Name: Ashna Nirula's review of Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
Item: Remarkably Bright Creatures
Rating: 3
Author: Ashna Nirula

Shelby Van Pelt

For fans of A Man Called Ove, a luminous debut novel about a widow's unlikely friendship with a giant Pacific octopus reluctantly residing at the local aquarium--and the truths she finally uncovers about her son's disappearance thirty years ago. 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 the Puget Sound over thirty years ago. As she works, 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 tentacles for his human captors--until he forms an unlikely friendship with Tova. Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova's son disappeared. As his affection for Tova grows, Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late. Charming, compulsively readable, and full of wit, Shelby Van Pelt's debut novel is a beautiful exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope--a reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.

A Novel

Remarkably Bright Creatures

karina

“I miss you. Both of you.” She taps her heart. 

Humans. For the most part, you are dull and blundering. But occasionally, you can be remarkably bright creatures. 

“You don’t recover. Not all the way. But you move on. You have to.”

Lynn

Humans. For the most part, you are dull and blundering. But occasionally, you can be remarkably bright creatures.

Genesis (@whisperingchapters)

this book was a really wholesome story about family and intelligence, and at the center of it was one of my favourite animals: an octopus !

i really enjoyed how this book explored three different perspectives and it was a really kind and warm world to escape to in  the busy last few weeks. it didn't require a lot of brainpower to follow, and the characters were likable and kind.

i would recommend it to anyone looking for a chill lit fiction read, potentially someone younger as the themes aren't incredibly complex.

to conclude, even if i enjoyed it i found it didn't challenge my thinking, was just a nice book to pass the time and feel the fuzzy thinking. this is why its a 3 stars! solid, but not mind blowing

Ashna Nirula

this book was a really wholesome story about family and intelligence, and at the center of it was one of my favourite animals: an octopus !

i really enjoyed how this book explored three different perspectives and it was a really kind and warm world to escape to in  the busy last few weeks. it didn't require a lot of brainpower to follow, and the characters were likable and kind.

i would recommend it to anyone looking for a chill lit fiction read, potentially someone younger as the themes aren't incredibly complex.

to conclude, even if i enjoyed it i found it didn't challenge my thinking, was just a nice book to pass the time and feel the fuzzy thinking. this is why its a 3 stars! solid, but not mind blowing

One of the most moving books I’ve ever read

Isabella

Really beautiful. Makes me think so much about legacy and family and the relationships we make on our way to the end. I also just want to say: if one of my girlfriends told me she made a close friend in the octopus at the local aquarium, I’d 100% believe and respect her.  

Emma

✨sometimes she still feels as if she’s a mistaken jigsaw piece who found her way into the wrong puzzle.

✨But you would do well to believe me when I tell you this: the young male who has recently taken over sanitation duties is a direct descendant of the cleaning woman with the injured foot.

✨But I do not like the hole in her heart. She only has one, not three, like me. Tova’s heart. I will do everything I can to help her fill it.

✨“How did you, like, go on?” He looks down at her and swallows hard. “I mean, he was here one day and gone the next. How do you recover from something like that?” Tova hesitates. “You don’t recover. Not all the way. But you do move on. You have to.”

✨Humans. For the most part, you are dull and blundering. But occasionally, you can be remarkably bright creatures.

Mariaaa

✨sometimes she still feels as if she’s a mistaken jigsaw piece who found her way into the wrong puzzle.

✨But you would do well to believe me when I tell you this: the young male who has recently taken over sanitation duties is a direct descendant of the cleaning woman with the injured foot.

✨But I do not like the hole in her heart. She only has one, not three, like me. Tova’s heart. I will do everything I can to help her fill it.

✨“How did you, like, go on?” He looks down at her and swallows hard. “I mean, he was here one day and gone the next. How do you recover from something like that?” Tova hesitates. “You don’t recover. Not all the way. But you do move on. You have to.”

✨Humans. For the most part, you are dull and blundering. But occasionally, you can be remarkably bright creatures.

a cute read, but nothing life-changing. which y'know... maybe it's not supposed to be. but it's a read that makes me feel warm and i really enjoyed marcellus hehe

big ab

i enjoyed this book. i didn’t love this book. i think the author has two strong character POVs.. the other two are eh. also felt like there was a lot of buildup and very little payoff. but it was a cute read. not mind blowing or life changing.

Eva Ströberg

Remarkably bright creatures - Shelby Van Pelt
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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This bright and warm book is easy to read, it gives you that fuzzy feeling after, just like after you’ve watched some feel good film. It’s light but not in a cheesy way. It’s just right in my opinion.
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Marcellus the Octopus, lives in Sowell Bay Aquarium in Washington state. He’s - as most octopi are - very intelligent, he observes humans all day long, and he’s got special friendship with the cleaning lady Tova (a descendant of Swedish immigrant) who’s 70 years old but not really ready to quit yet. 
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An uneventful friendship, but the story just flows from there. This book is the perfect summer read for me
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#shelbyvanpelt #remarkablybrightcreatures #americanauthors #bookstagram #2023reads #currentlyreading

Kiran Aftab

i genuinely liked the story a lot! it was really refreshing and i loved the octopus pov. some of the characters fell flat in this book and cameron annoyed the shit out of me sometimes but overall i enjoyed this

loved the octopus pov would’ve hit different if i was near the ocean

Ruby Emmeline Fisher

oh i loved it… simple but heartwarming. big fan of marcellus though he may be a bit too on the nose (fair enough). i think i always have a fond thing for people who care too much but aren’t too great about showing it, for small towns and the villages they make and the histories that are shared/tangle together. and the human condition. 

I expect more of interaction between Marcellius and Tova :<

aulia vidia sasmitaratri

elizabeth

This was intensely readable. I enjoyed it. It was missing an edge, though, at least for my taste. “But the octopus is one of the narrators!” Yes, quirky. Cute. Enjoyable. But not *odd.* I craved something odd, something a little off, something to push this from a simply pleasant and likable read to an enthralling, memorable, and lovable one. 

Most readers (I think??) will be in on the plot before most characters are. I think some of the plot movements felt a bit flat for me for that reason (and maybe because I didn’t totally fall in love with any of the characters, which surprised me considering what an approachable, happy-ending kind of novel this is). But it’s a sweet story, and sometimes it’s nice to just read a sweet story.

Beautiful original wholesome, it teases you along and gives you plenty pull your hair out moments, many a good cry. I love the ocean and stories that are built ocean-adjacent 

Katharine kollman

Aimee Ardonne

Caroline

I have finally found my new favourite...


Knowing I'm kinda late to the party & having finally read it, I can now say this book was something & I'm glad I read it.

What a beautiful, heart warming story. The writing so easy and beautiful. The plot lovely and felt like a warm hug so much too the extent that u wish u were part of their journey. The characters are so lovable. From the Gaint Pacific Octopus Marcellus🐙 with his POV on us human and his intelligence. Only though, I wish there was more of him to Tova, an old yet rough & rock hard women dealing with the ghost of her past. And then there was Cameron who I kind of fell in love with.😍 Loved his mind talking and witty yet sarcastic mannerism but just without whom this story would lack lustre. 🐙

For her debut novel, author Shelby Van Pelt have totally done a fabulous job and I would total recommend this book to everyone put there... Would love to see this book made into a movie.🐙

An uneventful walk down the middle of the road.

Paige LeBook

neri

I started this book out of wonder; the synopsis got my attention from the moment I started reading it and all topics it said it included were basically what I enjoyed to read the most in a book altogether. And oh, this book for me was genuinely lovely. Soft, mundane, intricate. 

Words are hard, and I don't think I'm good writing little reviews, but this was a delight to read; a very beautiful book. From the characters - intricate and bright humans and sea creatures - to the story and the topics; it was lovely. I enjoyed Tova and Ethan's characters the most - next to Marcellus, of course.

The dialogue and pace to me was perfect. It wasn't too slow or too fast, it was calm and, again, lovely. I truly enjoyed how the hard topics came into it, and how said topics were handled; I really loved how grief was talked about, and so the love and friendships and community, even with other creatures. This was also so mundane, it was - again - lovely!

I do have to say I was a bit unsure about it since I don't really like aquariums per se. But the fact that this was, in a way, also talked about in the novel by their characters was good. Considering too the creatures were rescued. 

I really loved when I got to read Marcellus' point of view. And in general; each point of view was so well done to the point it never felt out of place or distant regarding the character, which is something that happens sometimes when writing stuff like this.

Remarkably Bright Creatures made me smile a lot, it was also a fun book in its own way, also full of love. And I also loved the fact that the main character was older than what you usually read. It was like fresh air in general, incredible to read; like a cozy book.

I am simply content with this, and very happy that this was even more that what I was expecting. I enjoyed every second of it, and I truly needed to read something like it. I really hope I get to read something new by Shelby Van Pelt in the future because I fell in love with her style and storytelling, but until then, and even after, will not stop recommending this book, especially if you love mundane things!

Rodrigo Figueiredo Severino

Really predictable but really feel good and it did have a good twist regarding Avery and the person she saved years ago.
Just a very sweet story. Could have used some more Marcellus tho felt like he kinda vanished in the middle of the book.

So sweet! I really liked how the Van Pelt introduced all of the characters separately, so it felt like a mystery figuring out how they all fit together. The characters were well written and complex. He fixed her Dala Horse😭

Liz Hunsaker

Luke

I only give five stars for the very best  books (in my opinion), and this is one of them. I absolutely loved this book and will never forget it, it made me cry several times with how sweet and smart it is. I’ll never forget the wonderful characters, especially Marcellus and Tova. Five stars 💙🐙💙

Jane Bucher-McCoy

Jennifer Fail 

oh sweet marcellus 🤍🐙🤧 this book took me by surprise! i fell in love with the characters and loved their stories. i was crying happy, fat tears at the end 😮‍💨🥹 i recommend!

Julie Rubens

This was such a fun and sweet and heartwarming book, I loved it.

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

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Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

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Join the club

Genesis (@whisperingchapters) &
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt