Erin Hortle
Author of The Octopus and I
Works by Erin Hortle
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Members
Reviews
Awards
Statistics
- Works
- 2
- Members
- 33
- Popularity
- #421,955
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 2
- ISBNs
- 7
- Languages
- 1
Erin Hortle uses octopi and mutton birds to explore human beings’ ethical relationships with animals and each other. When Lucy, the narrator, has recently had a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction. Her husband, Jem, an ecological warrior, is supportive but flippant, which irritates Erin. She is trying to come to terms with the massive change in her body but his words repel rather than comfort.
Lucy befriends an older woman, Flo, whose son Harry returns home. The trio, on a drunken whim, decide to go mutton birding which involves killing birds. Lucy doesn’t tell Jem about the plan as she knows it is anathema to him. It is another wedge between them.
Lucy tries to save an octopus from an oncoming car, the aftermath of which speeds up her questioning of what she wants out of life. The tension culminates in a devastating climax.
This unique novel explores fundamental questions about how human beings co-exist with animals and each other. Erin Hortle examines philosophical questions in an entertaining and beautifully written way.
The setting is Tasmania’s Tasman Peninsula, which is as much a character in the book as the humans and animals. The sea is home to the octopi and seal characters but it is also a cleanser: “All I wanted was to get home and go for a bodysurf to let the salt and sand scour the day from my skin.”
Erin Hortle’s debut novel is an earnest appeal for us to look at ourselves and our world. It made me think about how we treat each other and animals that have more intelligence and feelings that we ever realised.… (more)