Lily and the Octopus is the 2016 debut novel of Steven Rowley.
Plot
A 42-year-old writer finds that a small octopus has attached itself to the head of his aging dachshund, Lily.
Background
Rowley, 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.[2][3][4] Rowley's boyfriend encouraged him to expand it into a novel.[3] Rowley wrote Lily and the Octopus in 100 days and submitted it to approximately 30 literary agents, who all declined to represent him.[4] 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."[4]
Intending to self-publish, Rowley hired freelance editor Molly Pisani, who later pitched the novel to her former colleague, Karyn Marcus of Simon & Schuster.[2][3][4] Impressed by the quality of the book,[2] Marcus forwarded it to Simon & Schuster editor-in-chief Marysue Rucci.[4] 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.[4]
In April 2015, Publishers Weekly reported that Marcus had acquired the novel for Simon & Schuster in a "nearly seven-figure" book deal.[2]The Hollywood Reporter noted that the offer "was made with unusual speed",[3] with The New York Observer calling it "a timeline unheard of in the slow-paced publishing industry".[4]
Publication
Lily and the Octopus was published on June 7, 2016.[4]
Reception
Booklist praised Lily and the Octopus as "an exceedingly authentic, keenly insightful, and heartbreakingly poignant tribute to the purity of love between a pet and its human".[5]Publishers Weekly called the novel "sensitive, hilarious, and emotionally rewarding", adding that "in generous helpings of bittersweet humanity, Rowley has written an immensely poignant and touchingly relatable tale".[6]Kirkus Reviews wrote, "In his funny, ardent, and stanchly kooky way, Rowley expresses exactly what it's like to love a dog."[7]Sara Gruen called Lily and the Octopus "A quirky and deeply affecting charmer of a novel [that] is funny, wise, and utterly original in its exploration of what it means to love any mortal creature."[5] Julie Klam of The Washington Post described the novel as "heart-wrenching but ultimately breathtaking",[8] and Garth Stein praised it as "a profound exploration of grief".[5]
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