Book Review: Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness

Book: Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness

Author: Sy Montgomery

Publisher Information: New York, NY: Ataria Books

Genre: Nature-Nonfiction

For decades, astronomers the world over have pointed their telescopes to the sky in hopes of picking up a signal from an alien intelligence.  But ask Sy Montgomery, keen-eyed naturalist and documentary scriptwriter, and she’ll tell you that we’ve already discovered alien life right here on Earth — and it comes in a squishy, flexible form familiar to both aquariums and sushi combo platters across the globe.  Cephalopods — octopuses, squids, and cuttlefish — are strange beasts, with three hearts, blue blood, and a closer kinship to clams and slugs than any other animal we’d grace with the term “intelligence.” And yet these mysterious mollusks have lit the typically sober world of animal consciousness research aflame in recent years due to how thoroughly they’ve shaken what we thought we knew about animal intelligence.  Montgomery brings these observations and more to print in her book Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness, an overview of the fascinating science of molluscan minds from the New England Aquarium to the Pacific Northwest.

Though neither a cognitive scientist nor a dedicated marine scientist, Montgomery is a skilled and patient observer of wildlife, as well as a capable writer whose empathy and concern for her subject makes her book an enjoyable read.  Though she falls short of a rigorous explication of the nuts-and-bolts science surrounding these wonderful creatures — a notable omission when compared to other notable popular science books, like Katherine Harmon Courage’s Octopus!: The Most Mysterious Creature in the Sea — Montgomery presents what she does cover clearly and accurately.  Biologists are just starting to unravel the befogging mysteries behind these beguiling aliens, and Montgomery illuminates the latest findings while appreciating current limitations.  

But Montgomery isn’t just a sideline cephalopodists; her book pops with a deep seated appreciation for these creatures, and stands out from the rest of its kind not only for drawing out the personalities of several individual octopuses in the aquarium’s care, but also on reflecting how these close encounters changed their handlers, and herself, in profound ways. Montgomery’s narrative unfolds like a novel, spotlighting a varied cast of characters both spined and spineless, and rivals Jane Goodall in the sensitivity with which she treats the latter, a cadre of giant Pacific octopuses. There’s gentle, personable Athena, her first encounter with this world of alien intelligence; aloof, stoic Octavia, the only octopus to run the course of the entire book and whose defrosting proved a particular accomplishment to both her handlers and the author; Kali, playful and endlessly curious, often to her detriment; and lastly, feisty Karma, whose mood fluctuation from joyful to hostile kept all attendees at the aquarium on their toes.  Montgomery reveals much about the lives and behaviors of her subjects, and sprinkles her text with cephalopod facts as well as info on the aquarium’s scientists and other long-term, water loving residents. Few books, even on so magnificent of a creature, have delved into their distinct idiosyncrasies and personalities, and Montgomery manages to tie all of that together in a brisk, engaging narrative flow.

Though not the most extensive or detailed treatment of the cryptic science of octopus neurobiology, Soul of an Octopus deserves all of its accolades for giving these misunderstood animals a dignity and individuality in prose usually reserved for our warm-blooded kin.  Diving into this world as an outsider and encountering these startlingly intelligent yet utterly alien critters, Montgomery emerged from the depths a changed woman, giving serious contemplation to her title as their individual personalities and high intelligence clashed so tragically with their short lives.  Though not ideal for the hard-nosed scientist, this finalist for the National Book Award gives much for anyone curious about the strange, surprising, and mystifying animals we share our planet with.