Title: Remarkably Bright Creatures
Author: Shelby Van Pelt
Publisher: Ecco
Genre: Literary Fiction
What if I told you one of the best books of 2022 involves chapters narrated by an octopus!? Crazy right! But, oh my gosh!!! Take a chance on Remarkably Bright Creatures. Please. I loved this one so much and I know it’s going to end up on my favorites list. And lets not forget it’s a debut. Wild talent here, people!
Remarkably Bright Creatures is witty, somber, heartfelt, quirky, it explores friendships, touches on grief, is surrounded on a couple of mysteries and the way the story unfolds is just so readable and compelling. It’s triple narrated some by Marcellus a giant Pacific octopus, some by Tova and then by Cameron.
Tova mysteriously lost her eighteen year old son thirty years ago. He vanished on a boat in the Puget Sound. Recently, she lost her husband to cancer. So Tova knows grief. She doesn’t need to work, but has figured out things are easier staying busy; so she cleans on the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. The animals there are her friends, especially Marcellus. Oh Marcellus. ❤️
Cameron shows up to Sowell Bay and honestly I wasn’t sure how he was going to fit into this story. I really thought this was the Tova and Marcellus show. But the author weaved together a nice heartfelt little mystery with that genius octopus at the helm. It was up to him to show those humans the truth. Stay with me on this. Octopuses are freaking geniuses. It’s pretty mind boggling. 🤯
“Humans. For the most part, you are dull and blundering. But occasionally, you can be remarkably bright creatures.”
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved Marcellus so much, so there was no way this one was going to be any less than five stars. Because, I will admit it does slow down just a tad midway or three quarters of the way through if I was nit picking. Minus the octopus the themes and tone of this book reminded me of, The Music of the Bees, that I read last year; so I would recommend that one to readers who have already read this one looking for their next read. And if you haven’t read this one yet…absolutely make it your next read!
PS - Who thought of Hank from Finding Dory!?