If you know me, you know I love octopuses. I really love octopuses. So when my sister loaned me her copy of Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, I had to read it right away. This was also my official summer beach read which made it even more spectacular.
You might be wondering why I didn’t already own it. Well, my friends, just because I love octopuses doesn’t mean I know of every single octopus thing out there. Goodness.
Anyway, the story is about an old woman named Tova who works at an aquarium in Puget Sound. She cleans the aquarium at the end of the day. This job is sort of her anchor in life. She likes things neat and orderly, and it keeps her busy. Her husband had died of cancer several years ago and before that they lost their only child, a son, when he was 18. How their son died has always been a mystery because his body was never found, but after the sailboat he had taken was discovered adrift, the police concluded that it was suicide. Tova does not believe her son would have done such a thing, and now some 30 years after her son’s death she still hasn’t found closure.
Get to the Octopus Already
I know, right? That’s kind of what I was thinking, too. The octopus’s name is Marcellus and he lives in the aquarium where Tova works. He’s a mischievous genius who escapes from his tank in the evenings to snack. I can totally relate. He can read, understands English, and has the ability to discern things about humans that we can’t see for ourselves. He is really the star of the whole story, but his chapters are few and far between.
If it had been up to me, all the chapters would have revolved around Marcellus and how he eventually takes over Washington state. (He’s not looking for world domination. He prefers the simpler things in life, after all.)
Tova always pauses at Marcellus’s tank while cleaning the glass to admire him, but one night she found him in the break room kitchen, tangled up in cords. He was looking for discarded meal scraps. Again, I can relate. Tova frees him and he makes it back to his tank before accidentally dying. From that moment on, the two have their little secret. Marcellus sneaks about and Tova doesn’t tattle on him. He appreciates this because he’s getting on in years and yearns for freedom despite knowing that he’s at the end of his lifespan and that he’ll probably die in confinement. Sadness.
Back to the Humans
So here’s Tova living this lonely, detached life. She’s a tough nut who is doing what she has to do and is very practical about everything. She has friends, but doesn’t feel connected to them—not since the death of her son and husband. She has a brother, but then he dies. (Not a spoiler.) It doesn’t matter, though, because they had become distant and detached over the years. There’s also the super friendly, nosy Scottish guy who owns the local grocery store and has taken a liking to her, but she keeps him at arm’s length as well. It’s not like Tova is depressed or hiding away from society, and it isn’t as if there aren’t people who care about her. She just doesn’t live in the same world everyone else does. There’s no husband to grow old with, no child to check in on her, no grandchildren to come visit. That’s what the rest of her friends have, and that’s fine. She’s just going to sell the house she grew up in—the one her father built—and move to a retirement community. That’s the practical thing to do.
Then There’s This Guy
There’s a second storyline that follows this guy named Cameron in California. His drug-addict mom abandoned him with her sister when he was a kid. At 30 years old, he can’t keep a job or a relationship, but we’re made to believe he’s not a complete loser even though he blames everything else for his lot in life. He whines, complains, then finds out this guy who might be his dad is a real estate mogul up in Washington. Since his girlfriend broke up with him and kicked him out of her apartment, he decides to make a trek up to Washington to confront this man and make him pay up for 18 years of child support. Turns out finding his dad is more difficult than he thought, so he has to find a job to support himself in the meantime. There’s an opening at the aquarium, cleaning up in the evening. Beggars can’t be choosers, so off he goes.
I won’t spoil the rest. You can probably make some good guesses.
5 STARS ON GOODREADS
Really, Marcellus is the whole reason I loved this story. He’s brilliant, witty, and hilarious. I love his commentary on humans and the way he forages for snacks. I know he’s an octopus and this is a work of fiction, but the story from Marcellus’s point of view is very heartfelt and tender. Where Tova tries to live a life of solitude like an octopus would, Marcellus understands her need for healing and human connection. He knows the octopus life is not for her. In his special, amazing way, he brings closure to Tova’s sadness and allows her to open her eyes to life’s possibilities.
If Marcellus was not in this book, I would probably give it 3 stars. Octopuses really do make things better, so 5 stars it is!
Here’s my rating system:
5 stars: I love this book so much that I must own a physical copy of it. I’m definitely going to recommend it to people.
4 stars: This was a great book. I love it, but I don’t need to own a physical copy. I’ll definitely recommend it to people.
3 stars: This is a really good book. I was entertained.
2 stars: This book was fine. I don’t hate it or anything. It was fine.
1 star: This book wasn’t for me. It might be for someone else, though. There are probably a lot of reasons why it isn’t for me. I’m not hating, though.
0 stars: I’ve read it, or maybe I didn’t finish it, or maybe I didn’t enjoy it. Could be anything.
Comment below and let me know what you thought of this book if you’ve read it!