A body with three hearts, skin that adapts to its surroundings in a fraction of a second, eight arms that can think autonomously and ink that can form phantom images – these are all characteristics that could be used to describe an octopus. And yet this does not do justice to this amazing sea creature. Its fluid nature, which transcends all categories, is as if evolution had thrown the dice a second time and completely reorganised all its senses and body parts. For centuries, the animal with its many names – octopus, octopod or, erroneously, polyp and squid – has been the subject of horror stories, including one that ascribes it an extraterrestrial origin. Today, its non-conformist existence inspires natural and cultural science research and all those who are fascinated rather than alienated by its otherness.
In her portrait of the elusive intangible, Svenja Beller encounters the octopus in the sea, in the aquarium, in literature and in pictures and describes magical moments of realisation and recognition.
Non-fiction
Svenja Beller, born in Münster in 1987, is a freelance journalist and author based in Hamburg and Lisbon. She writes for Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin, Das Magazin (CH), Die Zeit and The Guardian, among others. She published her first book Einfach loslaufen (Dumont) in 2017 and has been the environmental columnist for Freitag since 2018. She has received several awards for her work, including the German Journalism Prize and the Hansel-Mieth Prize.
