Lily and the Octopus (Rowley)

Lily and the Octopus 
Steven Rowley, 2016
Simon & Schuster
370 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781501126222


Summary
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.

Remember the last book you told someone they had to read?

Lily and the Octopus is the next one.. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1971-72
• Raised—Portland, Maine, USA
• Education—B.A., Emerson College
• Currently—lives in Los Angeles, California


Steven Rowley is an American author with two bestselling books to his name: his debut, Lily and the Octupus, published in 2016, and his second novel, The Editor, which was released in 2019.

Rowley, at the time, a 43-year-old paralegal and screenwriter, had sold several unproduced screenplays before writing a short story about the death of his dachshund, Lily, to cope with his grief. Rowley's boyfriend encouraged him to expand it into an novel.

Rowley wrote Lily and the Octopus in 100 days and submitted it to approximately 30 literary agents, who all declined to represent him. Rowley said of the manuscript, "I was proud of it as a piece of writing, but I never thought that this was going to change my life."

Intending to self-publish, Rowley hired freelance editor Molly Pisani, who later pitched the novel to her former colleague, Karyn Marcus of Simon & Schuster. Impressed by the quality of the book, Marcus forwarded it to Simon & Schuster editor-in-chief Marysue Rucci. According to Marcus:

I woke up to an email that [Ms. Rucci] had sent me at 3 in the morning, saying "this book is incredible, I wept real tears, you must buy it." … We knew immediately it was going to be a big book for us, and the advance certainly reflected that.

In April 2015, Publishers Weekly reported that Marcus had acquired the novel for Simon & Schuster in a "nearly seven-figure" book deal. The Hollywood Reporter noted that the offer "was made with unusual speed," with The New York Observer calling it "a timeline unheard of in the slow-paced publishing industry."  (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 7/17/2016.)

Book Reviews
If you’re a dog lover, or better yet a Dachshund owner, you will instantly recognize the staccato language of Lily’s yips: “LOOK!  AT!  THIS!  IT!  IS!  THE!  MOST!  AMAZING!  THING!  I’VE!  EVER!  SEEN!  IT’S!  A!  GREAT!  TIME!  TO!  BE!  ALIVE!” A promising start: we hope Lily is right, that it is indeed a "great time to be alive." But then again, we also know where animal stories usually end up—and in Steven Rowley’s book, the end, embodied by an ever-growing octopus, shows up on page 2. So how, we wonder, is this possibly a great time to be alive?  READ MORE.
Fiona Lawrence - LitLovers


Lily and the Octopus is the dog book you must read this summer…. Reading this heart-wrenching but ultimately breathtaking novel was a very profound experience…. As Lily might say, ‘YOU! MUST! READ! THIS! BOOK!"
Washington Post


Startlingly imaginative… Lily and the Octopus is a love story sure to assert its place in the canine lit pack...Be prepared for outright laughs and searing or silly moments of canine and human recognition. And grab a tissue: THERE! WILL! BE! EYE! RAIN!
Newsday.


The connection between man and dog is loud and clear in this sweet novel.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram


Author Steven Rowley uses humor and pop-culture references to tell a whimsical story of courage in the face of heartbreaking reality. Philosophical and introspective, "Lily and the Octopus" also looks at the transformative power of love, the importance of forgiveness and the beauty of really living, letting ourselves be seen instead of hiding in plain sight…I laughed, I sobbed, and at the end, I felt as if I’d caught up with a friend over coffee.
Free Lance-Star


You don’t need to be a dog lover to enjoy Steven Rowley’s new book, ‘Lily and the Octopus,’ but if you’ve realized you like your dog more than most humans you encounter, this is one you won’t want to miss."
Newport Beach Independent


A whimsical, touching tale.
People


[A] sensitive, hilarious, and emotionally rewarding debut novel explores the effect that pets can have on human lives.... In generous helpings of bittersweet humanity, Rowley has written an immensely poignant and touchingly relatable tale that readers (particularly animal lovers) will love.
Publishers Weekly


This funny and heartbreaking first novel will appeal to dog lovers, especially those who have had to face the harder aspects of giving their love to a creature who will return that adoration perfectly but for a far too brief time. —Dan Forrest, Western Kentucky Univ. Libs., Bowling Green
Library Journal


(Starred review.) An exceedingly authentic, keenly insightful, and heartbreakingly poignant tribute to the purity of love between a pet and its human.
Booklist


A lonely writer and his aging dachshund confront a mythic enemy.... In his funny, ardent, and staunchly kooky way, Rowley expresses exactly what it's like to love a dog.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
1. Ted agonizes over the fact that Lily’s octopus has gone unnoticed by both of them for so long. Discuss how he internalizes his grief, transforming it into guilt. How would you react in his shoes?

2. The book is divided into eight sections, each with an octopus-related theme. What other octopus imagery and symbolism did you find in the book?

3. Ted hates "living in the not knowing" (p. 31). How does this aversion to uncertainty affect his personal relationships? Do you think this attitude changes over the course of the novel?

4. There is a level of trust shared between Ted and Lily that does not seem to extend to the humans in his life. Discuss how trust requires a kind of courage that humans find difficult to muster. Is it possible to replicate the unconditional love of a dog? Why or why not?

5. Ted notes that Lily has been the closest witness to his life. Discuss why this is clarifying for him. How can new perspectives become powerful?

6. Throughout the novel, we learn that omens can be just as bad as they are good. What happens when Ted goes looking for more omens? Where do they lead him?

7. What role does forgiveness play in this novel? Who does Ted ultimately make peace with, and at what point?

8. Lily admits that she has not held onto a single bad memory. In fact, she does not have many memories at all. Still, she adores Ted’s stories. Discuss how memories can become their own forms of storytelling. What does Ted learn from distilling their shared history?

9. The vet has warned Ted that as she gets older, Lily may start to encounter Enclosed World Syndrome. How is this syndrome mirrored in Ted’s own life? Do you recognize the phenomenon?

10. Ted catches a glimpse of himself in the glass door by the pool and recognizes the octopus. Discuss the meaning of this scene. Why do you think this conflation of identity occurs in his mind’s eye?

11. The tattoo artist, Kal, claims to enjoy the permanence of his work. Ted is skeptical that permanence even exists. Did you see anything in the novel that you felt to be permanent? If so, what was it?

12. One idea that Ted is partial to is karma. Karma implies a sense of causality and order to the universe. Do you think that his opinion evolves as Lily gets sicker?

13. Discuss the scene in which Ted finally acknowledges that the octopus is, in fact, a tumor. What has changed? Did he kill the octopus? What is the significance of this semantic twist?

14. Lily loves her red ball. Ted even goes so far as to suggest that hers is not a life without it. Discuss the symbolism of the ball, especially in Ted’s dream when he loses Lily in a storm of them.

15. What does Ted see in Byron? Do you see a happy future for the two of them?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)

top of page (summary)