Remarkably Bright Creatures

Warm, fuzzy and everything good read.

Remarkably Bright Creatures is the language of overcoming and hope. It's faith in simplicity, triumph of the spirit, as also the interconnectedness of life. The treatment could be considered fairy tales-que, with an intelligent, connecting the dots, Marcus, the octopus, and his kinship with Toca, his aquarium's cleaner. The loneliness and care of the geriatric community, slowing down and solitude, community engagement and relevance and handling of loss, are the interwoven parallel themes. The pitfalls and advantages of small town living, through the eyes of the young and the aging, were interesting contrasts. Even though the content, overall, was a bit too neatly tied, the author made it a pleasant reading experience, guaranteed to make one develop an affinity for octopuses.

Slow in the beginning.. It gets better and better Loved it ❤️

It's a very good read. Emotional bits and funny moments make it a very interesting combination. Wonderful debut. Looking forward to more such content. At every moment even while knowing it is a fiction, the reader gets drawn into the story and feeling for the main characters. Marcellus and Tova, I ll miss you

The beautiful bond between Tova, a 70 year old janitor, and Marcellus, a Pacific octopus is endearing. Tova's character is well sketched. The small setting, a sprinkling of different characters, and their quirks add to the plot with a dash of humor. It begins well, with a warm and fuzzy feeling. You smile as Marcellus keeps sharing his observations of humans passing his tank in the aquarium. You want the old, petite, strong, and resilient Tova to find her son or some sort or a closure. Her journey to that end with Marcellus as the guide/ conspirator is the core of this book. In comes Cameron, a man in search of a long lost father. The small town bursts with chatter. And here on the Story dives right into a typical movie plot of lost and found relations, reunions and happy endings that give every character the piece of pie they were after. It's a nice feel good read but halfway down the old tropes and formulae writing try your patience.

What a hearty read! A year ago, I watched this beautiful documentary 'My Octopus Teacher' and eversince then, I have been intrigued by the cephalopod. Although the book is a work of fiction but I am inclined to believe that Octopuses can display signs of immense intelligence and empathy. Needless to say, the reticent Marcellus has swept me off my feet. Despite considering humankind preposterous , he brings two lonely humans together and how! The book is elaborately written. You almost begin to identify yourself as a commoner in Sowell Bay. It also explores how humans resist change but once they shift to it, they can open up hitherto known paradigms. Although I felt, when Cameron's and Tova's relationship was made obvious almost half way into the book, certain sections could have been skipped. Anyways, I have read something this adorable after very long and I will congratulate the author. If this is her first endeavor (that too on a prompt in a contest), she has so much to offer in the future.

This book is a reminder that to be a great read all u need is brilliant characterisation… this book touches some chord in your heart and stays.. The friendship between tova and Marcellus is one of the best written bound with not a single mutual conversation.. wow 🤩

An excellent book to read. Never knew Octopus has a mind. Worth the money.

What a wonderful surprise this was! I thought Remarkably Bright Creatures was a story about a woman and an octopus, but it turned out to be so much more than that. This is Shelby Van Pelt’s first book, and I don’t think a debut has affected me like this since I read Hollow Kingdom, another story that unfolds through the eyes of an animal. The story has a bit of magical realism to it, in the sense that parts of it are told from the octopus’s point of view, but otherwise it’s simply a delightful tale about family and connections that had me ugly crying by the end of the book. In the first chapter we meet Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus on display in the Sowell Bay Aquarium near Puget Sound. Marcellus has been in captivity for 1,299 days, and based on his life expectancy of about four years, he believes he only has a handful of days left to live. His dreary days in a small glass enclosure are broken up by secret nighttime excursions, as Marcellus is extremely smart and has found a way out of his tank. Tova Sullivan is a seventy-year-old woman who has been working nights at the aquarium as a cleaning lady for the past two years. Tova knows how to remove the hundreds of fingerprints on the tank walls and can polish the floors to a brilliant shine. She’s also quite fond of the sea creatures she encounters each night, especially Marcellus, and the two have formed an unusual bond since Tova saved Marcellus one night after he escaped and became entangled in a bunch of electrical cords. Next, we meet Cameron Cassmore, a thirty-year-old man who is drifting through life with no real purpose. Cameron lives in California, and one day his aunt gives him a box of his estranged mother’s things. Inside the box he finds a photo and an old class ring, clues that could lead to the identity of his father, a man he never knew. Cameron hops on a plane to Washington state, convinced the man he thinks is his father—a rich real estate tycoon—will be so distraught over abandoning his son, he’ll shower Cam with money. At least that’s the plan. Finally, Ethan Mack is the owner of Sowell Bay’s Shop-Way, the local grocery store. Ethan has known Tova for years and secretly has a crush on her, but Tova is much too distant to notice his interest. When Cameron shows up at the Shop-Way looking for a job, Ethan directs him to his friend who manages the aquarium, which is how Cameron and Tova meet. Tying all these characters together is Marcellus, a remarkably bright octopus with a penchant for stealing and hoarding the treasures he finds after hours on the aquarium floor, and who just might be able to bring two people together who need each other—but don’t yet realize it. Van Pelt’s chapters alternate among all these characters and introduce a slew of side characters as well, each one vitally important to the story. At first, we don’t realize how each character is connected to the next, but slowly the author reveals her secrets until the stunned reader begins to understand the depth of these connections. Each character is given a detailed backstory that becomes very important to the plot. Tova’s story in particular was heart wrenching, as she has experienced quite a bit of loss in her life and finds herself mostly alone in her twilight years. Luckily she belongs to a group of women who call themselves the Knit-Wits, and the four of them meet weekly to eat, drink, gossip and support each other. Tova came to America from Sweden as a little girl, so the story is filled with details about growing up with her Swedish mother and father. Even the Dala horses her mother collected play a part in the story, and I found these little details added so much richness. At first I couldn’t figure out how Cameron fit it, but once he arrives in Sowell Bay and meets Ethan and Tova, his story takes on new meaning. Cameron meets a woman named Avery who also plays a vital part in filling in some of the missing pieces about Cameron’s father, and I loved the way the author gave even the most insignificant side characters meaning and purpose. Van Pelt infuses her story with so many emotional moments and themes. We see how the Knit-Wits are going through the aging process, as their numbers have dwindled over the last few years. Tova is facing being alone in her old age, with no children or husband to take care of her, and so she makes the rash decision to sell her beloved house and move into a retirement community. I don’t want to give too many details about Tova’s past and her losses, because I think it’s better to discover those revelations for yourself. Let’s just say that I felt Tova’s pain and wanted nothing more than for her to be happy. And Van Pelt includes so many funny moments in her story that kept the tone light, despite some of the more heavy themes. There’s an ongoing bit about Cameron’s lost luggage that was hysterically funny, and Tova inherits a stray cat at one point, which was a delightful side plot. I also loved the story about the t-shirt that Tova uses to clean Ethan’s kitchen—you’ll just have to read the book so you can experience the hilarity too! And of course, I can’t forget the star of the story, Marcellus the octopus. As the days tick by—each of his chapters starts with a marker (“Day 1,299 of my captivity”, etc)---the tension builds as Marcellus gets closer to his impending death (at least that’s what he thinks). Marcellus understands human nature more than most humans, and I loved the way he wisely intuits each character’s needs. Ultimately, this is a story about creatures—both human and animal—saving each other. The way Marcellus’s story plays out was absolutely perfect—heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. This is a very special book, and I’m so glad I was able to finally read it. Highly recommended!

At first glance, with the title and cover, I expected the octopus to take center stage in the story—but it turned out to be more of a family-searching journey, which was a lovely surprise. That said, the octopus adds just the right spice to the story, offering a unique perspective on the human world. Personally, this book reminded me of my grandfather, who was adopted as a baby and spent years searching for his original family. It gave me a deeper understanding of why people feel such a strong desire to know their roots.

This story is about love and loss and just getting on with it. In 2024, I bought and read 70 books for my Kindle, and this was my favourite among them all. Tova Sullivan is a 70-something widow living alone in her beloved house. Her only child, Erik, died in a tragic boating accident when he was only eighteen, some thirty years before. Tova never saw dirt that she didn't automatically and thoroughly clean up immediately. So after her husband, Will, died, she accepted a job at the aquarium cleaning it after closing for the day. There she meet, Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus, who has been held in captivity since he was a juvenile. And as the sign on his display area says: His life span is four years, which is 1460 days, and Marcellus is counting down every one of them. To me, these are the two main characters of the book, but there are many more whom you will meet while reading this fascinating story. I will be thinking about the two main characters for a very long time and never want to forget them. As I said, this is my favourite book of 2024, and I plead with the author, Shelby Van Pelt to write another one soon. Such imagination and such immense talent.

A witty and light-hearted read that I couldn’t put down. The writing is easy to follow, yet full of warmth and charm. At its heart, it’s a story of fate—of paths crossing in unexpected ways—that keeps you guessing while reminding you just how small the universe can feel. An uplifting, joyful book that leaves you smiling long after the last page.

This was magical. It did take me over 100 pages to understand who all these people were and what they were to the story, but it was worth it in the end. Marcellus, you beauty.