Hello world!
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!
PRODUCT
Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel
Product Description:
Price:
$20.99
Detailed description:
A Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!
“Remarkably Bright Creatures is a beautiful examination of how loneliness can be transformed, cracked open, with the slightest touch from another living thing.” — Kevin Wilson, author of Nothing to See Here
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.
Read more
Product group:
Categories: Best Books of 2024 So Far
Product name:
Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel
Price:
$20.99
Anne A. –
I had heard of this book and had it on my “to read” list when my book club picked it to read this past month. I knew I would like it because of the octopus, but I loved all the slightly quirky characters. Even the characters that are slightly flawed are sympathetic. They each are kind and good in their own way and through the book you see them grow and change. Each carries a grief or emptiness that makes you feel for them. I found it a book that ended on a hopeful note and most of us in the book club described the book as uplifting. Probably any reader from their 20’s to their 70’s and beyond will find a character they can identify with to some degree. And the octopus, Marcellus is humorous, smart, and engaging!
Bookworm –
Like many other readers I was a bit sceptical at first when I found the narrator was an octopus but it all comes together beautifully. Very touching at times, the story is fascinating and believable with a lovely warm ending. A great book and one I will remember.
Niccimac –
A must read
Anna G –
I’m a sucker for a book that features animals, pun intended. I also love books from the perspective of unusual people or in this instance, creatures. Marcellus the octopus is highly intelligent and bored but makes a bond with an older woman, Tova, that changes both of their lives. Tova is an aging widow who has lost her son and hasn’t had closure. Her relationship with Marcellus helps to bring her closer to finding answers and bonds that heal wounds. The book also follows Cameron, a young man, searching for his father and his way in life. This book is a little obvious but touching, interesting, and unique. It’s easy to read and a page turner- perhaps a good seaside read.
Rain –
This story begins with a 60 pound (27.2 kg) giant pacific octopus named Marcellus. He knows the average lifespan of his kind is four years (1,460 days). We meet him on day 1,299. He is a highly intelligent, smart cookie of an octopus.
Tova (7o), is the overly proficient cleaner at the Sowell Bay aquarium where Marcellus lives. She takes great pride in her work, and it helps distract her from the loss of her husband, and the death of her 18-year-old son, Erik, 30 years ago.
“Tova wonders sometimes if it’s better that way, to have one’s tragedies clustered together, to make good use of the existing rawness.”
Marsellus and Tova strike up a sort of friendship in the evenings while she is cleaning. There is a bit of magical realism throughout, but it fits perfectly here.
Found family
Mystery
Friendships, of all kinds
Excellent backstories
Perfectly placed coincidences
I will concede that the story is a little schmaltzy at times. I didn’t care. I read this book in one afternoon, quietly inhaling these characters, their lives, wishing and hoping for the best futures for them.
I simply adored this found family, these lost souls.
There are a bevy of side characters, but trust me when I say that each one has importance to the story, even if it doesn’t seem so at the time.
In Cameron (30), we see the perpetual victim mindset. He’s a hard character to like, but once he understands his own culpability to his repeated downfalls, he has wonderful character growth.
Ethan (60s) the gentle giant Scotsman who crushes hard on Tova. He is a quasi father figure for Cameron.
Pieces of the puzzle slowly come together in such a hallmark way, but again, this story was a delightful snapshot of human emotions, and how good things happen when we are able to be vulnerable. I just wish that Marcellus had more chapters. He was delightful.
Kerry Cook –
A touching story that’s both sad and joyous. Van Pelt gives Marcellus a personality that is poignant and believable. I imagined the voice of Anthony Hopkins.
It’s a read again on my list.
janeymc –
Liked this book a lot. Well written and great characters. Worth a read for sure
Jorge –
Hace mucho que no leía un libro tan especial, me ha encantado. Tiene un lugar especial en mi corazón ❤️🐙
stalios –
I had seen this book recommended several times but refused to spend $20 for it. I caught it on sale for 2.99 during prime days. I’m so glad I did. There is a bit of a mystery and wonderful characters. So very human and of course one who is not. The story neatly wraps up every loose end and there is a happy ending for all. It’s almost a fairy tale. Remarkably bright creatures indeed. I am going to go look for other works by Shelby Van Pelt now. Such a satisfying read
T. Sparks –
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!