Best Friends, part 2

Lily and the Octopus

by Steven Rowley

This is a love story about a man and a dachshund. Sound hilarious? It kind of is. The dog is called Lily and I’ve already forgotten the man’s name. Lily leads a joyous life until the day her owner discovers an octopus on her head. I’ll leave you to guess what the eight-legged creature really is.

Full of sarcastic humour and witty commentary, our protagonist (still can’t remember his name) meanders through California on this Moby Dick style adventure. From the beach to gay bars, to a grand sea adventure, he chases down and tries to kill the octopus stuck on the head of his one true love. The fact that he is gay is merely a feature of this character, but not his driving force. I love that we are now in a place and time where that can be true. His orientation is never an issue, just a fact.

Rowley takes us on a roller coaster ride of emotional highs and lows in this small but great tale about our capacity to love both human and non-human creatures. In some way, it is also about growing up and facing both the good and the bad in our lives. There comes a time when you have to own the life that you lead and for our hero, it is the day that the octopus arrives.