Since I am in this pain, the pain of having what is special taken from me, I look inside myself and I don’t like what I see: a man who is broken and alone. I think of all the time Lily and I spent together, just the two of us- the talks about boys, the Monopoly, the movies, the pizza nights- and I wonder how much of it was real. Dogs don’t eat pizza; dogs don’t like Monopoly. I know this on some level, but everything feel so true. How much of it was an elaborate construct to mask my own loneliness? How much of it was built to convince myself the attempts I made at real life- therapy, dating- were not just that: attempts? Somewhere, sometime, I stopped really living. I stopped really trying. And I don’t understand why. I had done all the right things. I had Lily. I had Jeffery. I had a family. And then I didn’t."

Examining on the deepest and most innocent level what it means to love, Lily and The Octopus will leave you emotionally exhausted, cuddling your pet closer.

Unconditional love. I knew a young man when I was in high school who once wrote a poem about it, and no one in the class seemed to understand what he was talking about. I swallowed a lump in my throat then, and I was an emotional teenager.

But that reaction paled in comparison to the blubbery mess I became when reading this book. Oh, not the whole time. Like any exploration of the cycles of grief, there are plenty of quirky moments in this tale. Mr. Rowley does a superb job making readers laugh. At some points you may be tempted to wonder if he's completely insane, but he's just like anyone else who loves, unconditionally, their furry family members. Full disclosure, though: I read this book about a month after our family dog passed away, and about a year after one of our two family cats passed away. So my emotional response might have been greater as a result - I might have cried more than others might do.

Even so, the story is beautifully told. Mr. Rowley takes us on a journey through his life... well, "Ted's" life. And he doesn't mince words when it comes to the hard stuff - those moments we all have of doubting ourselves, of hating every time that we lost our tempers. Those darker moments are all the more magnified when grieving, and it can sometimes be hard to move past the guilt. But he addresses all of this in such a touching way that it's nigh impossible to not understand that sometimes it's necessary to live in the "now" and forgive yourself.

This is really a touching and heart-wrenching tale that I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys a well-told story with twists and turns - and huge doses of real life situations. Well, mostly. Octopus lovers might want to steer clear, though.

Anyone who has ever loved a dog will fall for Lily and the Octopus. Lily is a dachshund who has an octopus living on the top of her head. When her owner, Ted, discovers the sea creature, he sets out on a mission to purge the octopus from their lives. The pair have a special bond. They play monopoly, talk about cute boys, and sleep cuddled up together. Ted will not let go of his precious Lily.

Let's face it, the octopus as Ted calls it, is a brain tumor. While I didn't give Ginger's tumor in her mouth a name, I did ask her if she'd gotten that fat lip going 10 rounds in a boxing match. We so love our dogs and the unconditional love they give us, it's easy to be in a state of denial. We want to believe they will never get sick and leave our loving embrace.

Ted made a list of all his names for Lily. It's several pages long. I decided to make my own list of names I call Ginger just for comparison sake.
Gin
Ginge
Sweet Pea
Babe
Baby Girl
Pumpkin
Little Munchkin
Ginger Snap and I could go on.

Ted and Lily spoke to me. I loved all their crazy adventures imagining Ginger and I following along. You see Ginger has her own kind of octopus and I will do anything to help her fight it.

I read Lily and the Octopus in a day. Lily grabbed my heart and Ted's quest to save her was my own. Lily had the ability to teach us about love, life and moving forward in time. The octopus will never win.

What an amazing, thoughtful, heart-wrenching novel! This is the story of Lily, a dachshund who has an octopus on her head (tumor). The reader follows the narrator, Ted and Lily through their lives together as a man and his dog. This was a novel that you really get involved in, and although you know what the ending is going to be, you are still looking for Lily and Ted to come across a miracle.

I loved this book, and it actually made this grown man cry. As a pet lover, who has had the unfortunate experience of letting go, I felt the pain Lily and Ted were going through. Whether you are a dog lover or a cat lover, there is nothing like the love of your best friend. Remember, they choose you, you don't necessarily rescue them, they rescue you!

If you are looking for a novel with a heart, and may pull at your heart strings, this is the novel for you. This novel is predictable, but that is ok. It is a story of love and hope against hope. If you read this novel, and you should, as soon as you are done with it, be sure to wrap your arms around your fur-baby and tell them how much you love them, and you will protect them with everything you have!

This is the line that got me the most:

p. 265 Your Mother's name is Witchie-Poo look for her....she will take care of you.....

Read this novel, you will never be the same after the final page!

4★
BEGIN! THE! STORY! OF! ME!
[NetGalley requested no quoting from preview copy, but I just had to – sorry.]

The “me” of this command is Lily, a small, elderly (87 in people years, we’re told) Dachsund, Ted’s relentlessly loving, entertaining companion. Ted’s love for Lily is just as relentless. Even if it hurts. Even when it hurts.

Lily was the runt of her litter, and she chose Ted. He says he couldn’t tell all the brothers and sisters apart “tumbling over one another like noodles in a pot of boiling water. . . a pile of paws and tails.”

But Lily, the runt, ambled over, chewed his shoelace and untied it. He picks her up and with her tucked up under his chin, her tail wagged “like the pendulum of the smallest, most fragile grandfather clock.”

Ted reckons the breeder was pleased because it left what looked like a perfect litter for the next customers. But Ted knows he took home the pick. She is “fiercely loved.”

He’s a gay guy with parents, a close sister, and gay friends, loving, loyal friends who all accept Lily as part of the family. He and Lily have a regular schedule of pizza nights and Monopoly nights and lots of conversations. When she’s excited, she goes into SINGLE! EXCLAMATIONS! like the first sentence here.

I’ve had a lot of dogs in my life, including many working dogs who lived outside. But I also had a long-haired Dachsund who, like Lily, slept under the covers so it seemed she would suffocate. I don’t know how they breathe under there, but I guess any smells would be an attraction rather than a deterrence.

We meet Ted’s family, friends, and ex who all watch him sink into alcohol, pain-killers and Valium as he copes with the realisation that his girl is ageing fast and what’s more, he’s found a scary growth on her head that is the octopus of the story.

Although the story is Lily’s, it is also Ted’s. We get to enjoy all the fun, silly things they’ve done, culminating in a hair-raising seagoing adventure reminiscent of Life of Pi. I lovedLife of Pi. It’s fun to be carried away on these unbelievable escapades.

Rowley writes well and his characters are believable. The author tells us at the end that this began from a short story, and while a short story wouldn’t have been enough, this felt too long. I reckon a tight couple of hundred pages would have done justice to Lily, but I’m sure others will love it as it is.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster (Australia) for allowing me a copy to review

This is one of my all time favorite books. Very simple, it is about a man and his little dog Lily, a dachshund. The doggie has a serious medical condition and the book tells the story of how the owner deals ( and doesn't deal) with his beloved dog's condition. The owner also has some life challenges that he is dealing with at the same time. His efforts to address his dog's illness are touching and heart wrenching, but there is a lot of humor as well.
I have a small dog who is getting on in age and we have even had a health scare in the last year. This book captures in my opinion how much dogs are part of us and how attached we can be to them. I once read that dogs were put on this earth to teach us about unconditional love and death. This book captures all that and more. Like another reviewer noted, a miraculous this has happened--now, when I talk to my dog which is often, my dog talks back to me! Who knew!
I liked this book so much because, in addition to the emotional element (be prepared to laugh and cry on the same page,) it is an unusual handling of a dog's voice, as well as an understandable development of the author's life at the time of the action.
This one one of those books I could not put down and I am an avid reader and dog owner.
I have recommended this book to many friends, but be prepared to be reading it with a box of kleenex nearby.

This is one of those novels that is incredibly difficult to review without giving away spoilers but, I'll try my best.

Ted Flask and his dachshund, Lily have been there for each other through thick and thin. Ted's turned to Lily for comfort throughout his periods of loneliness and relationship struggles. But, now Ted needs to be there for Lily's crisis as well.

The author uses "the octopus" as the "elephant in the room" that these best buddies are dealing with. Throughout their ordeal, you can feel Ted's concern, panic and compassion for Lily. Ted and Lily (and the Octopus) is a love story about man and dog, full of emotion and bitter sweet reflection. It's a story that all animal lovers can enjoy (even a cat lover like me), It's a heartfelt story that made me laugh and cry.

Lily talks in ALL CAPS and exclamation points. I loved the way the author developed his characters and their crisis. I would have rated this story 5 stars but, there was one part of the story, a voyage that Ted and Lily experience that didn't work well for me. Despite that minor complaint, I highly recommend this sweet story of unconditional love between man and dog.

Lily and the Octopus opens on a Thursday evening. Ted knows it was a Thursday because that's the day he and Lilly, his beloved dachshund, reserve for talking about boys they think are cute. (They don't always agree but they do tend toward younger men.) He suddenly notices the octopus. On Lily's head. He's not sure how or when it came to reside there and he clearly feels some guilt over not having noticed it sooner. He, of course, understands what the octopus is but he will not call it anything other than "the octopus". Not when speaking about it to his best friend, Trent. Or to his questionably competent therapist, Jenny. Not even to Lilly's own veterinarian.

Throughout the book, we learn about how Ted came to choose Lily (the runt of the litter!), and the many adventures (real and imagined) they've had together throughout the years.

The one thing that struck me throughout this story was how authentic Ted's voice was. There was no doubt in my mind that Steven Rowley had loved and lost a dog at some point. The anthropomorphizing was so spot-on! I can just see Lily talking to Ted. A head tilt here, an averted gaze there. I totally get how he knew what she was thinking at every moment.

I don't think it's much of a spoiler to say that, at the end of this book, Lilly does lose her battle with the octopus. And yes, I did cry a fair amount. But this book is so much more than your typical loved-and-lost dog story . It's about self-discovery, unconditional love, and a life well-lived.

To be fair, I realize have a different perspective than most on the loss of an old dog such as Lily. You see, Lily was one of the lucky ones. She lived with and was loved by the same person her whole life. Only 10% of dogs are so lucky. 10%!! And though she was 12, which is not super-old for a doxie, she had lived a fairly long life. So, while I felt so sorry for Ted, I was able to feel happy for Lily in many ways. I see so much suffering and cruelty in the dog rescue world. I wish they could all live and die like Lily; with life-long respect, dignity, and love.

I loved reading this interview with the author featured on Electric Lit. He talks about giving Lily a voice, his insistence that Lily have an octopus (a giraffe would not have worked), and his unwillingness to allow the book to be de-gayed. The latter of which, thankfully, was not an issue to anyone except Surely (not her real name) on Goodreads.

I'm so happy that I finally read this book. Some part of me probably procrastinated in some Freudian way fearing the sadness but I needn't have worried. The scales still managed to tip toward happy here.

Many thanks to Simon and Schuster for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jumping the shark is the term I like to use when something has gone round the bend of believability. I usually attribute the term to TV series that lost their way in the writers’ room, probably due to rating stress.

This term seems to fit here as well, especially with the nod to all things nautical starting with the Octopus itself. But, it is the Fantasy Fight Scene to which I specifically refer. If you have read the book, you’ll know what I mean.

Lily is the lovable Dachshund belonging to Ted, a forty-two year old man who appears to have much of his life left yet to figure out. Ted is recovering from a recent breakup. His long time love, Jeffrey, was unfaithful and Ted being a rather slow to react kind of guy, hung in for several years past the point of it not being OK with him. This is Ted. He is a wishy-washy, privileged, whiny homosexual man who did nothing to dispel unfavorable stereotypes for much of the book.

Lily is Ted’s redemption in all ways. Lily is redemption for us all. The octopus that grows ever larger upon her head is a tumor, one that robs Lily of her capacities almost from the outset. Lily’s illness will break your heart.

Before what I refer to as the Fantasy Fight Scene aboard a boat, no less, I was growing bored of Ted and his lack of color. I was tired of his all-consuming obsession with his dog which masked his intense fear of living and also with his immaturity and denial. His luxury job as a freelance writer who worked from home did nothing to endear. I was growing evermore critical of Ted and it found unbelievable how he could even support himself since he did little more than whine and travel.

Then came this scene and I honestly didn’t know what to think. I did not believe that Ted had taken leave of his senses nor did I believe he was mentally unstable even though he ascribed monstrous, human-like qualities to the octopus so I was left with a big WTF?

Then the scene was over and things suddenly came into focus. I won’t talk about the next scenes and what they entailed but suffice it to say that they were as real and gritty as it gets and yes, the Ted I was waiting for finally emerged.

The rest of the book was magical. Put one foot in front of the other. Get through minute by minute. I now saw Ted as a man who has struggled and his struggles made him human. My judgment was gone.

There was so much more here than tears for me. I went through a rainbow of emotions, many in contrast to one another.

In the end, it was worth every page. Whether you are a dog lover or not, read it. Animal lovers are an easy draw but this book is for everyone.

BRB Rating: Read It

I absolutely adored this story! It was really weird, like really really weird. The protagonist spends most of the story talking to his dog and listening to his dog’s replies. He also spends a fair bit of time talking to “the octopus” who isn’t even an octopus. So this book is basically the weirdest thing I’ve ever read. BUT, I got so attached to the protagonist and to Lily that I was literally ugly crying for over an hour. My roommates were very concerned. This book was worth it.

‘Don’t you have any favorite memories?’

Lily thinks about this. ‘All of my memories are my favorite memories.’

I’m amazed by this. ‘Even the bad ones?’

‘Dogs don’t remember bad memories.’ … What an incredible way to live.

If you haven’t heard anything about this book yet, the premise is that of a single forty year old man, Ted, and his best friend/love of his life, Lily, a dachshund that he’s lived with for nearly 12 years. Lily, unfortunately, has a brain tumor, which he calls The Octopus. This novel started as a short story and developed into this incredible roller coaster ride, for which I am incredibly grateful.

Rowley used descriptive imagery, and his word choice was spot on. I really appreciated the analogies and metaphors. They made Ted’s situation feel more reachable. His descriptions are unique, but not distracting.

The protagonist has developed coping mechanisms to deal with the grief of his dog getting old as well as living the kind of life the he feels somewhat disappointed about. Thinking about these aspects of Ted’s mental health, make looking at the way that he talks to both Lily and the Octopus more fascinating and less far out there. For example, he talks a lot about the activities that he does with his dog on various days. Lily and he talk about boys on Monday, pizza on Sunday, Monopoly on either Friday or Saturday, etc, etc. I originally thought this was just a cute way to talk about how much time Ted spends with Lily, but quickly came to realize that this was something Ted believed was an integral part of his life. I appreciate that eventually Rowley does allow Ted to become a little more self-aware, and the topic of grief and coping is eventually broached by the protagonist himself.

Friends, let me tell you right now, if you are a dog or an animal lover you are going to flat-out ugly cry over “Lily and the Octopus.”

I mean snot running down your face, inconsolable, nothing-will-ever-be-ok-again sobbing.

The other thing I will tell you is that you will be so, so glad you read it. It’s a beautiful work of literary fiction about the nature of life and love told with a lot of humor and sadness. As the description says, the joy of this particular book is in the reading of it. A summary will not actually convey what it’s all really about, and aside from the crying, I think everyone will take something different away from it. This is definitely one of those novels that is colored by what the reader brings to the table.

What “Lily and the Octopus” gave me was the memory of the pain of loss, but most importantly, the memory of love and it all being worth it. Animals and humans alike, they’re worth it in the end.

I can’t recommend it enough.

This unbiased review is based upon a copy of the book won through the Goodreads First Reads giveaway program.

I've read hundreds of books spanning all genres. In all honesty, though I've enjoyed many, there are only a few that I reminisce about and maybe 2 that I've ever re-read. Not only can I not stop thinking about this book, I am eagerly looking forward to re-reading it again and again. Full disclosure - I have 2 dachshunds so there is probably a deeper connection for me just because of that. That said, the parts of the book that I keep mulling over in my mind aren't really the parts about the dog. There is so much depth in this story which is surprising based on the style in which it is written. There's a lot of wit and references to very of-the-moment pop culture. But somehow the author nails it with his ability to portray relationships with family and friends and the fear we often have about being hurt by those we love. There is a strange fantasy part 2/3 into it but if you read it with an open mind you will see its connection to the greater story.

This book. This beautifully engaging, at times funny, at times sad book. READ IT. READ IT NOW..but buy tissues first.

Ted is chosen by Lily when he goes to a dog breeder. She is the runt that comes up to him. She is the dog that he has had for 12 years. A dog that he has funny, sweet and beautiful conversations with. Seriously, who hasn't had a pet and had a conversation with it? Animals are great listeners. They don't judge, they see us at our best and worst and love us anyway.

Ted is still recovering from the end of a romantic relationship when he notices an "octopus" on the top of Lily's head. WTF you say? You need to read the book. This is no ordinary Octopus. This is an evil one. Hellbent on taking over. Ted sees this as a battle he must win in order to save Lily.

During the course of Ted (and Lily's) battle with the Octopus, we see Ted grow some. He has to make choices. He has to be strong. He has to do right by his beloved Lily. She is the one constant in his life. She cheers him up, she makes him happy and loves him as he loves her.

The battle with the Octopus gets a little strange (on the boat) but overall, this is a story about love, acceptance, family (you and your pet can be a family!), letting go, and starting over. Pets teach us about life. The good, the bad, the ugly, the pain, the happiness, the loss.

I sat and read this in one sitting. It's that easy to do. Don't read it in public as I did. Crying in front of strangers is not my favorite thing to do...but reading is one of them. I enjoyed reading this book. I think most will enjoy reading it as well.

I! LOVE! DOGS! I! WANT! TO! READ! I thought when I saw the cover of Lily and the Octopus with its cute little dachshund. The blurb said it was magic, that reading it would be an unforgettable ride, and compared the novel to The Life of Pi,.

Was I in for a surprise.

From the first pages, I knew exactly what this octopus thing was when Lily's owner Ted said: "It's not often you see an octopus up close, let alone in lily and the octopusyour living room, let alone perched on your dog's head like a birthday party hat ... the octopus has a good grip and clings tightly over her eye ... it's harder than I would have imagined ... less like a water balloon and more like bone." You know, too, right?

So now I had a choice. Do I continue to read a novel that turns around a beloved dog dying from a brain tumor, or not? I mean, it's only the first few pages, so I do have a choice. (And with not even a year between me and the death of our beloved Trixie, I think twice, believe me.)

But on I read--because how many novels do you run across with a talking dachshund who loves Chris Pratt and can quote from the movie Elizabeth with Cate Blanchett? A dachshund who is snarky, but whose love for her man is as exuberant as her love for ice cream. Here's Lily on her first ice cream cone: WHAT! IS! THIS! CLOUD! THAT! YOU'RE! LICKING! I! LOVE! TO! LICK! THINGS! WOULD! I! LIKE! TO! LICK! THAT! And that's how Lily speaks because to her, life is just that good. Every minute is an adventure.

We come to know (and love) Lily through Ted's memories of her: their first meeting, her life as a pup, and their life together with his partner Jeffrey. (Make that former partner.) We also learn that Ted's personal life is in shambles--to lose Lily would mean he had lost his last link, he thinks, to love. We follow Ted and Lily to the vet and hear the prognosis, and we watch as the tumor effects Lily, first by stealth and eventually by storm. So Ted sets out to slay this octopus, to hunt it down and kill it--very much like Captain Ahab--in a fantastical (or is it?) trip on a charter boat. And it's only after facing his demon--the octopus--on the trip that Ted can let go.

Ted's goodbyes to Lily are probably all too familiar to those who have lost a beloved pet and his list of nicknames for Lily at the end will take the wind right out of you. Monkey. Bunny. Sweet Pea. Ding bat. Bean. Mush. Slinky.

I'm convinced that our fur friends live simply to give and receive love, and something so pure can only redeem us. Writer Steven Rowley must feel the same because even in his grief, Ted finds Lily has given him the great gift of beginning again.

Lily and the Octopus is not easy to read, but it is a poignant reminder that the lasts in our lives are every bit as precious as our firsts.

* My post title is a reference to that somewhat sentimental poem our vet sends her patients when we lose a pet. I am convinced, sentimental or not, it tells the Truth with a capital "T".

It has not been hard to fall in love with Lily. For most of my life, I've wanted a Dachshund. When I was a child, I called these dogs hot dogs. I suppose my wanting one has caused quick feelings of sadness about Lily's illness. Poor Lily, I feel so badly about her feeling badly that the only cure became to shut my book for a little while. It helps to think that Edward, her master, is suffering far more than me. After all, he's known her since she was a runt.

Feelings of first love fall from the book like paper leaves. I look in my cat's eyes wanting to experience those first feelings all over again. It's not hard. At some point in a given day I feel that sparkled tingle all over again inside my stomach. So Steven Rowley is successful in one particular area. I'm thinking the type of pet owned does not matter. After all, love is love is love.

However, that old octopus is worthy of a stake owned by Don Quixote. The octopus needs a murderous pierce. Lily with her red ball has taken my heart. It's a Love story, one that I will remember and retell to my cat during Christmas and other happy holidays. Jump, Lily! Play with your red ball.

My mother recommended this book to me and I'm so annoyed that I waited six months to read it. It was heart wrenchingly beautiful... I've lost many pets to cancer and because of that, there were paragraphs in this book that had me sobbing.

Rowley creates such unique, believable characters, who shine throughout the book (even in the bizarre parts). I so enjoyed getting to know Lily, and I felt Ted's pain and dread over what he knew was coming. I've never read a book told from the perspective of a gay man with some mental health issues, but reading a book about a very untraditional protagonist was a fun experience, even if the content left me crying on my couch at 1 in the morning. It is heartbreaking in the most beautiful way possible -- don't let the topic scare you off. Reading sad books about dogs can be emotionally draining, but this book is worth every tear.

This is the 43rd book I've read in 2016 and it might be my favorite. I finished it last night and will certainly need some time to recover.

When we first meet Ted and Lily (his 12 year old dachshund) they are debating the Ryans (Gosling vs Reynolds). It's Thursday, you see - the night Ted and Lily put aside to talk about cute boys.

It's a wonderful opening. We 'get' that 42 yr old Ted is gay and that Lily is his beloved and constant companion and confidante. However it's in the opening scene that Ted first sees the octopus.

Once you get used to the Ted/Lily and Ted/octopus conversations, you can't help but fall under the spell of this wonderful and quirky piece of fiction.

Beautifully and poignantly written. Ted (and Lily) are both divinely smart and sassy. Rowley does a wonderful job in developing Ted and his world.

This is a stunning debut novel from Rowley. There are a few small gaps and loose threads, but none that really matter. It's quirky and for the type of person who takes everything literally (like me!), it takes some getting used to. But it's clever and addictive. And it's bloody good.

Read the full review on my blog: [...]

4.5 stars

I received an ARC from The Reading Room in exchange for my honest review. Thank you.

I loved this novel. There are not enough positive adjectives in the English language for me to describe how I feel about this book. You certainly don't have to be an animal lover to enjoy it even though it's about a 12-year-old dachshund named Lily and her owner, Ted. It concerns their relationship and how much they mean to each other. Ted discusses all aspects of his life with Lily and, of course, Lily "answers" sometimes as a close friend and sometimes like the dog she is.

We read how Ted got Lily and their past adventures which are hilarious at times. Mostly we learn about a serious problem tat Lily has suddenly acquired and Ted's issues in dealing with it.

With excellent pacing, be prepared for an emotional ride that is delightful, funny but sad, and absolutely heartfelt. I would give it more than 5 Stars if I could!!

I! LOVED! IT!

The writing drew me in as soon as I started reading and the WAY! LILY! TALKED! endeared her to me. I shared one of the book's passages on my Facebook status because it was so descriptive and touching, the way the narrator described Lily burrowing under the covers when he first brought her home and was afraid she would suffocate:

"FINE!" (he said after two nights with no sleep) "You want to sleep down there? Then you will suffocate. You will cease being able to breathe. And the last thought you will have in this life is that I was right and you were wrong and you will go to your grave regretting having a brain the size of a walnut.

"I lifted the covers and stared down at her and I could just make her out staring at me. By then I had all but given up trying to outstubborn a dachshund, an exercise in futility if there ever was one. All I knew was that I was tired and I needed sleep. I would dig her corpse out of bed in the morning.

"Of course when morning came she was fine. She trotted up to the covers' edge to greet the daylight, stretching her front legs in some complex yoga pose and yawning the sleep away.

"Tonight it is me who wants to burrow to the foot of the bed, to find the safest spot under the covers, where I can feel small and protected and warm. A spot away from the nightmare of the octopus, away from the reach of his quivering arms, away from what I know is coming next."

I sobbed at the end.

It was a beautiful book.

This is not your typical dog story, but that’s OK. It begins during a discussion between Lily, a twelve year old dachshund and her owner. It’s a Thursday night…the night they set aside to talk about boys they think are cute. During that discussion, Lily’s owner notices there is an octopus over Lily’s temple on the right side.
I almost stopped reading there, but something urged me on as I was in the mood for “something different” to read. This book is a different take on the love and loss of a pet. The author searches for ways to rid Lily of her “octopus,” which turns out to be a metaphor for a tumor. The search is an unusual series of attempts to save a pet.
In the end, every reader who has owned a pet will be able to identity with the unconditional love, the heart-breaking loss, and the life lessons we can gain from these mortal creatures.

If you're a pet owner, you can't not love this book. I have dachshunds and the descriptions of Lily are spot on...she's a stubborn little stinker, but so full of life and personality and love, it's incredible. There were parts of this book that I struggled to figure out what was real and what was not, which annoyed me at first, but I believe it was done intentionally by the author. If you just stop trying to figure that part out and enjoy it for what it is, it's an amazing read. Towards the ending of the book I was sobbing. I'm not exaggerating; legitimate sobbing. But that's what books are meant to do: make us feel something, and if you're looking to feel something, read this book. I could not put it down!!!

I listened to the audiobook of this delightful first novel, and I think it really added to its charm. Michael Urie did a wonderful job of bringing Lily and her owner Ted to life. His reading was equal parts exuberant, poignant, thoughtful, and compassionate. Of course, his material was obviously great—the love story of a man and his dachshund sounds trite (another reviewer described it as juvenile), but was anything but. This sad and lovely story uplifted me and put a smile on my face for the rest of the week.

I kinda didn't want to give this book 5 stars just because it made me cry so much. I wept - both wracking sobs to the tears that just silently leak from your eyes - for the last 20% of the book. But the narrative is just so damn good. The voice of Ted and Lily so honest, funny and at times deep. It's a beautiful story of what our dogs truly mean to us and how we ache when we lose them and work to fill the hole they left. Marley & Me and Art of Racing in the Rain are nowhere near this good. Be forewarned,if you've lost a pet reading this book opens the scar you've formed over your heart and breaks it all over again, even if it was years ago.

Ted and his 12-year-old wiener dog Lily like to hang out and talk about boys, play board games and chat—that is, until Ted notices an octopus on Lily's head which (this is not a spoiler) turns out to be a metaphor for a tumor. You know from the get-go where this is going & that it's going to be a sob-fest. It's the author's somewhat snarky, sometimes fanciful voice that helped me enjoy what was otherwise the potentially super depressing story about facing the likely death of a beloved pet. Near the end it got a bit TOO fanciful for me as Ted, in his grief and anger, tries to defeat the octopus, and the metaphor moves into full-on delusion, but I just kind of skimmed that to get to an ending that was poignant, touching, and hopeful. And, yep, I cried like a faucet turned to full blast.

Oh man, I definitely should not have finished this book on a 3-hour flight...so many tears were shed, I'm sure my neighbor was beyond freaked out hahaha. But srsly, THIS BOOK! Wow. It was simultaneously exactly what I needed to read yet what I didn't want to read right now. Does that make sense?


You know when books just slap you over the side of the head with their absolute truths and pages of wisdom? That's exactly what LILY AND THE OCTOPUS did to me. I am absolutely anticipating quite the book hangover after this story. 


If you have been in the mood to read a story that's poignant and stunningly real, get this book.

Ted Flask had acquired Lily, his dachshund as a rescue dog. Now she was twelve and the centre to Ted’s life. Living in the city of Los Angeles and working from home meant Ted could spend a lot of hours with Lily. So much so that they conversed on a continual basis – it didn’t matter what it was about – Ted knew he could talk to Lily about anything; most times she didn’t answer in a conventional manner, but Ted heard her all the same.

The day – a Thursday – Ted noticed a tumour on Lily’s head (which was of course the octopus) Ted vowed to get rid of it. He must – he couldn’t lose Lily. She was more precious to him that anything or anyone. His life was about to be turned upside down; the invariable reminiscences of life with Lily filled Ted’s mind. Their time together had been filled with adventures both big and small; comfort and love from human to dog – from dog to human. It couldn’t end…

Lily and the Octopus is a powerful and emotional ride – the debut novel by Steven Rowley, it was sometimes difficult to read, but always magical. The bond between Ted and Lily is one that all animal lovers will know and recognise; the grief at the inevitable recognisable. Recommended to all, but remember the tissues.

This was the strangest book and I am an animal lover. I will say if you can make it to the end of the book it will be worth it. It was a struggle for me to get there as the first 3/4 of the book was just bizarre and not really for me. The beginning is about 3 stars but the end was 5 stars. For anyone who has loved and lost a dog the end of this story will resonate with your soul. The ending also made the beginning of the book a little less bizarre. Perhaps if it would have introduced some of the beauty from the end in the beginning it would have tied it together a bit better.
This book was easy to read but it didn't inspire me to keep reading as many other books did. I am glad I didn't give up on it as I had thought to many times during the first half.

I got pulled in by the cover and the positive reviews. Also had a cat named Lily that had to be euthanized a year ago because of cancer - although I am not an "animal lover," I cried for 2 days. Plus I enjoy magical realism, so was prepared to like this book. It started out being charming and funny, and I thought the ending was mostly good. But like many other reviewers, by the middle I got tired of the octopus and Ted's seemingly unending self-pity, then started skimming to get through the story, especially the "high seas" part, which felt stupid, and by the end of the book, I was quite tired of Ted. This would have been much better as a short story or novella. The author writes well, but he should have had better editing advice.

Connecting the reader from the first page, Rowley creates a narrative about a beloved part of family with Lily. A truly unforgettable reminder that our pets inspire us to be kinder, happier human beings capable of living in the moment and focusing on our best moments rather than our worst. The connection between the characters is authentic and pure. This narrative will make you smile, sob, and ponder;but above all- the reader will be captivated by this simply refreshing story!

I can't even...

This is a love story. About a man and his dog.

And it's not a completely sad story, but it's emotional and made me cry very hard.

It's the story of a man and his best friend and an octopus and falling out of love and in love and finding each other and losing each other. It's the story of grief and of life and most of all of love.

I can't tell you more, or I'd give away the beauty. It is a worthwhile read.

I was torn between giving this book three stars versus four stars. There were many great moments in this book, particularly the way the author portrayed the love between a dog and his owner, which is a love that many animal lovers can identify with. The portions of the book where Ted, the narrator, seems to slip from reality were the parts I did not care for. If the author would have not chosen to write an entire chapter about being at sea where he was trying to kill the octopus, I would have increased the rating to four stars. I thought that chapter was unnecessary and almost lost me as a reader. But overall, this is a nice, quick read. If you are a dog lover, you will more than likely find it a good read.

Perhaps reading a book about a love story between a gay man and his dying dog was not the optimum choice while pet-sitting a near ancient pup I love named Tess, who can just barely make it up and down steps any more. So, I cried when Lily died. But, I cry when I see someone eating alone in a restaurant. This was a quick read but a little too much for me in its dream and fantasy sequences which took a touching, personal story into an odd, not very clearly defined (or decided) off-ramp of fantasy-magic realism which lost me. Still, not sorry I read it.

This book is centered around the relationship between Ted and his beloved dachsund, but it is about life, love, and grieving.
Ted so invests himself in his dog that she becomes a human-like companion. She talks, plays Monopoly, expresses likes and dislikes, and even rates attractiveness of guys, all through the projections of her owner. Through the grieving process Ted becomes aware of the extent to which he has cut himself off from "real" life with not only his focus on Lily but also by his use of alcohol and Valium. As a psychologist, I had to laugh at his perception of his therapist, their interactions, and his ability to avoid the important issues.
This book is witty, creative, delightful and sad. I laughed and cried. I strongly recommend it.

Lily and the Octopus is a searing and beautiful story of a man and his best friend. Lily, his 12 year old dog, is the love of Ed's life, the animal that hears his deepest fears, hopes, and dreams. When Lily gets sick, Ed doesn't want to believe that she won't recover. Ed starts thinking back on their life while attempting to ensure his dog's safety and failing health. It is maddening and heartbreaking. This novel will hit any pet lovers right in the gut. I enjoyed it immensely.

This book is about how pets become a part of our heart. This book dicusses the full circle of a dog's life. Lily was an intergral part of Ted's life. She was a sounding board and often became an excuse for him to interact with others.
The ending was sad and almost happy at the same time. Ted became a different person because of Lily. They needed one another.

This book was strange as in Life of Pi strange but it was fun to read the relationship between Lily and her owner. With some people, their pets are their children. With or dog Lily, she is a second child. Our Lily is 13 and the average lifespan of her breed is 14. We see how she is slowing down, how she can't hear as well as she used to or see as well as she used to. So this book was a little hard for me to read since the dog is named Lily. I know my dog listens to what I tell her, and understands. If you are a dog lover, you will probably enjoy this book.

Mostly I loved this book. It made me chuckle and sob. I cared about the characters. I got a little lost at the battle at sea -- was it a dream? Was it a metaphor for going through chemo or other treatments? Because I didn't know, I felt like Ted wasn't doing anything to help Lily and that made me angry. And I feel unsatisfied with the explanation of his solitude and drinking...why did he need to throw his liquor away and not drink anymore? Was he an alcoholic? I sound like I'm complaining, but I very much enjoyed the book and would recommend it.

Lily and the Octopus

by Steven Rowley

Rating - ***(3 stars)
Book Length - 320 pages
Genres - Fiction, Contemporary, Animals

I have seen this book around everywhere. It was one of those most read novels just so that you know what everyone is talking about.

Everyone was talking about a heart warming book about a man coming to terms with the death of his dog. The book is that - but only in part.

The book is divided into eight parts - get it an octopus has eight legs. Except the book is really just divided into three parts.

The first part is when a young lonely male notices that his best friend, Lily, has an octopus attached to her head. He goes about his life while struggling to deal with this development. This part of the story is heartwarming. I found it interesting to see how the author walked the line between reality and denying the situation through selective fantasy.

Then came the second part of the book. While reading the second part I knew there was going to be a catch, there is no way that there would not be a catch. The story wasn't written as true insanity. It is fairly evident that the narrator is not having a psychotic breakdown. Except that he is. There is no sense of reality in the second part of the story. This second of the story seemed to be more written because the publisher decided that the book needed to have more pages added. So this crazy part was developed. It was horrible and I felt destroyed the book.

I was honestly done after reading the second section. Only two things kept me going. The first was the excellent writing skills. Steven Rowley can put words together like the best of them. The second was the absolute certainty that the mess of the third second would end. It did end. The narrator gave up his fantasy world completely and went straight into reality. Given the middle second I do not think this was handled all that well. It didn't seem to fit. Had there been a different transition I think it would have done well. The third part of the book was emotionally powerful. I cried - even though I was so frustrated with the book I did not want to cry.

This is a hard book for me to know if I should recommend it or not. On one hand it is a well written emotional narration about the bond between a man and his dog. On the other hand it is a poorly played out fantasy world that just didn't mess with anything. If they had cut out the middle and just made the book shorter this book would have gone down as a great. However, they didn't.

As published on my blog: [...]

The whole metaphor was played out and didn't really do anything for me. I stopped reading it because I felt like I knew everything that was coming.

Any emotion/affection I have for the story was solely projection of my own dog and not something the writer curated.

I did go back and finish it on the hopes I missed something. But I missed nothing.

Get the tissues ready--you'll need them for this book. The main character, Ted, has an awesome dog named Lily and they share many adventures. Until the octopus shows up. And then, that's pretty much a countdown until the end. Such a fun book. I enjoyed Lily's voice (and the voice of the octopus too). A quick read for dog fans and also fans of magical realism.

I related to this book on the deepest level. Often I was so overcome I had to set it down for a while until I could get a grip on my emotions. I lost my beloved Chesapeake Bay Retriever Nala to brain cancer in 2008 while going through my divorce. I felt like Ted did, heatbroken, in denial, and a bit manic at times in my grief. But what a dog teaches you about love is that your heart expands with each dog you love. The more you love the bigger your heart becomes.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Before I started this book I knew that it would make me cry. What I didn't know, was that it would be worth it. This was a wonderful book (and Michael Urie kills it in the audiobook). Honestly, I couldn't put it down, and more than anything I just wanted to give Ted a hug and get rid of every octopus. I would definitely recommend this book.

I listened to the audio book. The reader/performer did a great job. Sweet "memoir" style. The only part I did not enjoy were the chapters that involved very detailed and descriptive dreams that the author has that he weaves into the story as if they were not dreams. I found it odd, and I often wonder what makes people (authors or otherwise) think the rest of us really want to hear a play-by-play of their dreams.

Today is Labor day. I started this late yesterday afternoon and finished it early this morning. Knowing I didn't have to work gave me the luxury to read through a good bit of the night. I loved this book. Yes, it is quirky. Sad, oh boy. Loving and dear. Anyone who has ever had to make the decision to "let go" of a suffering pet, will feel too well Ted's pain. Lilly was a true love and so well portrayed. Ted, has his struggles and those I felt, too. I feel blessed to have known them both.

This is one of the best books I have read this year! I am a dog person and it did bring back memories of several of the very special canines in my life. Steven Rowley has captured beautifully the strong bond you can have with your dog, as well as the trauma as they become ill. He did this in a way that made me laugh out loud and cry. Don't hesitate to read and pass it on, you will not regret it!

*I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway in exchange for an honest opinion*

This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read in my entire life. Seriously, I cried like crazy at the end of it all. You could really feel the love the main character had for his dog, Lily. I think the fact that I own a cat named Lilly made this even more sad for me. I could also relate to the therapy sessions and panic attacks, being someone who also suffers from anxiety. Anyway, the prose in this was just so beautiful. I recommend this book to everybody and anybody who loves pets.

This is the funniest/saddest book I have ever read. Anyone who has had a dog as their furbaby can relate to this story. I loved the way the author captured the voice of Lily, the dog. I laughed out loud at part and cried like a baby at parts. I recommend this book wholeheartedly.

Lily and the Octopus, Steven Rowley, author; Michael Urie, narrator
Ted Flask is 34 years old. He is a writer. Lily is 12 years old which is 84 in dog years. She is a dachshund. She is Ted’s dog. Ted was not sure he could ever have a fully committed relationship with anyone or anything until he found Lily, and she changed his life. He completely and unconditionally adores her. Their relationship is one of loyalty and devotion.
Ted is fragile and appears to be lonely. He has not had a relationship since he split with his partner, Jeffrey. He has one very best friend, Trent, who stands by him always. Trent is happy. He has a wonderful relationship with his own partner and has a healthy dog. Ted does not envy Trent because of this, rather he deeply appreciates their friendship. He often calls on Trent for support. Ted sees his therapist weekly, but he sometimes seems to view her as his antagonist, occasionally questioning her commitment to him vs. her commitment to her profession. He needs reassurance from many sources, but the dog seems to have the most effective influence on him; she can easily elevate his mood and provide the comfort he requires from others, simply by being there.
Then, one day, to his shock, he discovers what he calls an octopus, sitting on Lily’s head. He immediately makes an appointment with the Veterinarian. Soon, he is forced to face the fact that we are all mortal, and that a dog’s lifespan is normally far shorter than man’s. Would he be able to face what might be Lily’s eventual last journey? Can he save her? How committed is he to keeping her alive, regardless of her suffering?
Through the relationship of Lily, Ted and the octopus, and through Ted’s own dreams and therapy sessions, Ted learns to face reality, recognize his fantasies and why he needs them. He eventually comes to terms with both living life, accepting himself, and dealing with the fact of death, both his, Lily’s and others. He comes to understand that we are all born with an expiration date, some shorter, some longer. Lily teaches Ted how to live even when faced with the fact that we are all mortal and all of us will eventually die.
Does Ted realize he has created a world of fantasy surrounding Lilly? Does he really hear her and the octopus speaking to him? How many of us know dog owners who speak to their dogs and are fully engaged in conversations with them, even when the dog does not respond? Ted has given the dog anthropomorphic qualities that animal lovers will understand and also appreciate. Lily is not his dog, but his child. This is a tender love story on many levels.
The narrator’s interpretation of how Lily spoke to Ted was disturbing to me. In an attempt to express the way a dog would pant and speak, he instead presented a dog that sounded like it was breathless and gasping for air. It made me uncomfortable and distracted from his presentation of the rest of the story and characters.
The story could have become maudlin, but the author wrote it with humor, creativity and genuine emotion, offering imaginative descriptions and details into the dialogue about dreams and fantasies that made it simply heartwarming. It never became cloying. Can a pet show its owner the way forward? What do you think?

I loved the voice given to Lily. Very unique. If you have ever loved and lost a pet, you will need a box of tissues throughout this book. Very well written. I liked that it had humor in it as well. I was a little confused during the sea excursion part, but the confusion cleared up towards the end and I really liked the way the book and story ended.

I didn't cry, I CRIED! So well written, with so much emotion. Beautiful and sad, this book has so much to say about love and the workings of the human heart, and how are canine friends, (with a little help from our own psyches), can teach us lessons that may otherwise go unlearned. Lily, Ted good; octopus ? Very bad!

I bought this book because I love to read - and the story features a dachshund (I've had 4 doxies, my current one is a dapple girl named Molly Sue). I sensed the story would be bittersweet but it ripped my emotions wide open. The writing talent of Mr. Rowley is stunning - and I felt every word. I was utterly charmed by Lily's voice, I can imagine my Molly Sue speaking the same way - such are we as devoted dog lovers. The ending made me cry so loudly that Molly Sue came over to lick my EYE!RAIN! Do anything to save our doxies and loved ones? Yes, a thousand times yes.

The author had an engaging style of writing, but by the end of the book I was a bit tired of reading about "the octopus." (I won't give away the identity of this creature.) As a pet lover, I could empathize with the storyline and the importance of one's pet. However, I wanted more of a story with a deeper character development with human beings, as well as with the dog.

I absolutely loved Lily and the Octopus. I laughed. I cried (a lot). I felt as if Lily was my dog at times. And once I was done with the book I felt Lily's passing for longer than I care to admit. I have a doggie and suddenly I'm having conversations about cute guys. Suddenly I'm loving my dog more and wanting to have more adventures with her. Suddenly I want to stop time so my doggie never ages. Thank you Steven Rowley for an amazing book.

I loved the truth in this story. I hardly wanted to put it down, and I miss the characters already. It helped me process my own similar life challenges as I went through the events, metaphorical or real, with Ted and Lily. The story and it's conclusion is a healing balm. I enjoyed reading the "Conversation with Steven Rowley" questions at the end of the paperback, also. I look forward to reading more from him.

For everyone who has ever shared that special relationship one can only have with a dog, this book was written for you. You *will* cry, make no mistake. But you will also be transported...to a place of magic and adventure, where a dog can speak, and the ocean offers hope and redemption. At times endearingly quirky, and others exquisitely raw, this story is the best I've ever read about that oh-so-precious and special bond where, if we know how to listen, words are sometimes spoken, but they are never necessary. A work of genius. Best book of the year.

Added note: Michael Urie, the actor who read this Audible book, was truly OUTSTANDING.

...But wonderful. Couldn't put it down. I knew, almost immediately where this book would end, but the journey there was unexpected and, well, weird. But I loved it, as I think any died-in-the-wool dog-lover would. It absolutely captures what it means to love a dog.

If you aren’t, you may reconsider. A lovely book - very touching that has meaning and wisdom. It is about love and grief and how you transition from one to another. I’ll say no more - read it for yourself.

I! LOVE! THIS! BOOK!
Do you know a F-bomb dropping gay? If you do, you are probably better for it. If you do not know one, or if you want to better understand the unique and precious insights that such a gifted FBDG can provide, then don't hesitate to read this incredibly insightful, touching and heart warming book. I began reading Lily and the Octopus thinking I already knew the story, or at least understood the premise, but wound taking an incredible journey that had me examining my relationship with friends, family, loved ones, magic wiener dogs, and myself. Thank you for sharing the humor, universal truths, love and insight that you have learned from life and all the wonderful beings who have shared in your journey. I eagerly await the next book from this exceptionally talented writer.

I really do not read books about dogs because I like them too much. Lily is a dog after my own heart and the octopus has a personality of its own. This books defies description but in reading it you will experience all emotion.

One word of advice: do not finish this book in the workplace while you're slacking off. Unless you work alone and have no change of seeing anyone, ever. Because ugly crying is a foregone conclusion.

I absolutely fell in love with Ted and Lily. For those of you that said the dialogue is crazy and it's a talking dog...I feel sorry you missed the bigger message here.

I can't remember the last time I was so affected by a novel! I LOVE LOVE LOVED this book!!

I am not a literal person and I am usually moved by well done symbolism and allegory. Unfortunately there is excessive symbolism in this novel and it is very clunky and drawn out. It diminishes the most compelling part of the novel which is the main character's relationships with his dog and others.

I so want to love this book, really I do. I lost my sweet 'Lily' a year ago, and I still mourn him. And I see the inevitable comparisons to "The Art of Racing in the Rain" and even parallels to "Old Man and the Sea". And I understand this is a first-time author, so I want to be gentle. But I just didn't love this book. I read all genres, fiction and non-fiction; funny and sad; despairing and hopeful; curious and predictable; mysterious and scary; thrilling and romantic. But this book left me sad and depressed - and took me back to that time when Dylan left me. I can handle dark and sad if I can take something away from the story. I just didn't feel that here. Maybe even now, a year later, it's still too soon to read a beloved-pet-gets-sick-and-dies-leaving-me-all-alone story. If so, then that's my problem. Still, I did not love this book.

It had potential, so I kept reading. It never got any better. Interesting concept, some good descriptive writing, but overall it just fell flat. Maybe because the author was trying to be all literary and symbolic instead of just telling a story? Or that he couldn't decide what story he was trying to tell? I like quirky. I can accept talking dogs, octopuses nobody else can see, and mentally ill characters. But it turned out none of those things was remotely interesting in this particular story. (How is that even possible?!) The excitement was simply tedious. No redeming value, not even for entertainment.

I hate dog books because they are so touching. My dog is everything to me and I know the pain that comes with the end of their lives. They bring so much joy that it is only fitting that their demise be so difficult to bear. This is a wonderful story about a gay man and his adventures with his best friend at the end of her life. Good read until the end where one becomes an emotional mess.

I totally enjoyed reading this book. I laughed and cried at certain points and often thought of my own dog and the relationship I have with him. I was sad when I came to the end of the story, both because of what happened and that I would no longer be a part of the characters' lives. I have passed the book on to three other people, who have bought their own copies and will be passing it on to other people. I am going to read the story again; I liked it that much.

The first half was 5 stars. The second half was 3. So I split the difference. It could've done without some of the events that happened and I really struggled to finish the last 5 or so chapters. But... Dogs. And dog love. It's sweet.

I feel like this book was written for me and about me. I have a chihuahua who is getting older and and like Ted I would do anything for her. If you have a pet or had one this book will pull at your heart strings. It's nice to read about a pet owner (like myself) who is somewhat irrational about the lengths they will go to in order to save their pets.
Great first novel, looking forward to reading more of his work.

I wasn't sure I could even finish it.....I love my dog and have lost dogs I loved. With a box of tissues close by, I read and wept and kept on reading. Wonderful and emotional....highly recommended.

This was a very good book. When I first started reading I was hooked and I read the book in one sitting. The author transports you right into the world of events and feelings he experienced with his dog, Lily. The book will make you laugh and cry. I definitely recommend it.

The best "boy and his dog" book I have ever read.
It's also a powerful novel about love, loss, and everything between.
Steve Rowley's story will stay with you long after you finish the last page.
I cried a lot, and you will too.

I enjoyed Lily and the Octopus more than I thought I would. You know... it's a dog book and they tend to be sad. I appreciated the steps Edward went through to accept Lily's medical problem. I thought it was very realistic.

This book was so different from what I usually read that I almost didn't continue reading -- but I'm so glad I did! The timing was right for me and I'm sure it will be for many readers for different reasons.

spoiler alert, if you want to read the book don't read this! the octopus wasn't real, which was a HUGE disappointment, and it was the evil character!!! i mean, octopuses are cool! by the end I was literally cursing the main character, especially during the ten or so chapters that never happened. I'm also pretty sure the main character was crazy; he was talking to his dog's tumor!!! I don't even know how much of the book actually happened!!!!!! Ahhhh!!!!!!!!!

I bought this on clearance for $4. I don’t think this was worth it and definitely not worth my time.

I picked this book up, read a few pages, and kept leaving it. I tried reading it for months. The story drags on horribly for far too long.

I love my dog, I adore animals (particularly octopus) but I don’t assume to know their thoughts and feelings. Maybe if I found that human habit of dog-talk endearing somehow, I would’ve been able to stomach this dribble. However, I never found such behavior becoming of anyone.
This book not only gives a typical belittling dog owners voice to a dog, but also a voice to a tumor, disguised as a cruel octopus.

I put my personal distaste aside and still found this unbearably painful and inane.

I couldn’t differentiate at first if the narrator was exaggerating or delusional, and which it is never becomes clear.
It’s overly dramatic, in a bad way. There’s very little fresh air from the whining and mood swings. I almost feel embarrassed for the story.

Multiple times after pausing I could hear valley girl speak penetrate my thoughts exclaiming “Ew! Go away!”

There are very few books I genuinely dislike. This is one of them.

No dachshund or dog owner should miss this. But being a pet owner is no requirement to enjoy it. Rowley's writing style is full of humor, grace, great characters, exciting action you wouldn't believe. ...But then you do! From poignant moments, mano a doggo, to cliffhangers, dachshund-style (short). Running the gamut of emotions, you easily soak in Ted's highs and lows, loneliness and ultimate uplifting release. Lily was one lucky girl...on four legs. Read it now!

It's an easy and supremely enjoyable read. It took 4 sittings for me to finish it. An absolute page turner. Loved every part, from the characters, to the plot, to the message I took from it once I had finished. I laughed out loud in parts and sobbed like an infant in others. I'll read this over and over. A wonderful book worth hardcover price.

I bought this book because of the high praise it received in its reviews. As a book lover and a dog lover I was very disappointing, barely able to finish it. The idea was cute, and I love the idea of having conversations with your dog, and I can appreciate how the author used the 'octopus' as being in denial, but really after a while it became so childish; a grown man insisting its an octopus to other adults or telling people in all seriousness how she speaks to him like a human. I found the main character after a while unlikable and uninteresting, and half way through the book you realize you've read more about random stories from his life of underdeveloped characters and stories than you have about the rich bond between him and his dog. I would have liked more to have read about his time with her and stories about her instead of time wasting details about his one time dates and things like that. It felt more like the dog was a guest star instead of the main role.

Great read. I don’t seek out books with magical realism and the battle on the boat was a little long for me. That being said, this is a book that invites you to think about your life, your relationships, and change (inevitable or otherwise). I enjoyed it very much!

The dachshund Lily attached to her owner Ted. Ted has lots of problems and loves Lily. Lily gets a tumor that Ted thinks/calls Octopus on her head. Ted has to deal with that and it is difficult. There are some sweet moments in the book, and some sentiment. But I kept thinking: Its a dog. A few reviews try to liken it to Racing in the Rain but its nothing like that book and nowhere near it in substance or style.

Best debut novel I've read in years. Brilliantly original creative, funny, fanciful, poignant, heartbreaking, hopeful. And not just because I love dachshunds! I would love to sit down with the author over frozen yogurt and reminisce about the glorious gifts we've received from our dogs.

I knew the dog was going to die. The dog always dies. But the edition I picked up gave me the distinct impression that it was funny and whimsical and generally an uplifting book. IT! IS! NOT! (With the exception of Lily's bark-talking.) The only moments in the book where I stopped bawling my damn eyes out were the places where the narrator's disassociation with his sad reality was so intense that my tears were replaced with befuddled head-scratching. I keep seeing a comparison to Life of Pi, but that's wildly unfair to Life of Pi, where the presentation of disassociation with reality is fluid and well-crafted...Rowley's approach to that escapism from harsh reality ends up being disjointed and bizarre without the heft to make it work. I like weird, but this book doesn't do weird with the same clever intentionality you get with Life of Pi. It's just puzzling at times and horribly, horribly sad during the rest.

These are the only types of people I would recommend this book for:
1: Stone-cold monsters
2: People who like to ugly-cry as a hobby
3: People who intend to lose 5 pounds of water weight via their tear ducts

Love and loss, fullness and emptiness. This book captures all of the emotions of having a four-legged best friend and loving her until the end. Here's to all the dogs like Lily who help us chase away the eye rain throughout our lives together.

This book is wonderful. It is simply a beautiful love story about a dog and the man who loves her. Everyone who has loved a dog will find something familiar in this story. Very inspiring. Sally Morgan, author of Dances of the Heart--Connecting With Animals

I decided to read this book upon the suggestion of a friend. I was reluctant to do so at first, but I am glad I did. What a lovely story about the power of dogs and the invaluable lessons they teach us: live in the moment and "give spontaneous affection."

I found this book from the Goodreads choice awards. I loved the voice of Lily. At times it was ridiculous but the writing was well done and the action moved along. I gave it the stars because it took much from Life of Pi .

I started off liking it...but after a while, I just got weary of the self-indulgence of the writer...A little too much drama but I do admit, I liked the last chapter which was on a more hopeful note...

This book reminded me of my first dog, Daisy, who once saved a village from a man-killing hippopotamus. Reader beware - it's a book about a dog, so you know it's gonna be a tear-jerker. You will know this by the first couple of pages, so that's not a spoiler.

I purchased this book based upon this statement, however, the book fell short of my expectations. Anyone who has suffered a loss of a pet whether it be a dog, cat, parakeet, fish or guinea pig, understands the emotions the author suffered for Lilly, however, I was bored mid-way through the book and it rambled on and on.

This was a terrific disappointment. The narrator was unlikeable, writing was poor and disjointed, octopus stuff was WAY overdone. Narrator was so whiny and self-absorbed.

My advice: SKIP THIS BOOK and do not waste your time. I had to skim the second half to finish it.

This is a beautiful story about a man and his dog and how he cherished and loved her. To me it tells the story of all animal lovers and how important the companionship of a pet is and how much love is generated from the relationship. This is a tear jerker.

This is about a dog that is dying from something the owner calls the octopus. I listened to about two hours of it and abandoned it. It is written from the owner's point of view who is very depressed about the prospect of losing his best friend. I thought it was depressing. Maybe because I've lost dogs I love and I have one right now I don't expect to be moving each morning but she keeps getting up. Losing a loved pet is hard and I didn't enjoy following along on someone else's pain.

This is a lovely book, but I absolutely hate and detest sadness involving animals, especially doggies. I had a feeling I knew where this was going, but the author does a great job in keeping you involved and I kept hoping desperately for a happy ending. I gave it a 3 star rating just because there wasn't the happy ending I so wanted, but there was also new love and, hopefully, happiness.

Anthropomorphism reigns supreme in this novel, which initially read like a memoir. Perhaps that's because it is apparently semi-autobiographical. Well, parts of it, anyway.

Anyone who has loved an animal can understand battling for that animal's life, whether the threat is in the form of a tumor or an octopus.

However, the whole octopus thing got old long before it got completely out of control. The protagonist waxes poetic about the octopus when I want to know what the vet said, what Ted is going to DO about that octopus. Instead, I got silliness and angst.

I liked the voice of Lily. Ted was not so likable. Too much about his failed relationships, too much ineffective navel-gazing. For someone who fears addiction, he is more than willing to pop whatever stray pill presents itself – Vicodin or Valium – either will do, washed down with alcohol.

For me, this book needed less fantasy, less going off the deep end (quite literally), less Moby-Dick wannabe, and more Lily. And it certainly didn't need self-absorbed Ted, musing over the octopus and talking about Lily, to think,

“She failed to protect us.
That is when the octopus came.
She is the one at fault.
She is the one to blame.”

I know my opinion is in the minority about this book, so if it appeals, read it. For me, it was a no-go.

I was given an advance reader's e-copy of this book for review. The quote may have changed in the published edition.

The WORST book I have ever read!!! Just my personal opinion, it was poorly written, whiny and just downright goofy!! I totally understand his powerful feelings towards his dog, but it was just weird!!! Losing a dog is just heartbreaking but this was silly and not at all deserving a story about losing a dog! It was more of a personal story of a very disturbed individual! Threw it in the garbage!!! Wont even donate it like I do most of my books.

I cannot fathom why anyone enjoyed reading this book. First, the main human character kind of sounds like a loser. I love my dog. I give up a lot to spend time with him. But this guy is simply a loser. The dog doesn't really have an octopus on his head. It's a tumor. He expects the vet to call it an octopus. Does he really go on a journey on a boat with the dog, is that a dream or is that some sort of analogy ? You know the dog is going to die from the beginning. So that makes it sad. But it was just stupid. I'm sorry. I agree with the other reviewer who said that this guy just sounds like a big baby.

Here I am with 1 star among many 5 stars. First I want to say I have a dachshund and love animals. But I don't get who this book is for. I have lots of friends who love books and animals and I would not recommend this to any of them. Spoiler alert: The octopus is a tumor.... Lily dies...the end. That's about it. Don't waste your time.

Well written, but BORing after half-way. Would have been better as a short story. Comes off like a self-indulgent dog-owner's "self-help" book. Would love to know how free-lance writers, like the main (human) character, who never publish, but find all the $$$ they need to pay for expensive LA apts/medical treatments/psychotherapy sessions/boat rentals/flying hither & yon. Also, would love to know why so MANY current authors feel the need to say that they don't believe in "God." Wonder if they ever consider that this could be part of their "problem!" (well, their characters' "problems" anyway) . P-r-e-t-t-y depressing.