Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley

Just a book about a lonely guy and his dog with a brain tumor - a little light reading for your enjoyment!

Actually, it's a fantastic book and not as depressing as I thought it might be. Ted's a guy who loves his dog a whole lot. One day he notices something different about Lily (with whom he has entire 2-way conversations) - there seems to be an octopus on Lily's head. Eventually the "octopus" gets bigger, talks to Ted also, and impairs Lily's quality of life.

So Ted does what any sane guy would do: He goes on an octopus hunt! First he tortures the octopus with a visit to the fishmonger, then he rents a boat and goes on an epic Moby Dick quest for revenge. It can't save Lily, but maybe it will help Ted deal with his inevitable loss.

This novel is actually quite funny, and has moments of magical realism (Can the octopus really talk? Can Lily really talk?) I did cry at the end, but it wasn't the big ugly cry I'd expected - more a sweet sad cry about the end of a true friendship.