Who would have thought that a book partially narrated by an octopus could be one of the most evocative, touching reads I’ve encountered in the past year? And further to that, who would have guessed that the octopus himself would not only be my favourite character in the book – but one of my favourite characters of all time? Not me, I’ll tell you that much.
As usual, I didn’t know anything about this book going in. I saw it somewhere listed as a book that you might like if you enjoyed A Man Called Ove – which I most definitely did – and that was the extent of my research. It had been sitting in my TBR for I don’t even know how long, and now that I’ve read it I’m kicking myself for letting it sit there for that long.
Like A Man Called Ove, this is a book that centres several people who, for various reasons, are without the central family members each yearns for. There’s Tova, who has lost both her husband and son and who has focused her energy on taking pride in her work cleaning at the local aquarium. Then there’s Cameron, who was raised by his aunt after his mother left without telling him who his father was, and who is foundering. His biggest claim to fame is that he’s been fired more times than he can count. He’s very smart, but lacking in direction, support, confidence and discipline. These are the two main characters around whom all the others orbit.
In addition to dealing with being entirely or mostly alone in the world, both of these characters are grappling with mysteries in their lives that they are struggling to accept. For Tova it is the manner of her son’s death. For Cameron it is who his father was and why his mother never shared that information with him. The two meet by chance – Cameron is temporarily working at the aquarium while Tova is taking some time off. Cameron has the misanthropic tendency to purposely fail at things – relationships, jobs, adult responsibilities – whereas Tova is fastidious in everything she does, taking pride in the details of her work and living a rigidly simple life. They couldn’t be more different.
As the two characters search for answers and try to figure out where life is trying to take them, we learn about the people they encounter and share their lives with. There’s Ethan, who runs a small grocery store and who harbours a secret. There’s Avery, the single mother who sees more in Cameron than he is given credit for. There’s Tova’s group of friends – known as the Nitwits – who have been in her life for years, but who also don’t fully understand her. And there is, of course, Marcellus, the Giant Pacific Octopus who is not only a central figure in unraveling the mysteries in Tova and Cameron’s lives, but who offers wry, irreverent and insightful commentary on every facet of human nature that he has witnessed and catalogued in his nearly four years at the aquarium. His sections of the book were what I looked forward to, because he’s not only incredibly intelligent, but he has a similar frustrated view of humanity to my own and shares my sense of sarcastic humour. In fact, this book is full of this type of no BS outlook that I love, and has some great lines in it. Hell, the chapter titles are awesome, even before you get into the actual book. They make you need to know what they mean because they’re just so interesting (The Technically True Story; Busted But Loyal; Hard Left, Cut Right; A Three-Martini Truth – just for a taste).
I don’t know how to describe my particular taste in reading material, but it is something along the lines of I want unexpected word combinations, I want them to bring up interesting images in my head that I haven’t seen before, I want characters who are not bubbly and vapid, but who also have a grain of hope and cock-eyed optimism in them and who are highly intelligent. I also want the characters and the entire book to have a snappy tone with lots of sarcasm and quippy comments and quick comebacks. I want my brain to pop and fizz as I read, and I want to be intrigued from start to finish. And the story has to keep going at an even pace, never too fast or slow, and has to actually be going somewhere. Bonus points if I can’t guess what’s around each turn before it comes.
This book has a good proportion of these elements. I did guess a lot of the plot, but you’re supposed to in most cases so it didn’t take too much away from the story. I didn’t expect to enjoy this book so much, I didn’t expect to find little bits of great humour, but mostly I didn’t expect to end up wishing I could befriend an octopus because he’s the most interesting being I’ve come across in a really, really long time – either in real life or fiction. I know I’ll pick this book up again in the future, because I’m not at all ready to say goodbye. I want nothing more than an entire book that’s just the daily journal of Marcellus the octopus, and I have no doubt it’d be a best seller.
Remarkably Bright Creatures, an exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope, tracing 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. – Goodreads
Book Title: Remarkably Bright Creatures
Author: Shelby Van Pelt
Series: No
Edition: Paperback/Audiobook
Published By: Ecco
Released: May 3, 2022
Genre: Fiction, Family, Drama, Intrigue, Octopus!
Pages: 360
Date Read: February 17-19, 2024
Rating: 8.5/10
Average Goodreads Rating: 4.41/5 (506,064 ratings)
I’ve seen this book everywhere and had no idea the octopus is one of the narrators or even that it featured in the book at all! How clever, sounds like a really curious read
I didn’t know either until I started reading! It’s such a great choice and I loved the octopus’ narration. It’s hilarious and really interesting! I enjoyed this book much more than I expected to!
I really enjoyed Remarkable Bright Creatures, too. Afterwards I read The Soul of An Octopus by Sy Montgomery. It is a nonfiction book about the author’s experiences with octopuses. I really enjoyed it, too.
I was thinking about reading The Soul of An Octopus! A friend of mine also recommended the Netflix documentary My Octopus Teacher which my whole family watched and very much enjoyed. I have always been fascinated by octopuses (I worked at an aquarium, and the octopus there was a notorious escape artist who would sneak into adjoining fish tanks for a snack in the middle of the night). They are such interesting and intelligent creatures!
… partially narrated by an octopus, you say? (and adding that as a genre was so cute, please!) That’s definitely interesting. 😂 I also LOVE books that can paint a unique picture, and can tell a deep story in a witty and sacastic way. Such a beautiful review! <3
Thank you so much! I wanted to at least *try* to convey how delightful the reading experience of this book was. I was so surprised – it was not what I had been expecting, in the best possible way! Thank you for stopping by!