Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Shelby Van Pelt’s Remarkably Bright Creatures on my sailboat, June 2024.

Shelby Van Pelt’s Remarkably Bright Creatures is a treat. Exactly the kind of quirky, fun, wise, humorous, sad but ultimately uplifting novel I couldn’t put down. 

The rescue of an ageing giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus kicks off events. Marcellus lives in a run-down aquarium on the Pacific Northwest coast. Unhappy with the meals his keepers have been providing Marcellus escapes from his tank, but his food run nearly turns fatal when his tentacles become entangled in power cords. His unlikely rescuer is a tiny, seventy-year-old woman with a bad back named Tova Sullivan. Tova is the aquarium’s night cleaner. She doesn’t need to work, but cleaning helps her cope as she grieves the loss of her husband and her son. Tova knows why her husband died – cancer – but no one knows how her son died. His body was found in the bay just outside the aquarium.

Grateful for her life-saving assistance, Marcellus decides to turn detective and help Tova solve the mystery of her son’s death. The clock is ticking however – Marcellus only has a few months left to live. And although he understands human speech, Tova doesn’t know that. He has to find a way to communicate with her, and soon.

Van Pelt adroitly moves between the viewpoints of a number of characters – including those of Tova and Marcellus. It takes a lot of writerly skill to pull that off, and it’s even more impressive when you consider the fact that this is Van Pelt’s debut novel.

The book’s charm, and it’s central message, is in the title. Remarkably Bright Creatures is about the importance of keeping an open mind: seeing intelligence and bravery in others regardless of age, gender or species.

I loved Remarkably Bright Creatures and I’m looking forward to reading whatever Van Pelt comes up with next.