A review by s_marie
The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration Into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery

Did not finish book. Stopped at 69%.
For an author that claims to love octopuses so much, it's pretty disturbing not seeing her really question the aquarium keeping such an intelligent, sentient being in a completely bare pickle barrel for MONTHS. Even musing about why it seems Kali, a young octopus, doesn't seem to want to go back into her barrel. I wonder why??! Not only that, the author even says she'd love to have an octopus in her own house but her husband wasn't into the idea and that ultimately it wouldn't be "good for her marriage." I stopped reading after the aquarium finally moves Kali into a larger tank, where the staff are apparently in awe at how big she actually is because I guess she was never able to actually stretch out fully before. And that very same night, after the aquarium workers questioned that maybe the lid of the larger enclosure they put her in might not be octopus-proof, Kali escapes the lid, falls out of the enclosure and dies on the floor. This scene was a glaring showcase of human cruelty in my eyes....they had named Kali after a powerful god, and then proceeded to keep her stuffed in a barrel. And then didn't even take enough care to keep her safe when they moved her. And THEN the aquarium just ups and buys a new baby octopus without having solved the space problem that contributed to Kali's barrel-cage of 8 months and later death. I know a lot of people apparently got a lot out of this book but I found a lot of it cruel and self-absorbed. 
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