Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Read with Jenna Pick

Shelby Van Pelt

May 2022 · Sold by HarperCollins

About this ebook

A Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!

“Remarkably Bright Creatures is a beautiful examination of how loneliness can be transformed, cracked open, with the slightest touch from another living thing.” -- Kevin Wilson, author of Nothing to See Here

For fans of A Man Called Ove, a charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope that traces a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus

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.

Ratings and reviews

When I first jumped into REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES, I expected it would turn out to merit five stars. But by the end, I feel the four stars I awarded was a bit of a gift. 3.75 feels more solid! What I love best about this book is Marcellus, an elderly, somewhat grumpy octopus who resides unhappily in a small aquarium in Washington state. Marcellus is central to solving a town mystery from 30 years ago. I wish there had been more of him and less about the humans around him.

Enjoyable read, particularly the sections narrated by the octopus.....wish there were more of them.

best book I have read in a long time..such a unique storyline..read in less than 2 days couldn't put it down

About the author

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Shelby Van Pelt lives in the suburbs of Chicago with her family. Remarkably Bright Creatures is her first novel.