Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt is a book that I have seen in the bookshops pretty much every time I go in, and it’s one I pick up more often than not – only putting it down because I am supposed to be buying books for other people and have too many on my TBR pile already. Over the New York period I was looking for a new kindle book to read, and decided to finally buy this book. The blurb for the book says:

After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night cleaner shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. Ever since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat over thirty years ago keeping busy has helped her cope. One night she meets Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium who sees everything, 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 body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late…

Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.

Tova Sullivan loves her job at the Aquarium. It gives her a sense of purpose and usefulness. She has lost a lot of the people she loved in her life. Her son died as a very young man in mysterious circumstances, her husband died a little while ago, and her estranged brother has just died as well. Now it is just Tova, and her sea creatures that she sees every night after the visitors have gone home, including her favourite creature, an Octopus named Marcellus with whom she develops a kind of friendship.

Far away, Cameron has not had an easy life. He never knew his father and his mother was not really a large part of his life, having had difficulties with substance abuse. Cameron was largely brought up by his aunt, and finds it difficult to find his way, or his place. He can’t keep a job for very long, his relationships, except with 2 best friends, fail, and he is very angry about his father never being around and his mother’s lack of involvement in his life. He finds a bit of a tip off that his father might be a wealthy property developer over in Sowell Bay and so makes his way to the town.

Cameron doesn’t immediately find this man, and to bide time until he finds Simon Brinks (the man he thinks is his father) he takes on a job at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. Cameron meets Tova there as well as Marcellus the Octopus. He finds a sense of belonging at the Aquarium, with Tova and amongst the inhabitants of Sowell Bay, and as the book continues we find the explanation for Cameron’s feeling of belonging in this place and with these people.

The story is told from different perspectives with each chapter told from the perspective of one of the characters, particularly Tova and Cameron. But there are also short sections told from Marcellus’ perspective – he is a remarkably bright creature who is trying to help the humans catch up with him to connect the dots of their own lives.

Remarkably Bright Creatures is a heart warming story of overcoming loneliness and letting people in to develop relationships. Not just people; for Tova and Cameron they also let an Octopus in and develop a relationship with him too. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I wanted to keep turning the pages, I wanted to know how it all turned out, and whether they did catch up with Marcellus’ hints. I loved Marcellus’ escape attempts, and loved the ending of the story. It is worth all the hype that the book has been getting and I will definitely look out for more books by the same author.

I would give Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt 4.5 out of 5 stars.