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.
This is a book also recommended by a friend, who said I would certainly like it—and boy were they correct. Not that it’s a perfect book by any means, but I certainly really enjoyed it and I have an excellent perspective of it coming out the other side. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who is at all intrigued by the synopsis.
Remarkably Bright Creatures follows to main characters: an old lady, and a giant pacific octopus. How is this even possible? Read the book to find out! On a more serious note, it does take place mostly in a small town aquarium, with POVs swapping mostly between the two aforementioned characters. It is a truly heartwarming story, and has plenty of character development and intrigue for those who enjoy that. Of course, that little bit of fantasy sprinkled in just for the touch of more-than-realism which makes it just so enjoyable.
The characters were truly, truly excellent in this book. My favourite character was the octopus, which sounds just absurd, but he really was. Although we are all perfectly aware he is just an octopus, the way he is written is truly excellent, and so relatable (?!) and you’ll just have to see what I mean by reading it. The humans were also great though. So many of them were all complex, with their own thoughts and how they see and interact with the world. Their flaws, and how they individually try to overcome or sidestep them. Truly each character was so relatable, or at least understandable, and I felt for them all, even if I didn’t necessarily agree with their viewpoints. If you are into characters, relationships, and development (of adults), this one is definitely for you.
The plot is decent. No it’s not exactly unpredictable, and for the most part it is quite predictable. That being said there were still a couple of twists that I didn’t quite see coming, and truly the characters are so excellent, the plot isn’t really anything too too important, but rather just a device to bring all the characters together into a proper story. Because of the way it’s used in this book, I didn’t dock any marks for this in my rating. However, if there were a way to make it an even more excellent story by being slightly less predictable, or perhaps less obvious about the direction it was going with the hints, that may have been better? I enjoyed it nonetheless.
The writing overall was truly excellent. This ties back mostly to the characters, but I personally enjoyed the tone of the piece a lot. It may not be for everyone, but the way it was so casually written, almost as if I was just a friend floating alongside all the characters really drew me into the story and kept me hooked. This book isn’t the shortest one out there but it certainly felt that way as I flew through its pages trying to read more (about the octopus, of course!). I really liked the different ideas and themes that were explored in this book as well, and it really felt like a heartwarming, cozy, yet totally meaningful story to read. I can’t recommend it enough! I feel like a wide-range of audiences could appreciate this one.
Overall Recommendations
Remarkably Bright Creatures is a book revolving around a mischievous giant pacific octopus in a small town aquarium, attended by a lovely old lady who cleans it. The two unlikely friends navigate their individual isolated lives, as both deal with heartbreak and other tensions that everyone is familiar with. Told through multiple POVs and in a very casual tone, the story really gives an in depth look into all its complex characters and relationships, and the nature of expectations and observations about human nature. This is an excellent book, and I definitely recommend it!
Down the Rabbit Hole 
2 thoughts on “Review: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt”