The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus is a nostalgic coming-of-age novel set in the early 2000s in Scotland where the main character, Canadian student Penelope, has gone for University. While in Scotland Penelope reaches out to a university friend of her father's, going to shed light on what happened to their friendship. This novel is an exploration of that time in a young adult's life when they're on their own for the first time and trying to understand the adults on their life...they're falling in love and developing close adult friendships. I thought it was an accurate and deeply felt story.

Emma Knight’s debut novel, The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus, is a captivating coming-of-age story that beautifully explores themes of friendship, love, sexuality, and motherhood, while also delving into the societal norms and expectations placed on women. Set primarily in the vibrant city of Edinburgh, the narrative follows Toronto friends Penelope and Alice as they embark on their first year at university.

The novel spans a year in the lives of Pen and Alice, allowing readers to witness their growth both together and apart as they navigate new friendships, romantic relationships, and the complexities of their own identities. Pen, in particular, is determined to uncover the secrets behind her parents' divorce, leading her on a journey to track down one of her father’s best friends from his university days in the 1980s. This quest adds a layer of intrigue to the story, intertwining Pen’s personal growth with her family’s history.

The author's writing is both engaging and evocative, immersing readers in the rich atmosphere of Edinburgh. As Pen and Alice navigate the ups and downs of young adulthood, the book explores various significant issues, including sexual misconduct, infidelity, and the challenges of single motherhood. The depth of the character study shines through, as both Pen and Alice are relatable and flawed, each embodying the struggles and triumphs of young women in the early 2000s.

The book also features a unique structure, beginning and ending in the future, with Pen, now 31, and a mother herself, reflecting on her journey. This framing device adds a nostalgic touch, making the story feel full circle and allowing readers to appreciate Pen’s growth.

Overall, The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus is a well-crafted debut that promises great things for Emma Knight's future as an author. It’s a heartfelt exploration of female friendship, empowerment, and the complexities of family dynamics, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a poignant and engaging story set against the backdrop of Scotland. This book is a must-read, and I’m excited to see what Knight will create next!

Pen goes to university in Edinburgh with her best friend Alice. This is a coming of age, story of friendship and motherhood. Pen is trying to understand what split up her parents years ago. This is a quiet book, beautifully written. Not a lot happens but I enjoyed it. More of a literary fiction book.

Saltburn meets Bridget Jones Diary in this cross continental, who’s your daddy love story slash mystery.

This was a slow burn that turned into a fully fledged inferno.

I was immediately intrigued by the blurb for this book. I did find the first 15% a tad slow as the many characters and locations are introduced, but then it grabbed me by the lapels and gave me a shake. Once the Lennox's entered the picture I knew I was done for and I simply could no longer put the book down, I had to unravel the mystery of Pen's parents past in relation to the Lennox's, while simultaneously diving deeper into her budding romance with a cute Scottish boy.

This book is so many things in one, a romance, mystery, and coming of age, tied up with explorations into lasting friendships, marriage, and motherhood.

If you find the start a tad slow like my mother and I both did, I implore you to keep going, it is truly worth it. We both thought it was an excellent read!

This book was interesting, I really enjoyed how the author wrote it and the fun title. It has been awhile since I read a literary fiction, this one did not disappoint.

Book Review: The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight (debut 🇨🇦) publishes today!
Thank you so much @vikingbooks @penguinrandomca for the e-book via @netgalley !!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ From me!

I first heard about this book when Carley Fortune recommended it to hundreds of us in Calgary at Wordfest last June. Going into it, I didn't know much about what it was about (but just FYI it is not really at *all* about octopi 🤣) but I think it's important to know that it is literary fiction with new adult characters with some ❤️🤔

I started this on Saturday morning and proceeded to make it my entire personality for 2 days til I finished it last night. It consumed my thoughts in a way a book hasn't for months. By this I mean I lost a bit of sleep reading it, I told my entire family about it, I overbaked some muffins while reading it, and completely ignored an acquaintance who pulled up next to me in her car. Oops. That about sums up my delightful time with the book.

I can see how this one won't be everyone's cup of tea (maybe you prefer coffee like our main character, Pen?) but there were a bunch of little things I just loved here. The Canadians in their first year of university in Edinburgh made it so fun because of the setting and their background. I adored Pen and Alice's lifelong friendship. I was utterly gripped by the plot, especially in the second half. I loved the romance aspects and the wider friend group and the intellectual comments and thoughts from all of our very smart and witty characters. I loved the motherhood parts. It reminded me a bit of Normal People by Sally Rooney but with a much more satisfying ending and I also got some vibes from other British friend group stories like The Royal We. Somehow parts of it were relatable to me and that was fun.

I also really enjoyed the family "mystery" component that propelled this book forward at a great pace for me. In short, this one will stay with me for quite some time and I encourage you to try it! @readwithjenna picked it for her book club this month and the amazing Saskia Maarleveld narrates the audiobook so I expect that will be great too.

This was a beautifully written book; however, for me it felt like it had two very strong plot points and themes and it felt like it could have been 2 distinctive books. This didn't really explore motherhood for me and that was the connection to the title. It was a good story about a few young girls going to college and discovering themselves, love and family concerns, but the other side just did connection for me!

Longtime friends Penelope and Alice are in Edinburgh studying English and French, and acting, respectively. They are young, away from home, and trying to figure themselves out through meeting new people.

Pen's parents have split, and Pen is eager to understand why her father is reluctant to speak about the man (and friend and writer) whose name became her middle name. Pen contacts the author, Lord Eliot Lenox, once she's in Edinburgh, and travels to his country home to meet him and his family. She's fascinated by them, and attracted to Sasha, one of Eliot's sons.

Alice is attractive, smart, and knows her effect on others, and begins an affair with a course tutor.

We follow the two young friends as they explore new relationships, and recalibrate their perceptions of their families, and themselves.


Despite the quality of the writing, I never really connected with Pen or Alice, and their various travails as they mature. I also had a hard time caring how the theme of motherhood connected to the main characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Penguin Random House Canada (Adult) for this ARC in exchange for my review.

A slow realization of motherhood, sacrifice, wealth, and the ever-enticing politics of upper-class English society. The charming, pining love story between Pen and Sasha was an excellent added flair, and its importance did not eclipse Pen’s investigation into her family and its connection to the Lennoxes. It felt as though Pen and Alice were figuring out the grand schemes they had been exiting within alongside the audience; we knew something was awry but couldn’t quite put our finger on it.

Reviews among my book friends have really varied for this one, so I lowered my expectations going in, and I ended up liking it!
While I love the cover, it does not particularly fit the vibe of the book, and the title really doesn't either. The octopus metaphor represents motherhood, and I didn't find that was even the overarching theme of the book. In fact, it seemed like there were numerous sub-plots at play.
This book takes place in Edinburgh, and actually is about two Canadian friends living abroad during university. I liked experiencing university through their perspective and did feel transported there.
3.5 stars rounded up.

I just finished The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight and here are my musings.

Pen is in her first term at Edinburgh university... She is hoping to uncover the secrets her parents back in Canada are hiding from her and the place she wants to start... With an old friend of her Fathers, the reclusive Lord Lennox.. She doesn't know what she expects to find but love really wasn't one of them. When her best friend Alice succumbs to the advances of a professor, it's up to Pen to try and right the scales of justice.

My biggest issue with this book. The title. I think it wasn't a strong representation of the book even though I understand why the author picked it, it didn't work for me.

Phew now that's out of the way let's talk about the plot... I loved it. We get the book from both Pen and Alice's perspectives and they were both done with grace and gravitas. What was happening to Alice was done with real care and I really appreciated that. I really enjoyed Pen and her journey to discover the secrets of her parents and watching her not just learn about them, but she kinda finds herself too. It was quite beautiful. Pen was such a beautiful character. She was like a balm for wild Alice. Unlikely friendship between two women coming into themselves.

I loved the different social structures the book introduces us too and we are shown the beauty in them all.

I thought the book was beautifully written and a great debut for this author

4 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouseca for my gifted copy.

DNF. I think there are a lot of people who will love this book however I was disappointed. I could not connect with any of the characters and just felt I didn't care about any of them. It felt superficial to me and I didn't see anything that was related to the title.

I was captivated by the title of this book, as I’ve recently found a love of octopuses, particularly in literature. But this one didn’t have one!

I loved the story was based in Scotland and Canada, as I have family connections there. The writing was great, a tad slow at parts. But I truly wish it had been named differently.

Thank you for the ARC

I was really excited to read this book with its commentary on womanhood and motherhood, but it fell somewhat flat for me. While I loved the setting, I only liked the characters. Perhaps intentionally so, they were too posh for me, which made the story feel less accessible, and I wasn't keen on the POV swaps that happened intermittently.. I didn't understand Pen's driving motivation to figure out this story about her parents' past and her visits to the Lennoxes felt awkward. I did enjoy the love story which developed slowly.

This was a lovely story, touching on female friendship, the societal pressures on mothers, and family secrets. I was sucked in immediately and was heavily invested in Pen’s story.

Recommended!

Unfortunately I had a really hard time with this story. First of all, the formatting of the e-book itself made it extremely hard to read. Secondly it felt empty, like there wasn't a real explanation for why Pen was doing what she was doing.

3.75 stars

I have to say, for a debut novel, Emma Knight did incredibly well. I want to thank Net Galley for the arc of this book, as this one had been on my radar when I first heard about it. This book has beautiful prose, and it was so easy to read once I got started. Pen, the main character, seems older than her young years (especially considering it was her point of view much of the time). I enjoyed that she and Alice are Canadians living in Scotland for school as I have a connection to and love of both countries. The story is about family drama, mother love, sexual awakening and has a great mystery in it. I look forward to seeing what else Ms Knight writes!

I really wanted to love this one, and I can’t exactly put my finger on why this one is so challenging to get into. I love that this is written by a Canadian author and I appreciate the pieces of Canadiana in it with the TO shoutouts. The challenging aspect of this book for me was that other than tracking down an old friend of her fathers, I did not get a clear sense of the main characters motivation, and while I was happy to come along on her university journey, it felt purposeless or that I was musky plot points that hadn’t been outlined clearly. I appreciate that it is a coming of age story, but I found the writing and story to fall a bit flat in terms of keeping me reading it. I rarely DNF, but this was a DNF for me. Perhaps I need to revisit it at a later time as I’m sure the ending brings some sort of cohesion or plot reveal.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing an arc of this novel.

Wrought with young love and angst, this is an incredibly solid debut. My only criticism is that it was wordy at times and I'm hoping the final copy has been tightened up.