Join a book club that is reading Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel (Deluxe Edition)!

The Little Book Club Galway

• Literary fiction book club based in Galway | Gaillimh ☘️ • Monthly book chats with a side of 🍷

Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel (Deluxe Edition)

This deluxe edition features sprayed and stenciled edges, silver foil, and a reading group guide.

A New York Times Bestseller * A Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick

Soon to be 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.

BUY THE BOOK

384 pages

Average rating: 8.19

7,436 RATINGS

|

Community Reviews

Merrily 💟
May 09, 2025
6/10 stars
I enjoyed this book somewhat. I found it a little slow.
makenziegillette
May 05, 2025
6/10 stars
I would give this a 3.5 star rating. It’s cute, and the way the author writes the story to make it easy for the reader to visual the events occurring was great.

The mystery/suspense reader in me though was left disappointed and wanting to know more. Just an additional chapter or two could have tied off some loose ends in the story for me.
Anonymous
May 04, 2025
8/10 stars
A charming delightful read. I had put off reading it because the way it was described just didn't sound like something that would appeal to me. So I'm hesitant to try to explain it. It's a mystery, it's a family drama, there's a talking octopus (but don't let that turn you off like it did me), and it's wonderful. I really thought it was fleshed out will but not so much that it dragged. There were so many parts that other authors would have given more details but I thought this was really well done.
DRupp
May 02, 2025
10/10 stars
Very creative and fun read. Loved learning about the Octopus
KayLoBay
May 01, 2025
10/10 stars
This is the charming story of Tova, a 70-year-old widow who works as the nighttime cleaning woman at Sowell Bay Aquarium in the Pacific Northwest, and her curious relationship with a giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus. He recognizes Tova by wrapping his tentacles around her wrist. She indulges his occasional escapes from his tank but makes sure he gets back in safely. An intelligent octopus, he shares his thoughts about humanity, based on his behind-the-glass observations of the people who visit the aquarium. Marcellus is on the clock; he knows that his lifespan of four years is coming to an end. His caretaker Tova is still grieving the drowning death of her 18-year-old son Erik many years earlier. His loss created a void in Tova's heart which has left her feeling isolated and lonely. She is not, however, immune to the charms of Ethan, the Scottish owner of the local Shop-Way market. Tova's main social contacts are the Knit-Wits, an overbearing but well-intentioned group of ladies who meet up for lunch. Hers is a quiet life. When a foot injury sidelines Tova, a young man named Cameron temporarily takes her job at the aquarium. He's been recently jilted and is in search of his well-to-do birth father. Marcellus, in his way, facilitates communications between Tova and Cameron. He offers them solace and a surprising revelation. A light and heartfelt book with a down-home vibe. Highly recommended.

See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.