The most pressing question Montgomery asks and strives to discover is “Who is an octopus?” The question is answered only though others, such as “What is the behavior of an octopus?” and “Do they remember those who visit them?” Largely, Montgomery discovers, this is a question of consciousness - in particular the comparison between human consciousness and other animals’ consciousness.Īlong with describing the other animals around the octopuses, Montgomery tells her readers about her own life. Throughout her adventures, Montgomery asks intriguing questions - some of which she finds answers to, while others hang in the air unanswered by the end of the book. To open the book, Montgomery settles the debate between “octopi” and “octopuses” by explaining that it is grammatically incorrect to “put a Latin ending -i- on a word that is derived from Greek.” The rest of the book follows the same witty and addictive qualities that make it nearly impossible to put down. At the New England Aquarium, she falls most in love with Octavia, who the story follows most closely, from Octavia’s entrance into the aquarium through her relatively short life. Magnificently written, the endlessly beautiful and mystical story of The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery, follows the author through her journey of meeting and falling in love with four different octopuses - Athena, Octavia, Kali, and Karma- at the New England Aquarium as well as others during ocean adventures. I could stay here forever, filling my senses with Athena’s strangeness and beauty, talking with my new friends.” -Sy Montgomery, The Soul of an Octopus ….Perhaps, as we stroked her in the water, we entered into Athena's experience of time - liquid, slippery, and ancient, flowing at a different pace than any clock. We, as well as other animals can mimic another’s emotional state. “And there is another way we alter our experience of time. Sy Montgomery strives to discover who an octopus is in her New York Times bestselling book: The Soul of an Octopus - A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness Here she reviews of The Soul of an Octopus (2015) in an effort to get people to expand their connection to and compassion for the natural world.

Writing, science, and teaching are important activities in her life. 2019Ĭontributor Savannah House is a senior at Culver City High School and a third-year intern in the Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program. BOOK REVIEW: By Savannah House, Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Intern, October 3, 2019

The soul of an octopus by sy montgomery