Remarkably Bright Creatures – the debut novel by Shelby van Pelt – is without a doubt one of the most charming and endearing novels published in recent years.
Remarkably Bright Creatures, tells the story of Tova Sullivan. She works at the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and cleaning, working there since the mysterious death of her son Erik, who vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.
Tova makes an unlikely friendship with Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium – one of the most extraordinarily intelligent beings, who sees much more than the humans who see his tank would imagine. He forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.
Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared, through overhearing conversations that go on around him – he uses the resources he has at his disposal to break the truth to Tova.
The story is extraordinary in its delicate capture of the friendship between the two – something that could have been ridiculous is sweet and masterfully captured. Remarkably Bright Creatures is one of those quiet and unassuming reads, but one that will stick with you for years to come, with its shrewd and vivid imagining of the characters that possess real depth and who you find yourself backing from the off.
