2025 Giller Prize (shortlist)
*THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*
'An unputdownable novel about female friendship and the events that shape us' COSMOPOLITAN
'Addictive, nostalgic and comforting, this layered family mystery crept round my heart' CLAIRE DAVERLEY
Pen and Alice, childhood best friends from Toronto, are in their first year at the University of Edinburgh. Each has come to the city for her own reasons.
Pen knows her divorced parents back in Canada are hiding something from her. She believes she'll find the answer here in Scotland, where an old friend of her father's - now a famous writer known as Lord Lennox - lives. When she is invited to spend the weekend at Lennox's centuries-old estate with his enveloping, fascinating family, Pen begins to unravel her parents' secret, just as she's falling in love for the first time . . .
Meanwhile Alice, an aspiring actor, sees university as her route to the West End and beyond. The star of this year's theatre production, she's making the most of the power she wields as an object of desire - until an affair with her tutor begins to slip from her control.
Witty, warm and wildly unputdownable, The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus is at once a love story and an irresistible mystery, a celebration of female friendship, and a study of how looking back can help us move forward.
'A book to lose yourself in' FRAN LITTLEWOOD
'Brimming with heart' JENNY JACKSON
'Luminous . . . as smart as it is delicious, as nostalgic as it feels fresh' ASHLEY AUDRAIN
'Joyous, clever, and wholly transportive' KATY HAYS
'Emma Knight's witty, wistful debut will keep you up all night' JOANNA RAKOFF
'A spellbinding debut about friendship, motherhood, first love, and the choices that bind us' CARLEY FORTUNE
Genre: General Fiction
'An unputdownable novel about female friendship and the events that shape us' COSMOPOLITAN
'Addictive, nostalgic and comforting, this layered family mystery crept round my heart' CLAIRE DAVERLEY
Pen and Alice, childhood best friends from Toronto, are in their first year at the University of Edinburgh. Each has come to the city for her own reasons.
Pen knows her divorced parents back in Canada are hiding something from her. She believes she'll find the answer here in Scotland, where an old friend of her father's - now a famous writer known as Lord Lennox - lives. When she is invited to spend the weekend at Lennox's centuries-old estate with his enveloping, fascinating family, Pen begins to unravel her parents' secret, just as she's falling in love for the first time . . .
Meanwhile Alice, an aspiring actor, sees university as her route to the West End and beyond. The star of this year's theatre production, she's making the most of the power she wields as an object of desire - until an affair with her tutor begins to slip from her control.
Witty, warm and wildly unputdownable, The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus is at once a love story and an irresistible mystery, a celebration of female friendship, and a study of how looking back can help us move forward.
'A book to lose yourself in' FRAN LITTLEWOOD
'Brimming with heart' JENNY JACKSON
'Luminous . . . as smart as it is delicious, as nostalgic as it feels fresh' ASHLEY AUDRAIN
'Joyous, clever, and wholly transportive' KATY HAYS
'Emma Knight's witty, wistful debut will keep you up all night' JOANNA RAKOFF
'A spellbinding debut about friendship, motherhood, first love, and the choices that bind us' CARLEY FORTUNE
Genre: General Fiction
Praise for this book
"Charm on every page. . . enthralling. Academia, friendship, young love, and family secrets, this is as smart as it is delicious, as nostalgic as it feels fresh. . . Knight is a blazing new literary talent." - Ashley Audrain
"Addictive, nostalgic and comforting, this layered family mystery crept round my heart like a modern-day Dodie Smith." - Claire Daverley
"The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus is a spellbinding debut about friendship, motherhood, first love, and the choices that bind us. Emma Knight whisks us away to Scotland, where Penelope Winters navigates her first year at Edinburgh University while untangling a family mystery. I couldn't put it down!" - Carley Fortune
"Whip smart, unrestrainedly fun, and bursting with heart. . . A novel about finding ourselves, falling in love, and meeting that precious group of friends whom we call family. . . Joyous, clever, and wholly transportive." - Katy Hays
"Brimming with heart, The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus is a story about parents and children, friends and lovers, and that moment when a young person must strike out on her own to claim the life she most wants. Emma Knight swept me off my feet." - Jenny Jackson
"Wonderfully crafted, Emma Knight's story of friendship, family secrets and first love made me nostalgic about the act of reading itself. Mystery, intrigue, posh Scots and academia, it's a book to lose yourself in. Pro tip: carry it around the house, like I did, for maximum snatched read-time. A beautifully written, page-turning delight!" - Fran Littlewood
"Sally Rooney fans, take note! Emma Knight's witty, wistful debut will keep you up all night, pondering the mystery and romance at its core, and rooting for Knight's irresistible heroine. I loved it." - Joanna Rakoff
"Addictive, nostalgic and comforting, this layered family mystery crept round my heart like a modern-day Dodie Smith." - Claire Daverley
"The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus is a spellbinding debut about friendship, motherhood, first love, and the choices that bind us. Emma Knight whisks us away to Scotland, where Penelope Winters navigates her first year at Edinburgh University while untangling a family mystery. I couldn't put it down!" - Carley Fortune
"Whip smart, unrestrainedly fun, and bursting with heart. . . A novel about finding ourselves, falling in love, and meeting that precious group of friends whom we call family. . . Joyous, clever, and wholly transportive." - Katy Hays
"Brimming with heart, The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus is a story about parents and children, friends and lovers, and that moment when a young person must strike out on her own to claim the life she most wants. Emma Knight swept me off my feet." - Jenny Jackson
"Wonderfully crafted, Emma Knight's story of friendship, family secrets and first love made me nostalgic about the act of reading itself. Mystery, intrigue, posh Scots and academia, it's a book to lose yourself in. Pro tip: carry it around the house, like I did, for maximum snatched read-time. A beautifully written, page-turning delight!" - Fran Littlewood
"Sally Rooney fans, take note! Emma Knight's witty, wistful debut will keep you up all night, pondering the mystery and romance at its core, and rooting for Knight's irresistible heroine. I loved it." - Joanna Rakoff
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