Remarkably Bright Creatures

"For fans of A Man Called Ove, 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"-- Provided by publisher.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Different submitted by sara on June 14, 2022, 9:01pm I'm glad I kept reading. It was an enjoyable read, although very different.

Slow submitted by Markandmaryellen on April 28, 2023, 4:25am A story of grief and finding family. Some passages felt slow, overloaded with mundane detail. Was the intent to give the reader a sense of Tova’s life? And what about Cameron…what a man baby!
But all’s we’ll that ends well. And this one ends very happily.

Enjoyable submitted by cldaniels on June 9, 2023, 3:22pm I listened to the audio version, which enhanced the voice of the octopus, a central character , making it a sweet story of loss and found.

A pleasant read submitted by alharman1022 on June 12, 2023, 7:49pm I really enjoyed this. It was pleasant and happy with just a touch of sad that made it well balanced

Tales from the Aquarium submitted by devoneill on June 18, 2023, 11:04pm An unexpected story with a fun twist having an octopus be a main character providing narration. Having grown up in Seattle I loved the setting of the story taking place in the Pacific Northwest. It was a sweet story and an enjoyable read that I would gladly recommend.

Fun read but… submitted by mgabbieb on June 23, 2023, 7:50pm a little anticlimactic in my opinion. I enjoyed the characters and the story, but it didn’t feel very satisfying. I think because a kind of “twist” is confirmed to the reader pretty early on. By the time its fully revealed to the characters, it doesn’t feel new, shocking or exciting and not many new details are uncovered.

Good story submitted by Emily LB on June 26, 2023, 9:59pm I enjoyed this book. I found Cameron hard to empathize with. But I appreciated the juxtaposition btw his defensiveness and impulsiveness and Tova’s methodical nature. Overall I recommend for the story at the heart of it.

Good read submitted by msarah on July 1, 2023, 4:08pm I will never see an Octopus the same way! Great story.

Great read submitted by dailyreader on July 21, 2023, 8:44am I enjoyed the story and also liked thinking about the perspective of the octopus. I didn't realize that octopi were actually intelligent creatures, which I googled as I thought about the actions of the octopus in the story.

Creative and well written submitted by adimarzo on July 23, 2023, 3:28pm This was a well written and original story with well developed characters (including an octopus!). I look forward to reading more by this author.

Delightful but not my favorite submitted by bethaleh on July 25, 2023, 5:30pm I enjoyed this book, especially the growth of the younger main character. Was not expecting to ever read a book narrated by an octopus but here we are. A quick read for fans of a Man Called Ove.

The Octopus was the best submitted by kmp009 on July 28, 2023, 1:15pm This was a wonderful book. I loved the chapters narrated by the octopus. The Cameron character was annoying and unbelievably immature but otherwise the other characters were great. Overall well worth the time

I loved Marcellus submitted by smhough on June 15, 2024, 9:32pm I didn’t realize how entertaining an octopus could be. Great read!

Remarkably Bright Creatures submitted by Susan Hopkins on June 20, 2024, 1:17pm I read the first page and almost stopped there. Thank goodness I didn’t. I ended up reading it fully twice! You can’t help but love these characters and the wrap up at the end was very satisfying!!! Enjoy!

A beautiful book submitted by Cloverdale on June 30, 2024, 10:42am This is a lovely inter generational story that examines different kinds of grief. Plus we get to meet Marcellus, a remarkably bright cephalopod. I found myself rooting for everyone.

Focus on Marcellus the Octopus, Ignore Cameron submitted by Aevearitt on July 29, 2024, 12:09pm I really wanted to love this book. Marcellus was wonderful and I wish his perspective was given more space within the book. I really disliked Cameron. He had a very pampered and spoiled life, but wanted to blame everyone else for his "Peter Pan" syndrome in refusing to grow up. So much space in the text was devoted to Cameron, but I would've preferred more chapters devoted to the unique bond between Tova and Marcellus! That is what made the book interesting. The chapters devoted to Cameron gave me a hard eye roll much of the time!

Sprawling and delightful submitted by mecunningham on August 5, 2024, 7:26am This is one of those months when my book club brought me to a novel that I would never in my life have chosen otherwise (some of the chapters are narrated by an octopus? no thanks) and delivered one of the best books I’ve read in forever. Remarkably Bright Creatures is sprawling and delightful—rather like an octopus itself, I suppose—and Shelby Van Pelt has knitted together several charming storylines with enough mystery to keep me turning the pages, desperate to reach the end but also dreading the moment when I’d have no more book to read. Tova, Cameron, Ethan, and of course Marcellus the Octopus are wonderful characters, each one quirky and charming in their own, often bristly, way. I can’t get over how much I loved this remarkably readable book.

Heartwarming submitted by shuwang on August 17, 2024, 2:26pm Very comforting. There is inevitably going to be confusion, grief, and loss without closure in life; we all wish we have a remarkably bright creature that makes things better for us.