Title: Remarkably Bright Creatures
Author: Shelby Van Pelt
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Ecco and Harper Collins
Publication Date: 2022
Format: Paperback
Length: 355 pages

Read if you like: explorations of grief, multiple POVs, mystery, quirky friendships, small town setting

Rating: 

Remarkably Bright Creatures presents a really weird premise: a story told, in part, from the perspective of an octopus at a local aquarium. The premise is so odd that I never would have guessed that it would be one of the most heartfelt stories that I’d read this year. 

I loved everything about this book. I thought the characters were achingly honest and loveable, depicting so many different facets of what it means to be human, and coming from different walks of life. I loved Marcellus and his condescending and hilariously accurate view of humanity. More than all of this though, I loved the way that Van Pelt addressed grief and the various forms in which it can manifest and grow and develop over time. It was a tender look at a difficult and painful aspect of human nature, delivered in an entertaining way and with characters that you grew to adore more and more as time went on. 

This book took me by surprise. It was absolutely wonderful, so heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time that by the time I finished it, my heart felt a little fuller. It’s one I know I’ll be thinking about (and recommending) for quite some time. 

The Book: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt 

Remarkably Bright Creatures follows several characters, the first of which is Tova Sullivan, a woman in her 70s who recently lost her husband to a battle with cancer, and many years ago, lost her 18-year-old son mysteriously and without explanation, other than meek evidence that he may have been lost at sea after working a shift on a local dock. Tova now works part-time at night at the local aquarium as a cleaning staff member, where she strikes up an unlikely friendship with an octopus named Marcellus. 

While Tova is generally a quiet and reserved woman, she speaks freely with Marcellus as he can simply listen; after all, he’s an octopus, not a human, and as such, she doesn’t truly believe him capable of understanding. Much to her surprise though, Marcellus does understand what Tova communicates to him, and while he’s generally resentful of the humans around him who keep him trapped in captivity, he grows fond of Tova, who speaks to him with respect and keeps his nightly wanderings around the aquarium a secret. 

When Tova’s estranged brother dies alone in a nearby retirement village, Tova begins to question her mortality and how she wishes to live out the remainder of her days. As the only living member of her family, she knows there won’t be anyone around to take care of her if her health begins to fail, and so, despite being exceedingly capable of living on her own, she chooses to begin the process of selling her lifelong family home and applies for a spot at the very same retirement village that her brother lived in. This will take her away from the village and home that she’s known all her life, but would also deliver her to a setting removed from the continuous grief she feels at the loss of her husband and son. 

As this is happening, Marcellus deduces what happened to Tova’s son, and comes to find a connection to Tova that would change her life forever. Marcellus is also aware that his time on this earth is coming to a close, and for the friendship that Tova has offered him, he makes it his mission to help Tova understand what he knows before she leaves town and it’s too late. 

The Review

If you had of asked me if a book about a sentient octopus could make me cry before I’d read this, I’d have said no, but alas, I stand corrected.

In all seriousness though, while Marcellus was a critical part of this book, he certainly wasn’t the whole. I found him more of a supplement to the plot, quietly pushing things forward and together, rather than a major focus himself. 

Instead, it was Tova who, to me, was the most moving part of this book. What a beautifully designed character. I loved that Van Pelt chose to tell the story through Tova’s eyes so often because she was able to demonstrate so acutely the different phases of grief, and that in the end, a loss as significant as that of your child never really goes away. Tova had learned to adapt and move forward, but the pain and grief never completely dissipated. Walking with her through these seasons, and through the tentative peace that she found over time for lack of another option felt extremely human. Combining this with the realities of growing older and what it would mean to move into the next phase of her life on her own was a touching journey that felt very realistic, honest, and universal. There were just so many layers to Tova and her experience, and I felt like each time something was peeled back she grew more and more endearing to me. 

I also loved the slow unfolding of the mystery of Tova’s son’s death, and the roles the people around her played, mostly unknowingly. It’s an incredibly tragic premise, but it’s told from so far removed from the event itself that it feels like a dull throb of pain throughout rather than a gaping wound.  Seeing it all come together, particularly towards the end when each character’s piece falls into place, you feel for all of the characters and the ways they’ve been impacted and what might have been for them if any single component had of been different. And at the same time, it’s almost like you feel the same closure that they do, that maybe you don’t have every detail, but you have enough. 

Marcellus, in the end, was the icing on the cake for me. He was funny and clever and his perspective was always intentional, a break from the weight of the other characters or a clever bridge to the plot. I loved the way that he opened up for Tova alone and thought it was perfect that he was her saviour. 

This book was a wonderful surprise. I didn’t know what to expect from such a unique premise, but I’d argue that it over-delivered on my expectations. This was fiction at its finest, with a beautiful and heartwarming story that I’ll be thinking about for a long time to come.