
The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Saskia Maarleveld
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By:
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Emma Knight
About this listen
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY
“Undeniably delicious.”—The New York Times
“A spellbinding debut about friendship, motherhood, first love, and the choices that bind us. . . I couldn't put it down!”—Carley Fortune, #1 New York Times bestselling author of This Summer Will Be Different
A witty, atmospheric, and brilliantly told novel that offers compelling portraits of womanhood, motherhood and female friendship, along with the irresistible intrigue surrounding an extraordinary British family
Arriving at the University of Edinburgh for her first term, 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 Lord 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 . . .
As Pen experiences the sharp shock of adulthood, she comes to rely on herself for the first time in her life. A rich and rewarding novel of campus life, of sexual awakening, and ultimately, of the many ways women can become mothers in this world, The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus asks to what extent we need to look back in order to move forward.
©2025 Emma Knight (P)2025 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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I like it.
- By Marj on 01-30-25
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The Lotus Shoes
- By: Jane Yang
- Narrated by: Catherine Ho, Katharine Chin
- Length: 12 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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1800s China. Tightly bound feet, or "golden lilies," are the mark of an honorable woman, eclipsing beauty, a rich dowry and even bloodline in the marriage stakes. When Little Flower is sold as a maidservant—a muizai—to Linjing, a daughter of the prominent Fong family, she clings to the hope that one day her golden lilies will lead her out of slavery. Not only does Little Flower have bound feet, uncommon for a muizai, but she is extraordinarily gifted at embroidery, a skill associated with the highest class of a lady.
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The Lotus Shoes, a must read!
- By sherry on 02-11-25
By: Jane Yang
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Isola
- A Novel
- By: Allegra Goodman
- Narrated by: Fiona Hardingham, Allegra Goodman
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Heir to a fortune, Marguerite is destined for a life of prosperity and gentility. Then she is orphaned, and her guardian—an enigmatic and volatile man—spends her inheritance and insists she accompany him on an expedition to New France. That journey takes a unexpected turn when Marguerite, accused of betrayal, is brutally punished and abandoned on a small island.
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Keep going
- By Mary on 04-26-25
By: Allegra Goodman
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The Stolen Queen
- A Novel
- By: Fiona Davis
- Narrated by: Linda Jones
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Egypt, 1936: When anthropology student Charlotte Cross is offered a coveted spot on an archaeological dig in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, she leaps at the opportunity. That is until an unbearable tragedy strikes. New York City, 1978: Nineteen-year-old Annie Jenkins is thrilled when she lands an opportunity to work for former Vogue fashion editor Diana Vreeland, who’s in the midst of organizing the famous Met Gala, hosted at the museum and known across the city as the “party of the year.”
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Unrealistic characters and dialogue.
- By 406Mum on 01-28-25
By: Fiona Davis
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Sworn
- The Vampire Legends - Book 1
- By: Emma Knight
- Narrated by: Kati Fredlund
- Length: 3 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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When her dad is transferred, Rachel Wood is uprooted from her home in Pennsylvania and forced to enter a new high school in 10th grade, in an affluent suburb in Westchester, New York. She finds herself in way over her head as she struggles to come to grips with meeting new friends, finding a boyfriend, avoiding the cliques of mean girls, and figuring out how to survive in such a hostile, new world.
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Teen Angst
- By Cathy Moore on 03-10-22
By: Emma Knight
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Three Days in June
- A Novel
- By: Anne Tyler
- Narrated by: J. Smith-Cameron
- Length: 4 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Gail Baines is having a bad day. To start, she loses her job—or quits, depending on whom you ask. Tomorrow her daughter, Debbie, is getting married, and she hasn’t even been invited to the spa day organized by the mother of the groom. Then, Gail’s ex-husband, Max, arrives unannounced on her doorstep, carrying a cat, without a place to stay, and without even a suit. But the true crisis lands when Debbie shares with her parents a secret she has just learned about her husband to be. It will not only throw the wedding into question but also stir up Gail and Max’s past.
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Simple, Enjoyable, performed 5 stars
- By PM on 02-14-25
By: Anne Tyler
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Blob
- A Love Story
- By: Maggie Su
- Narrated by: Eunice Wong
- Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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The daughter of a Taiwanese father and white mother, Vi Liu has never quite fit into her Midwestern college town. Aimless after getting dumped by her boyfriend and dropping out of college, Vi works at the front desk of a hotel where she greets guests, refills cucumber water samovars, and tries to evade her bubbly blond coworker, Rachel. Little does Vi know her life is about to be permanently transformed when she agrees to a night out with Rachel. In the alley outside the bar, Vi discovers a strange blob—a small living creature with beady black eyes.
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really different
- By Jeannie Bench on 02-24-25
By: Maggie Su
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Nesting
- A Novel
- By: Roisín O'Donnell
- Narrated by: Louisa Harland
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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On a bright spring afternoon, Ciara Fay makes a split-second decision that will change everything. Grabbing an armful of clothes off the clothesline, she straps her two young daughters into her car and drives away. Head spinning, all she knows for certain is that home is no longer safe—and that this time, when she leaves, she must stay away. On the surface, she has a perfect life: her husband, Ryan, is a good provider, sometimes even kind and attentive, from a nice Irish family, and they have another baby on the way.
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Jarring narration at times
- By Anonymous User on 04-04-25
By: Roisín O'Donnell
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Good Girl
- A Novel
- By: Aria Aber
- Narrated by: Mozhan Navabi
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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In Berlin’s artistic underground, where techno and drugs fill warehouses still pockmarked from the wars of the twentieth century, nineteen-year-old Nila at last finds her tribe. Born in Germany to Afghan parents, raised in public housing graffitied with swastikas, drawn to philosophy, photography, and sex, Nila has spent her adolescence disappointing her family while searching for her voice as a young woman and artist. Then in the haze of Berlin’s legendary nightlife, Nila meets Marlowe, an American writer whose fading literary celebrity opens her eyes to a life of freedom.
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Rebel, Rebel
- By Suzanna on 02-17-25
By: Aria Aber
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The Heart of Winter
- A Novel
- By: Jonathan Evison
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Abe Winter and Ruth Warneke were never meant to be together—at least if you ask Ruth. Yet their catastrophic blind date in college evolved into a seventy-year marriage and a life on a farm on Bainbridge Island with their hens and beloved Labrador, Megs. Through the years, the Winters have fallen in and out of lockstep, and from their haunting losses and guarded secrets, a dependable partnership has been forged.
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Stereotypical characters, yawn
- By yo on 02-14-25
By: Jonathan Evison
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We All Live Here
- A Novel
- By: Jojo Moyes
- Narrated by: Jenna Coleman
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Lila Kennedy has a lot on her plate. A broken marriage, two wayward daughters, a house that is falling apart, and an elderly stepfather who seems to have quietly moved in. Her career is in freefall and her love life is . . . complicated. So when her real dad—a man she has barely seen since he ran off to Hollywood thirty-five years ago—suddenly appears on her doorstep, it feels like the final straw. But it turns out even the family you thought you could never forgive might have something to teach you: about love, and what it actually means to be family.
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Sad
- By C. J. Kromminga on 02-12-25
By: Jojo Moyes
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Going Home
- A Novel
- By: Tom Lamont
- Narrated by: Jot Davies
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Going Home is a sparkling, funny, bighearted story of family and what happens when three men—all of whom are completely ill-suited for fatherhood—take charge of a toddler following an unexpected loss.
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Great Story
- By E G Neufeld on 03-12-25
By: Tom Lamont
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Those Fatal Flowers
- A Novel
- By: Shannon Ives
- Narrated by: E A Castillo
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Greco-Roman mythology and the mystery of the vanished Roanoke colony collide in this epic adventure filled with sapphic longing and female rage—a debut novel for fans of Madeline Miller, Jennifer Saint, and Natalie Haynes.
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from a certain point of view
- By theresah on 02-05-25
By: Shannon Ives
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Good Dirt
- A Novel
- By: Charmaine Wilkerson
- Narrated by: January LaVoy
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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When ten-year-old Ebby Freeman heard the gunshot, time stopped. And when she saw her brother, Baz, lying on the floor surrounded by the shattered pieces of a centuries-old jar, life as Ebby knew it shattered as well. The crime was never solved—and because the Freemans were one of the only Black families in a particularly well-to-do enclave of New England—the case has had an enduring, voyeuristic pull for the public. The last thing the Freemans want is another media frenzy splashing their family across the papers, but when Ebby's high profile romance falls apart, that's exactly what they get.
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Moments of brilliance
- By MyLastRomanceNovel on 03-01-25
What listeners say about The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jeri B
- 03-01-25
Boring. DNF.
OMG. Usually I can’t wait to get back to an audio book. This was SO BORING. I quit with 5 hours to go, and at 1.4 speed. Do yourself a favor. Don’t.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Linda K. Goff
- 03-12-25
Well written and excellent and performances by the narrators, but shallow story.
What was the point of the novel? The story was not worthy of a novel. Very weak premise.
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- Mary
- 05-03-25
the story was real and perceptive
What a beautiful reading of a lovely story. A story of coming of age amongst the familiar and unfamiliar. Read on and discover this lovely story and may be a little of yourself.
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- elisabeth
- 01-16-25
Excellent writing
Beautifully narrated/ excellent writing/ detailed richly developed characters/ vivid descriptions of landscape and interiors/ lyrical musings on life’s many journeys and choices made
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- Melissa hinson
- 01-24-25
Get this wonderful book!!! Couldnt put it down!!!!
Whether or not you attended college- you have a history of your early adulthood- when youre away from your family, and trying to figure out who you are- this book will hit home with you. Its so great! The writing is so colorful and thorough!!!
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- Meredith P
- 02-27-25
a beautiful story
a beautiful read. i will be thinking about this book and the characters for a long time
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- Kellie S Schoettmer
- 04-17-25
Predictable
Several boring chapters, predictable and anticlimactic. Character development was mediocre. Not worst but probably not worth the listen
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- Monica Ningen
- 03-15-25
Captivating
The author wraps you in a journey where you are invested and can’t wait for the next chapter. Must read!
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- Dorothy
- 01-25-25
Beautifully written, beautifully narrated
This is a really good listen. The narrator is a phenom and the story is unusual. It really hooks you.
Delightful characters.
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- Anonymous User
- 03-06-25
Characters
Tedious repetitive episodes but writing was good. Description of graduate students was accurate. Plots with different characters kept it interesting.
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