Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt – 360 pages

Book Blurb:

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt: After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago. Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors–until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova. Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late. 

My Review: 4.5 stars – Guest Review

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Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt is a heartwarming, charming, and unconventional story about the friendship between a lonely widow (Tova), a down on his luck young man (Cameron), and a giant Pacific octopus (Marcellus). The way the author intersected the lives of these three characters was beyond clever. The story is told from the points of view of Tova, Cameron, and yes…….Marcellus the octopus, whose shorter chapters I ended up loving the most. I began this book thinking that I would not like it, and would not be interested in an octopus being a narrator, but it totally surprised me. The chapters narrated by Marcellus were very short, but they were pure magic and one of the highlights of the book, as he shares his clever observations about life and the human condition. 

All of the main and peripheral characters were so realistically and beautifully written. I don’t want to give away any of the story, but Marcellus has a role in the connections and bonds that form between the characters. The relationship that develops between Tova and Marcellus never felt contrived. The story was unlike anything I’ve read before. It was fresh, creative, original, and inspired. The story was well-paced and had the perfect combination of drama, emotion, humor, and wisdom. It was a compelling and easy read. There is a mystery, and at times I felt I knew where the story was going, but this did not take away from the overall impact of the story. Although some serious topics were sensitively tackled, the story was a hopeful and uplifting one. Some of the themes were: the importance of connection, friendship, family, grief/loss, coming of age, aging, loneliness, and the plight of animals in captivity.

The author perfectly captures setting and the feel of a close-knit, small town in the fictional Sowell Bay, in Washington state. I had never given much thought to octopuses before this book, but I came away with a curiosity and respect for these “remarkably bright creatures.” and I can’t wait to check out the recommended Netflix documentary “My Octopus Teacher.” It is hard to believe that this is a debut novel by this author. It is a well-deserved “Read With Jenna Today Show” book club pick. This novel will stay with me forever. I highly recommend this novel and cannot imagine anyone not being totally charmed by the story and the characters. Review thanks to Guest Fairy Ronna.

Quotes I liked:

Humans, For the most part, you are dull and blundering, But occasionally, you can be remarkably bright creatures.”

“Why can humans not use their millions of words to simply tell one another what they desire?”

“Secrets are everywhere. Some humans are crammed full of them. How do they not explode? It seems to be a hallmark of the human species: abysmal communication skills.” 

“All of these things had been stored away for her pass along someday, relics to be carried up the branches of the family tree. But the family tree stopped growing long ago, its canopy thinned and frayed, not a single sap springing from the old rotting trunk. Some trees aren’t meant to sprout tender new branches, but to stand stoically on the forest floor, silently decaying.”

“But I do not like the hole in her heart. She only has one, not three, like me.”