From the publisher:
For fans of A Man Called Ove, a charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope that traces a widow’s unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus
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.
Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF SUMMER by: Chicago Tribune * The View * Southern Living * USA Today
“Remarkably Bright Creatures [is] an ultimately feel-good but deceptively sensitive debut. . . . Memorable and tender.” — Washington Post
“A debut novel about a woman who befriends an octopus is a charming, warmhearted read.” — Kirkus Reviews
“A unique and luminous book.” — Booklist (starred review)
https://amzn.to/3O7wmqB
What an incredible read! My friend Nora recommended this book to me while we were on a *mini-vacay, and I’m so happy she did! There are two main characters, Tova, an elderly woman who cleans the small town aquarium, and Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus.
Tova has had a hard life. She’s lost everyone she loves, including her husband and her son, but she keeps putting one foot in front of the other and keeps moving on. Marcellus has come to terms with his captivity, but he enjoys sneaking out of his tank after hours. Tova knows this but figures live and let live, and she doesn’t rat him out. In fact, she saves him one night after he becomes ensnarled in a bunch of cords beneath a table. Marcellus is quite bright, and his observations of the humans who enter his world are often thoughtful, snarky, and just delightful as the book meanders back and forth from his viewpoint to Tova’s.
When Tova’s son was lost at sea, it was assumed a suicide, but Tova never accepts that. Turns out Marcellus may have information that will help Tova only he has to figure out how to communicate this to her. When Tova has a nasty fall, she is put on bed rest and the aquarium hires a young man new to town to help fill in while she’s out. But she can’t stay away; as soon as she is somewhat mobile, she starts sneaking into the aquarium, helping out her replacement but keeping it all on the down low.
This was such a charming book, and I’m sure it will stay with me for a very long time. It is an incredible debut filled with memorable characters and an unusual yet believable storyline; Remarkably Bright Creatures is bound for my best books of 2023 list. Don’t miss it!
*mini-vacay: only visited two bookstores and no libraries (other than a Little Free Library)!
8/2023 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt. Ecco (May 3, 2022). ISBN: 978-0063204157. 368p.
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