A collection of short stories that range from heart-breaking to surreal to disturbing. The title story is the fun, weird one, in which a giant octopus has fallen in love with an 18th Century ship, wrapping her tentacles around it so it can't leave her while she tries to be a part of the crew's life.
In "Our Fathers At Sea" the narrator is preparing for his father's Crating Day in a society in which the elderly are put in containers and dropped in the ocean. "Jenny" is narrated by Jenny's brother, her main caretaker, as Jenny was born headless. She can sign and walk, and feels herself to have some independence because she's unaware that her brother is maintaining what life she has and that he has added the burden of guilt when she's sexually assaulted. I skipped past the rest of "Andy, Lord of Ruin" when it became a litany of the small animals and creatures Andy kills. "Rockabye, Rocketboy" is the story of a porn star who is obsessed with teenage Rocketboy and contains some strange and graphic scenes.
It's an uneven collection, some with engaging writing and others long-winded. ( )

3.5

Weird ( )

Every story here was original and fun. I'd say my favorite was Saints in the Parlor. ( )

(You can also find this review on my blog.)

From the instant I saw the cover, I knew I just HAD to read this book. It had already been on my TBR when I stumbled across it on Netgalley and slammed the request button reflexively. I love bizarro short stories, I love cephalopods, and I love anything with an octopus on the cover.

Unfortunately, these stories just didn't mesh well with me. It wasn't a bad read, it just wasn't anything over-the-top outstanding. If you're interested, I'd say give it a shot regardless. Michael Andreasen is a talented writer and I'm intrigued to see what else he comes out with!

Below I’ve rated and provided content warnings for each of the individual stories.

Our Fathers at Sea ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Bodies in Space ⭐⭐⭐
The Sea Beast Takes a Lover ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The King’s Teacups at Rest ⭐⭐⭐⭐
He is the Rainstorm and the Sandstorm, Hallelujah, Hallelujah ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rockabye, Rocketboy ⭐⭐ (cw porn, pedophilia, stalking)
The Saints in the Parlor ⭐⭐⭐
Andy, Lord of Ruin ⭐⭐⭐ (cw animal abuse/animal death)
Jenny ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (cw assault)
Rite of Baptism ⭐⭐
Blunderbuss ⭐⭐⭐

Avg: 3.36 rounded down to 3 ( )

Completely enjoyable and magical collection of short stories, from a stalled sea voyage to a time-traveling device with a leak. Crazy little snippets of life that are impossible, but which Michael Andreasen makes seem plausible. I will be seeking out more to read from this author; you should, too. ( )