Reviews for The Octopus (Large Print Edition)

The average rating for The Octopus (Large Print Edition) based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2021-02-25 00:00:00 Frederique Tailleur A proto feminist novel written in 1909 by renowned male Edwardian Sci-Fi novelist H G Wells..? Who would have thought it? Well - the prolific and hugely accomplished and influential Mr Well wrote in excess of 100 novels encompassing a wide range of literary genres. This is a really good and comparatively revolutionary, modern novel - which at the time of publication was considered shocking and scandalous (questions and eyebrows were resolutely raised in the press and in the pulpit alike) exploring female politics, the life and psyche of a strong willed young woman confronting gender constraints and expectations of the era. Whilst the suffragette and socialist movements are here, they form only a part of Ann Veronica's life experiences and although undoubtedly influencing, enlightening and educating the young Ann Veronica - they are for the most part seem almost incidental and certainly not central or quintessential to AV's development as a strong and independent woman. Often the strength here is Wells ability to create and inhabit a character such as AV and to seemingly understand the constraints suffered and the frustration felt by a woman living under these circumstances. At other times the novel, whilst modern in tone and construction, is very much a product of its time and its male author. Whilst AV finds strength amidst compromise, happiness at least for this strong woman still seems dependant on the approval and patronage of a man. This is perhaps a flaw in the character of AV rather than the novel itself?? Alternatively, perhaps this situation and narrative are merely just realism within the confines of 1909 British society?? Either way - this is a very strong and compelling novel. The breadth and depth of Wells literary art seemingly knew no bounds. The tempered and bitter-sweet denouement to the novel provides for a strong, well-pitched and perfectly appropriate end to the novel.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-02-25 00:00:00 Paul Sobel An H.G. Wells in a Virago Classic edition? You heard right. The first novel from Wells exploring the New Woman movement in the 1900s, i.e. the proto-proto-feminist movement, the first flush of the suffrage movement (the other, The New Machiavelli is not as interesting), was a scandalous revelation at the time, showing a woman with a craving for independence and self-determination rebelling against her fustian father. The novel crackles with a sense of mischief and righteous irritation as the marvellous Ann Veronica veers from scientific studies and a manless world of female segregation, to a world of feminine love and feminine intelligence, and something approaching equality. The melodramatic conclusion aside, Ann Veronica is one of the most significant pre-feminist novels written by a male author (one of the few?), and a stonking read with a stonking female protagonist at the helm.