REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES Book Review

Remarkably Bright Creatures¹ by Shelby Van Pelt, audiobook, 11h 16m

Synopsis from Audible: 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.

BOOK REVIEW: I knew that this had to be a listen instead of read simply because I had been sick and was struggling to keep my eyes open to read most of the month. This book is mainly told by Tova, Marcellus, and Cameron. Other characters are sprinkled throughout as well but these are the main 3. I think my favorite chapter was from Marcellus and it was titled "Day 1,361 of My Captiv—Oh, Let Us Cut the Shit, Shall We? We Have a Ring to Retrieve". Yes...that is the title!

This review is for the audiobook. I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed the narrator. She did a great job giving voices to all the characters including various accents. I thought I was connecting dots but wasn't 100% certain until the end. I like when I can kind of guess what is going to happen but still have some doubts as to whether I'm going in the right direction. I was interested in the fact that this took place in the PNW so I felt a little familiar with the surroundings even though Sowell doesn't actually exist. I wish I had submitted the question for the author to see if there was a particular area around the sound that inspired the setting.

4.5/5 Stars

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