Lily and the Octopus - Steven Rowley - 3.5 stars, rounded down

[Booknblues]

So, I'll admit to thinking that this book was a cute story about the friendship of a dachshund and an octopus. It is not as I found out about on page 2. While there is both a dachshund and an "octopus", they are not friends. So I set Lily and the Octopus aside for a moment to contemplate. (view spoiler)[I've read The Art of Racing in the Rain, Old Yeller, and The Yearling, I'm familiar with the story and I know the ending did I want to put myself through it again? (hide spoiler)]

Steven Rowley is a quirky kind of writer, but he does love dogs and I suspect he had a dog very much like Lily who he brings to life. He says about dogs:

To focus, I think of how dogs are witnesses. How they are present for our most private moments, how they are there when we think of ourselves as alone. They witness our quarrels, our tears, our struggles, our fears, and all of our secret behaviors that we have to hide from our fellow humans. They witness without judgment.

Dogs are great and this book oozes with love of them. Rowley captures the enthusiasm of a dog delightfully.

"PUNISH! ME! IF! YOU! MUST! BUT! IT! WAS! WORTH! IT!"

or

"LOOK! THE! DOLPHINS! ARE! BACK! AND! THEY’RE! JUMPING! I! WANT! TO! JUMP! IN! THE! WAVES! LIKE! THAT!"

I did love getting to know Lily. (view spoiler)[ I did ugly sob (hide spoiler)].

[Tracy]

I have a dachshund, and I just can’t bring myself to read this one. Though the quotes you give are very much on point for our Stella!

[Booknblues]

Tracy wrote: "I have a dachshund, and I just can’t bring myself to read this one. Though the quotes you give are very much on point for our Stella!"

I thought it sounded very dog like and that was the charm of it. Also the quirkiness, which makes me want to read The Guncleas Rowley wrote that as well.

The downside is you know immediately what is going to happen in this book. I had to take a moment to consider if I wanted to go on.

[KateNZ]

It’s a lovely little book just oozing with love for his dog, and there were lots of smiles and gorgeous turns of phrase, but I also spent a lot of it crying (the person who rarely cries at books…)

[Booknblues]

KateNZ wrote: "It’s a lovely little book just oozing with love for his dog, and there were lots of smiles and gorgeous turns of phrase, but I also spent a lot of it crying (the person who rarely cries at books…)"

Ugly sobbing.