Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel
A New York Times Bestseller * A Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick
Now a Netflix Film
“Remarkably Bright Creatures [is] an ultimately feel-good but deceptively sensitive debut. . . . Memorable and tender.” —Washington Post
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.
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Readers say *Remarkably Bright Creatures* is a gentle, character-driven novel praised for its charming octopus narrator and emotional warmth exploring...
I quite enjoyed this book! I didn't really know what to expect from it, and it's not my usual go-to genre... but lately, I've been trying to step outside my comfortable little box and read what others might recommend. This one was actually proposed at my monthly book club, but ultimately lost out to another in the voting - I figured I'd read it anyway! Lol There were times it was a little slow for my tastes (not dragging though), and I really did not care for one of the primary male character, but the primary female character's touching story pulled me in just enough to stick with it. The addition of the Marcellus chapters added nice comic relief as well as a handful of cool factoids and even some sweet sentiment. 🐙
⭐️ 1.25 stars. This was a ROUGH one. Not sure how a book about an ocean dwelling cephalopod (or one eluded to be) can have less depth than a puddle on the sidewalk.
Did I think I was going to have a Fourth Wing experience repeat for 2025? No. Did I expect for it to be THIS book? Absolutely not! I am still processing what I just read, and how far from 'what I expected' this book fell.
I want to lead with my positives, because there are some, and honestly, if it weren't for the lackluster elements this book would have performed better for me.
I will lead by saying this: WE WANTED MORE OCTOPUS!! Marcellus was the most enjoyable character in the book- like the humorous and loveable patriarch that narrates the story. But he had surprisingly less coverage than I was initially lead to believe, and I felt like we were lacking in some of his development as a M.C. for this reason.
I generally enjoyed Tova, who earned the .25 in this rating for the themes of her storyline and NOTHING ELSE. I thought this book did a halfway decent job exploring her descent into her own sense of mortality, grief, and loneliness. BUT I will draw the hard line in the sand here. Because that is where the praise ends for me.
Did I deduct an entire 3.75 stars because of a 30-year old, self-centered and emotionally immature manchild? Absolutely I did. This Cameron character is the male version of Violet. And is alarmingly worse so because I am somehow supposed to believe this guy is 30 years old?? Really? I would've taken everything at face value and even improved the rating if the author just made him 20 (and therefore made Erik's passing 20 years ago- still plenty of time) because his actions and every. Single. Chapter. This guy had was absolutely insufferable.
His creep attention to Avery ("perfect little belly button. Small but perky chest. Her butt twitched under the grey skirt") was DISGUSTING and just felt icky. Like a creep. And WHAT 30 year old TALKS like him, in few dialogue he did have: "bicep days have been lit in the gym"? "She, like, is ghosting me"? REALLY??? I genuinely think that the author lacked any generational awareness because I am near into that age group and NO ONE that age talks like this. It further portrayed Cameron as the immature jerk he came to be AND REMAINED to the end of the book.
Speaking of, the guy had no redemption arc? He constantly blamed his mom for all his problems and hardships while never taking responsibility for his own actions and undoings, thought he was entitled to every job with no back up as to why other than that he deserved it because his 'life is so unfair', detested everyone around him for being happy and successful in their own lives or coming from loving families, lacks basic communication skills, and threw a tantrum when things didn't work out like he thought with his "dad". Which that whole arc- finding his dad- felt unnecessary? I understand why it was, because it tied his plotline into Tova, but it just DRAGGED ON AND ON and I am wondering why he didn't just look him up online or take a different approach rather than driving all the way there? I don't know it was just WEIRD. And then it just....fell off? I had to read about the climax to this point, him finding his dad, for 80% of the book just for it to fizzle out?
Don't get me started on 'Moth Sausage'. And "Camel-tron' and 'Lizard-Breath'. SERIOUSLY?? UGHHHH I wanted to pull my eyes out of my head everytime I read this because it reads like a poorly written 90's sitcom that needed to play a laugh-track over the scene because NO ONE finds it funny.
Long story long, Cameron ruined this whole read for me. He is easily one of the worst-written, most unlikeable characters I have ever come across and I can't believe that someone that wasn't even mentioned in the book summary got as many chapters as he did. I wouldn't have minded it so bad if he was scarcely mentioned- even just saying that a long lost family member comes back into Tova's life and the octopus has to reveal the truth before it's too late. ANYTHING. And, I wish he was younger. That way I could've excused his horrendous and childish behavior to his age and then maybe his redemption arc could be believable. Because I am not kidding this guy SUCKED all the way through. Constantly living on the hand outs and good nature of other characters while also somehow being entitled and selfish the whole way. AND a loser. Who can't keep a job at 30 yet somehow he just gets to skate by because he finds his long lost grandma and she's loaded and gets stuck taking care of him?
Yeah. So, I hate him.
Last thoughts. The writing just fell flat for me. We read about casseroles, Knit-Wits (another terrible name on count of the author), and 'what happened to Erik' with no closure or solution at all up until the last 4 chapters. No shit. Only Marcellus' chapters were, as few as they were, the most interesting and I only was motivated to finish this to get to his POV. And even his end was a big fat flop for me. SLOW, SLOW read. With absolutely nothing of interest in between unless you like few poorly done dialogue exchanges, casseroles, a cat named CAT (who I don't understand his introduction anyway), Dalla horses (????), and man-baby behavior from Cameron. I still would've liked to know what actually happened to Erik, unless I lacked the emotionally investment to deduce what happened, which sounded like a beer-induced boating accident with his fling Daphne, but this was still never confirmed.
ALSO WHAT ABOUT AVERY? AND ETHAN? We were randomly introduced to these side characters that got very brief intros and parts to play alongside Cameron and Tova and then they suddenly just....disappeared? And for two individuals that were supposed love interests for the two, respectively, then I would've expected some closure. It was just a weird secondary thing to do- introduce people then leave them high and dry when they're made out to be more important in the beginning.
I was expecting that Marcellus knew what happened to Erik from the beginning, this was clear. But Cameron interjected himself into the storyline and made it about him (surprise) and instead revealing him as Tova's grandson was the big mission. I was under the impression that Tova and Marcellus would form this bond, Marcellus would come to understand her grief and realize that he can mend her broken heart and provide closure to her son's disappearance, and have limited time to do so. Which TECHNICALLY he did- by revealing her grandson to her- but it came from left field. NO mention at all that there would be lost family member, and an insufferable one at that, but it was bleh.
I also didn't like the chapter titles being laced into the chapter itself: "expect the unexpected", "EELS", etc. It felt juvenile and given the story's sloooooow progression...most could have been cut because they didn't add to the plotline at all. I seen the grand reveal coming from a mile away and it did not feel believable it took everyone else so long to get there.
Anyway. Didn't like this book. Sad I used my book credit on it.
Did I think I was going to have a Fourth Wing experience repeat for 2025? No. Did I expect for it to be THIS book? Absolutely not! I am still processing what I just read, and how far from 'what I expected' this book fell.
I want to lead with my positives, because there are some, and honestly, if it weren't for the lackluster elements this book would have performed better for me.
I will lead by saying this: WE WANTED MORE OCTOPUS!! Marcellus was the most enjoyable character in the book- like the humorous and loveable patriarch that narrates the story. But he had surprisingly less coverage than I was initially lead to believe, and I felt like we were lacking in some of his development as a M.C. for this reason.
I generally enjoyed Tova, who earned the .25 in this rating for the themes of her storyline and NOTHING ELSE. I thought this book did a halfway decent job exploring her descent into her own sense of mortality, grief, and loneliness. BUT I will draw the hard line in the sand here. Because that is where the praise ends for me.
Did I deduct an entire 3.75 stars because of a 30-year old, self-centered and emotionally immature manchild? Absolutely I did. This Cameron character is the male version of Violet. And is alarmingly worse so because I am somehow supposed to believe this guy is 30 years old?? Really? I would've taken everything at face value and even improved the rating if the author just made him 20 (and therefore made Erik's passing 20 years ago- still plenty of time) because his actions and every. Single. Chapter. This guy had was absolutely insufferable.
His creep attention to Avery ("perfect little belly button. Small but perky chest. Her butt twitched under the grey skirt") was DISGUSTING and just felt icky. Like a creep. And WHAT 30 year old TALKS like him, in few dialogue he did have: "bicep days have been lit in the gym"? "She, like, is ghosting me"? REALLY??? I genuinely think that the author lacked any generational awareness because I am near into that age group and NO ONE that age talks like this. It further portrayed Cameron as the immature jerk he came to be AND REMAINED to the end of the book.
Speaking of, the guy had no redemption arc? He constantly blamed his mom for all his problems and hardships while never taking responsibility for his own actions and undoings, thought he was entitled to every job with no back up as to why other than that he deserved it because his 'life is so unfair', detested everyone around him for being happy and successful in their own lives or coming from loving families, lacks basic communication skills, and threw a tantrum when things didn't work out like he thought with his "dad". Which that whole arc- finding his dad- felt unnecessary? I understand why it was, because it tied his plotline into Tova, but it just DRAGGED ON AND ON and I am wondering why he didn't just look him up online or take a different approach rather than driving all the way there? I don't know it was just WEIRD. And then it just....fell off? I had to read about the climax to this point, him finding his dad, for 80% of the book just for it to fizzle out?
Don't get me started on 'Moth Sausage'. And "Camel-tron' and 'Lizard-Breath'. SERIOUSLY?? UGHHHH I wanted to pull my eyes out of my head everytime I read this because it reads like a poorly written 90's sitcom that needed to play a laugh-track over the scene because NO ONE finds it funny.
Long story long, Cameron ruined this whole read for me. He is easily one of the worst-written, most unlikeable characters I have ever come across and I can't believe that someone that wasn't even mentioned in the book summary got as many chapters as he did. I wouldn't have minded it so bad if he was scarcely mentioned- even just saying that a long lost family member comes back into Tova's life and the octopus has to reveal the truth before it's too late. ANYTHING. And, I wish he was younger. That way I could've excused his horrendous and childish behavior to his age and then maybe his redemption arc could be believable. Because I am not kidding this guy SUCKED all the way through. Constantly living on the hand outs and good nature of other characters while also somehow being entitled and selfish the whole way. AND a loser. Who can't keep a job at 30 yet somehow he just gets to skate by because he finds his long lost grandma and she's loaded and gets stuck taking care of him?
Yeah. So, I hate him.
Last thoughts. The writing just fell flat for me. We read about casseroles, Knit-Wits (another terrible name on count of the author), and 'what happened to Erik' with no closure or solution at all up until the last 4 chapters. No shit. Only Marcellus' chapters were, as few as they were, the most interesting and I only was motivated to finish this to get to his POV. And even his end was a big fat flop for me. SLOW, SLOW read. With absolutely nothing of interest in between unless you like few poorly done dialogue exchanges, casseroles, a cat named CAT (who I don't understand his introduction anyway), Dalla horses (????), and man-baby behavior from Cameron. I still would've liked to know what actually happened to Erik, unless I lacked the emotionally investment to deduce what happened, which sounded like a beer-induced boating accident with his fling Daphne, but this was still never confirmed.
ALSO WHAT ABOUT AVERY? AND ETHAN? We were randomly introduced to these side characters that got very brief intros and parts to play alongside Cameron and Tova and then they suddenly just....disappeared? And for two individuals that were supposed love interests for the two, respectively, then I would've expected some closure. It was just a weird secondary thing to do- introduce people then leave them high and dry when they're made out to be more important in the beginning.
I was expecting that Marcellus knew what happened to Erik from the beginning, this was clear. But Cameron interjected himself into the storyline and made it about him (surprise) and instead revealing him as Tova's grandson was the big mission. I was under the impression that Tova and Marcellus would form this bond, Marcellus would come to understand her grief and realize that he can mend her broken heart and provide closure to her son's disappearance, and have limited time to do so. Which TECHNICALLY he did- by revealing her grandson to her- but it came from left field. NO mention at all that there would be lost family member, and an insufferable one at that, but it was bleh.
I also didn't like the chapter titles being laced into the chapter itself: "expect the unexpected", "EELS", etc. It felt juvenile and given the story's sloooooow progression...most could have been cut because they didn't add to the plotline at all. I seen the grand reveal coming from a mile away and it did not feel believable it took everyone else so long to get there.
Anyway. Didn't like this book. Sad I used my book credit on it.
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