Review: The Octopus: A Story of California

The Octopus: A Story of California by Frank Norris
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

With more carnage and destruction than a typical Rambo movie, “The Octopus” shows the battle of the farmers against the railroad, but serves as a comparable stand in for the little guy against big business. As Norris writes it, there are winners and losers, but even the winners face a deserved bad ending. I found the story here more depressing than my normal fare, but it’s what I expect from Norris. In Norris’ “McTeague” the dentist main character tells others “don’t make small of me”. That same term comes up here, as a small farmer, specifically one who seems more lucky than smart, worries about others making small of him. Norris chronicles the growing pissing contest between the railroad and the farmers, with carnage, physical and familial, resulting. It seems the smartest guys in the book are the businessmen, so I wonder where Norris’ allegiance lay. I found the description of the farmer’s and the railroad owner’s parties to be quite interesting, and it surprised me that so much of this book’s action revolved around parties. He seemed to be comparing the farmers to the rich businessmen here, who acted in similar ways. One key lesson: stay away from the grain handling equipment.

I listened to the Librivox audio edition of this book. The narrator, Delmar H. Dolbier, used distinctive voices for the many characters in this book. His voices helped distinguish characters throughout the book, and helped with my enjoyment and recollection.

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