Publishers Weekly
11/25/2024
Cookbook author Knight (How to Eat with One Hand) makes her fiction debut with a touching tale of a student’s romantic entanglements and family secrets. Penelope “Pen” Elliot Winters arrives at the University of Edinburgh from Toronto. While in Scotland, she looks up aristocrat Elliot Lennox, from whom she believes her parents derived her middle name. Her father, Ted, was friends with Elliot and Elliot’s sister, Margot, at university, and Elliot now lives with his wife, Christina, at their crumbling family castle, while Margot is a fashion designer in London. Elliot and Christina invite Pen to their estate, where she meets their oldest son, Sasha, who is frequently in the tabloids as he finishes his final year at St. Andrews, and with whom Pen feels an instant attraction. As Pen frets over her virginity and worries what others think of her, she grows closer to the entire Lennox clan, including Margot’s daughter and grandson. But after a second trip to the castle ends with the cold shoulder from Sasha and revelations about their families’ connections, Pen confronts her naivety and tries to “make peace with herself.” Though the cast is a bit too crowded, making the story hard to follow, Pen’s intelligence and charm carry the reader along. The result is a satisfying coming-of-age story. Agent: Samantha Haywood, Transatlantic Agency. (Jan.)
From the Publisher
Praise for The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus:
”Undeniably delicious . . . . A tantalizing yet quietly touching debut about inheritance, emerging sexuality and what it truly means to come into one’s own.”
—The New York Times
”A witty novel about navigating independence and complicated relationships.”
—People
“An amazingly accomplished debut.”
—Oprah Daily
“An ode to womanhood, motherhood and female friendship.”
—USA Today
“A sensitive coming-of-age story combined with a handsome setting, [Knight's] novel feels as fresh as daybreak on the moors. . . thoroughly charming and heartfelt.”
—Bookreporter
“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, #1 New York Times bestselling author of This Summer Will Be Different and Meet Me at the Lake
“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, New York Times bestselling author of Pineapple Street
“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, New York Times bestselling author of The Cloisters
“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, New York Times bestselling author of The Push
“In her fiction debut, Knight delicately explores the painful and exhilarating experience of growing up, which for Pen includes falling in love for the first time and realizing that her parents are flawed human beings. . . . A lovely and poignant coming-of-age story.”
—Kirkus
“Knight’s gorgeously intimate, cleverly insightful wordsmithing will certainly impress and entertain.”
—Booklist
“Memorable characters, witty moments, Scottish settings... Emma Knight’s debut novel has it all. . . . A powerful tale about love, life, choices and friendship.”
—Woman's World
“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, New York Times bestselling author of Amazing Grace Adams
“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, international bestselling author of My Salinger Year
“Addictive, nostalgic and comforting, this layered family mystery crept round my heart like a modern-day Dodie Smith.”
—Claire Daverley, international bestselling author of Talking at Night
Kirkus Reviews
2025-02-01
While attending the University of Edinburgh in 2006, a young woman is taken in by an enigmatic family as she discovers secrets about her own.
Penelope Winters is far away from her Toronto home as a freshman at the University of Edinburgh. But it isn’t only education that drew Pen abroad—she knows that her divorced parents have been keeping secrets from her, and she thinks that her father’s estranged best friend, a mystery writer named Elliot Lennox who lives in Scotland, may be able to shine some light on the mysteries of her past. After spending a weekend with the Lennox family, Pen falls in love with them—including their handsome son Sasha. But as Pen balances getting to know the Lennoxes with trying to uncover her own family’s hidden mysteries, she’s also dealing with the many firsts that come along with living on her own at university. She and her best friend, Alice, a fellow Canadian, navigate exams, sex, and independence as their friendship grows and changes. In her fiction debut, Knight delicately explores the painful and exhilarating experience of growing up, which for Pen includes falling in love for the first time and realizing that her parents are flawed human beings. This is largely Pen’s story, and while the occasional point-of-view shifts do add depth, they are sometimes a bit disorienting. However, the charming characters, Pen’s personal growth, and a nostalgic portrait of campus life make this an altogether enjoyable read.
A lovely and poignant coming-of-age story.
