Every so often, a book surprises you by being wiser than you expect. Emma Knight’s The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus is one of those. A coming-of-age story that starts simply and deepens beautifully, unfolding into something tender and true. I kept my expectations in check as the cover was blurbed by Carley Fortune, but I needn’t worry.
Chosen by one of the members of our book club, this read was one that had caught my eye in bookshop windows but I’d never actually read the synopsis. Knight is a local entrepreneur that is on top of her game. Founder of Greenhouse Juice, her career is prolific considering she is only middling thirty. It’s not the typical coming of age rom-com beach read.
The novel follows two lifelong friends, Alice and Pen, who leave Canada to study in Edinburgh. On the surface, they’re opposites: Alice is bright, adventurous, and endlessly social, while Pen is reserved, thoughtful, and content to orbit Alice’s energy. But as the year unfolds, and as Pen connects with one of her father’s old university friends, the story begins to shift. She starts uncovering the fractures and secrets that have shaped her family, and the realisation that parents, too, are flawed and complicated people.
For most of the book, I wondered when the title would come into play. It felt disconnected from the story. Until the reveal, when it lands with perfect precision. (Knight mentions in her acknowledgements that others encouraged her to keep it, and I’m glad she did. It works exactly as it should).
Knight’s sense of place is remarkable. Her Edinburgh feels lived-in; from cramped dorm rooms and cobbled streets to sprawling country houses that are destined for the National Trust. She writes about class and culture with an insider’s understanding, whether it’s a Toronto winter or a Scottish jaunt on the ponies. The settings aren’t just backdrops; they quietly shape the choices her characters make.
What makes the book linger is its restraint. There’s no melodrama, only the steady unfolding of realisation: about friendship, family, and the way growing up often means learning to see clearly.
The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus is immersive, atmospheric, and emotionally precise. It’s the kind of novel that keeps circling back in your thoughts long after you’ve finished it.
If you liked:
- Sally Rooney’s Normal People
- Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton