Entering White Feathered Octopus
White Feathered Octopus is Jason Robert Bell’s genre‑defying novel written during a three‑month recovery from a devastating back injury. Composed in a painkiller‑induced fever, it fuses autobiography, sci‑fi speculation and mystical hallucination into a torrent of Joycean wordplay. The work is structured like a hypertextual labyrinth rather than a linear story; its fragments invite readers to decode hidden patterns and spiritual truths. The narrative’s origin story — Bell bedridden in New York after returning from Chile, suffering sciatica and undergoing therapeutic rituals of yoga, espresso and green herbs — becomes part of the mythos of the book itself.
Publishers describe the book as a science‑fiction novel and cryptographic anagram of Herman Melville’s Moby‑Dick, recounting the gritty reality of a blind street beggar in 1937 Cairo while simultaneously traversing imaginary Jaunt‑pads to “Rocketcityutopia.” The book has been called an “erotic sexperiment” that pushes readers to the brink of madness and back【51678342779997†L124-L135】. Others liken it to a gigantic “word pile” that plunges into an infinity pool of cosmic brutality【703122528110144†screenshot】. It is deliberately not for the faint of heart; part of its value lies in its refusal to pander, demanding full engagement with its stream‑of‑consciousness splendor.
Inside the Octopus’s Mind
The book’s style combines blunt memoir with psychedelic imagery, often breaking into poetic torrents. Below is a brief excerpt adapted from the opening chapters, capturing both the autobiographical and cosmic voices:
In the fall of 20099, I experienced a series of what I can only term as “Revelations”, brought on by sudden and crippling sciatica… I had always enjoyed perfect health; now I could not move, face‑down on the floor, unable to walk. Horse‑grade muscle relaxers, yoga body‑work, espresso and the green flesh of mother earth became my regimen. These experiences — which I began calling “The White Feathered Octopus” — started as a list of the important relationships in my life. I realized I was living in a science‑fiction novel. The Alphaflighting President was a good clue; that only happens in a Philikdicking‑you‑around brain‑fuck. …The White Feathered Octopus was shot to pieces with a double‑barrel shotgun that some somatic son‑of‑a‑bitch had loaded with semi‑precious shining shifts of cerulean slicked merlot… spiraling in inky orchid splatters behind the sky into protons that macro too quickly, awakening to bat‑winged giantesses… blazing lone starships hurling across a trackless void, blasting a single human spark beyond the bulleting barriers of space and time.
This passage illustrates Bell’s movement from confessional to cosmic. Everyday pain morphs into surreal violence and visionary imagery. The novel abounds with lists, exclamations and invented words that mimic the author’s hallucinatory state.
White Feathered Octopus has been released in several forms. A limited first edition was offered through Quimby’s Bookstore for US 20, accompanied by a digital portfolio of images【551561250184796†L235-L239】. That edition has since sold out【576068325970268†screenshot】.
The current oversize paperback can be ordered via antiquarian booksellers. AbeBooks lists a new copy for US 176.66【51678342779997†L124-L143】. The publisher, Tetragrammatron Press, also offers copies through their bookstore at tetragrammatron.com (prices may vary).
If you’re ready to embark on this journey, follow the link below to check availability:Buy on AbeBooks
The book has provoked strong reactions — admiration, awe and occasional terror. Here are highlights from those who’ve grappled with it:
Robin Dluzen, editor of Chicago Art Magazine, described the novel as the “cornerstone” of Jason Robert Bell’s exhibition and said that reading it produced the same heavy, sinking feeling she experienced when first encountering William S. Burroughs’ Naked Lunch. She noted that the fragmented, stream‑of‑consciousness piece fluctuates between autobiographical reality and fantastical nightmares and can give readers actual nightmares【551561250184796†L243-L262】.
The Doc Talos review site’s R. Paul Sardanas recalled finishing the book nonstop. He called it a “force of nature” and an “explosive supernova of creativity and arcane insight,” praising Bell as a cool, thoughtful friend and “body double for God”【96746176581672†L215-L218】.
Trav S.D. on the Travalanche blog characterised the work as a mixture of autobiography, fever‑dream phantasmagoria and compulsive Joycean wordplay, likening it to a holy book whose mystical truths are coded. He wrote that the book is poetic, epic and puzzle‑like — “a mystery to be enjoyed but never solved”【18608230005705†L39-L63】.
Booksellers have described the novel as a gritty science‑fiction narrative about a blind street beggar in Cairo, 1937, written from a cryptographic anagram of Moby‑Dick and pitched as an erotic experiment that blasts the reader’s mind【51678342779997†L124-L135】.
These disparate reactions underscore the book’s ability to unnerve and inspire. For some readers it is a transcendent spiritual puzzle; for others, a harrowing descent into the author’s nightmares. Its cult status continues to grow among those willing to engage with its extremes.
Jason Robert Bell (b. 1972) is a New York‑based artist whose practice spans painting, sculpture, comics, performance and literature. He studied at Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, earned a B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1995 and an M.F.A. from Yale School of Art in 2000【415465557123846†L18-L33】. Critics describe his work as an over‑caffeinated fusion of comic‑book energy, neo‑expressionist painting and esoteric spirituality【415465557123846†L33-L43】. Bell adopts alter‑egos like “Iason Ragnar Bellerophon,” “Caveman Robot” and “Lord High Archon Number Eight” to collapse the boundaries between artist, character and mythology【415465557123846†L48-L56】.
He calls himself a “mystical rebel”【415465557123846†L33-L44】 and identifies with Gnostic and Hermetic concepts such as the Tetragrammaton — the four‑letter name of God that implies “I am that I am.” These themes permeate White Feathered Octopus, as well as his tarot deck based on the novel. Through his work, Bell invites audiences to engage with the divine in playful, often shocking ways.
The Quimby’s event announcement records a limited edition release of White Feathered Octopus for US 20 and quotes Robin Dluzen’s description of the book’s terrifying, stream‑of‑consciousness nature【551561250184796†L235-L262】.
The AbeBooks listing describes the novel as a gritty science‑fiction story about a blind street beggar in Cairo, written as a cryptographic anagram of Moby‑Dick and marketed as an erotic experiment that tests the reader’s sanity【51678342779997†L124-L135】.
R. Paul Sardanas on the Doc Talos site praised the book as a “force of nature” and an “explosive supernova of creativity and arcane insight,” noting that he read it nonstop despite its difficulty【96746176581672†L215-L218】.
Trav S.D. on the Travalanche blog explained that Bell wrote the book while bedridden on painkillers, mixing autobiography with fever‑dream imagery and Joycean wordplay, and suggested that it should be approached as a mystical puzzle to be contemplated rather than solved【18608230005705†L39-L63】.
Quimby’s product description refers to the novel as a “huge experimental word pile” that plunges the reader into a stream‑of‑consciousness infinity pool of cosmic brutality【703122528110144†screenshot】.
