Breathing Just a Little

This book could have been great, but was actually just kind of OK. I didn't hate it at all, but it was solidly meh for me. I think my reaction to it may be a function of me misunderstanding what it was going to be based on the premise. I thought it was going to do something potentially really interesting with the conceptualisation of octopus intelligence / sentience, but, spoiler alert , it does not. Marcellus the octopus, while certainly the most engaging of the three characters that share the POV (sadly, he has the least page time), is just an anthropomorphised smart guy in a tentacle suit, with really nothing alien or other about his mind at all. The plot itself was a protracted converging-stories farrago that has been done better (and in less pages!) by others. Set in the town of Sowell Bay, Washington, the action centres around the local aquarium, its staff, and their friends within the town. The arrival of a newcomer from California, ne'er-do-well Cameron Cassmore, leads ...