“As a general rule, I like holes. A hole at the top of my tank gives me freedom. But I do not like the hole in her heart. She only has one, not three, like me. Tova’s heart. I will do everything I can to help her fill it.”
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt isn’t the usual type of book I tend to gravitate toward. If it isn’t fantasy or sci-fi, it can take some coercion to get me to check it out. I’m so glad I didn’t skip this one!
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.
The story begins with Marcellus the octopus, a sentient main character in the novel, and his point of view will hook you in from the beginning. Magical realism is present here, but it isn’t heavy-handed, and I love the bond that grows between Marcellus and Tova, the 70-year-old janitor at the aquarium.
It’s endearing, wholesome, mysterious, and heartbreaking in the best of ways. Diving into the views of Marcellus, Tova, and Cameron, and seeing how these ordinary creatures become intertwined through fate, is a beautiful experience.
From the magical prose to the development of the characters, Remarkably Bright Creatures is a stunning masterpiece, and has not only become one of my favorite reads of 2024, but might be one of my favorite novels of all time. You’ll fall in love with Marcellus’ views on humanity, Tova’s compassion through the heaviness of grief, and Cameron’s mission to find out where he belongs.
This book is a warm, gentle hug in a world filled with loss, one I plan on revisiting often.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐