My First Book of the Year for 2023 is Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt!
From the authors website... Remarkably Bright Creatures is 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 30 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 30 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.
Ever since I read The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery, I have been fascinated by Octupuses (and yes, I had to look up the proper spelling of the plural of Octopus). Sy Montgomery's book is not fiction though, it is her story of some of the relationships she has formed with Octopuses in her lifetime. And from my reading that, I have discovered how intelligent and interesting these creatures are.
When I read about Shelby Van Pelt's book, Remarkably Bright Creatures, revolving around a very smart and "talkative" Octopus, I just had to give it a try. It has gotten rave reviews AND it's even a Jenna Bush Hager book club selection.
So, I'm cracking the spine on Remarkably Bright Creatures today and you can read my thoughts about as soon as I finish reading it. Check back here in the next week or so...
Published by Harper Collins this past May, it is available from your favorite bookstore.
Happy Reading... Suzanne
