Good Books!
The Soul of an Octopus, by Sy Montgomery
A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness
“I'd like to be under the sea
In an octopus' garden in the shade.”
Richard Starkey (Ringo)
On a recent family vacation, on the cusp of the new decade, I started reading The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery, then woke up early to finish it the following morning. My son’s housemate had given it to him and while he was off celebrating New Year’s Eve in the shadow of the Alhambra, I cracked open the book and was hooked. A naturalist and author living in New Hampshire, Ms. Montgomery starts volunteering one day a week at the New England Aquarium (NEA) and becomes utterly infatuated with the octopuses (not octopi as frequently mistakenly pluralized). She learns from the biologists there not only about the truly amazing physical attributes of these creatures (multiple hearts, the ability to taste with their suckers, the fact that each arm has brain-like neuron clusters, that their ability to camouflage so completely is not a reflex but a consciously controlled action) but that they are identifiable individuals, each possessing distinctive personalities (playful, shy, curmudgeony). It’s this exploration and description of these unique personalities as well as her minutely detailed interactions with these creatures behind the scenes that drew me in so completely. In addition, the author generously introduces many of the other denizens of the NEA; the Spiny Sea Urchin who shares a tank (and crab snacks) with the cephalopods, the slimy Hagfish that requires emergency C-section surgery, and the grandiose Myrtle, a 350 lb. sea turtle, in rich detail. Interestingly, she seems to imply that the community of volunteers she gets to know at the NEA are people who may otherwise have difficulty relating to other sentient beings. Their shared admiration of the marine creatures they help care for creates a strong bond between them.
Of course, while reading the book, one is aware of the Faustian Bargain at play which allows these animals to be viewed in such a setting. Octopuses are caught in the wild and confined in a tank. Their lifespan (even in captivity) is only 3 to 4 years and many of them spend the entire time they’re captive trying to escape. Sadly, because they are expert Houdini’s, many of them perish as a result of those attempts. Their need for constant mental stimulation makes their imprisonment challenging to say the least, and the reader is aware of that throughout. This dilemma is somewhat rationalized by the aquarium director who explains to the author that these captive individuals serve as ambassadors for their species specifically and marine life generally. He contends that if these individuals can help raise awareness and educate people as to their remarkable intelligence and personality the upshot may help to protect them and their environment. Montgomery herself is determined to learn how to scuba-dive so she can observe the octopuses in their natural environment and despite nauseating vertigo and painful pressurized ears, proceeds to do so.
This was an informative and thought-provoking book and it was not surprising to discover that Montgomery has been the recipient of the Henry Bergh Award for nonfiction awarded by the ASPCA. I wonder if it was especially resonant with me at this particular point in time as it succeeded in humanizing other creatures that share our planet at this period in time when our lack of empathy towards each other feels so profound.
