Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
I bought Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt from Sainsbury’s recently because – just look at the cover! How can a book with a cover like that be anything but quirky and brilliant? And it didn’t disappoint.
Remarkably Bright Creatures is the story of Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus, Tova, a cleaner, and Cameron, a young man who has lost his way.
Marcellus lives at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. He knows he is nearing the end of his life and he is bored. He observes the humans around him and learns about their behaviour.
Tova is 70 years old. Her husband died two years ago and it’s more than 30 years since her son, Erik, disappeared. Tova takes a job cleaning Sowell Bay Aquarium at night to keep herself busy. She takes pride in her work and loves to talk to the residents, especially Marcellus. Marcellus seems to understand her and finds a way to communicate with her. He works out what happened the night Erik vanished. He senses Tova’s sadness and feels he can do something about it.
Cameron is 30 years old. He’s just lost another job and his girlfriend isn’t happy. His best friends are having a baby and he feels like life is leaving him behind. So he embarks on a journey to find the answers he is looking for.
When Tova has an accident, she feels it is time to give up on her independent life and move on. She’s got no husband, no children and no grandchildren to support her. She has to face facts that she can’t live alone forever.
But can Marcellus change her mind before it is too late?
On paper, a story about a highly intelligent octopus who can read humans shouldn’t work. But it really works!
Marcellus narrates small chapters of the story, with the rest of the story told in the third person, focusing on either Tova or Cameron. Remarkably Bright Creatures is humorous without being laugh out loud funny, but I didn’t need it to be laugh out loud funny. The characters are likeable and believable and it is far more moving than I was expecting it to be.
If you’re looking for an easy and entertaining read, I would definitely recommend Remarkably Bright Creatures.
I’m sure I’ve seen this reviewed before, it sounds intriguing for sure.
It is really good! Unusual, but it works.
My thoughts were quite similar when I read it. Beautiful cover (though mine was different) and a really unusual story premise that doesn’t seem like it would be good, but it was sweet and funny and touching, and surprisingly relatable. Absolutely loved it. Glad to see others like it too. Visiting from BookWorms Monthly.
Thank you! It’s good to hear from someone else who has read and enjoyed it. I haven’t come across anyone else who has read it yet.
It is definitely surprisingly relatable.