Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Remarkably Bright Creatures

A wonderful book about the connections we make, human and otherwise. Tova, an elderly widow who lost her only son long ago in an accident the town no longer talks about, except in hushed tones if someone somehow doesn't know what happened, cleans the local aquarium at night. She finds purpose in cleaning, and cleaning well, and friendship in the fish and sea life- especially Marcellus, the Giant Pacific Octopus.
Marcellus has been captive for the majority of his short life (about 4 years is the lifespan of his species). He misses the ocean, the dark, good food (though he goes in search of some here, when he really feels his menu needs changing up). Then Tova begins talking to him, and brings up a memory he has from long ago. But how can he communicate with her?
Cameron never knew his dad, and his mom left when he was nine. His life sucks. He was dealt a shit hand, and everything is someone else's fault. But when he gets the chance to go looking for family he might reconnect with, he jumps on it without hesitation, and ends up on an adventure he never would have predicted. But it just might be the best thing that ever happened to him.

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chelseylb1988's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

5.0

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katelynprice's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Read this if you're in the mood for a charming, feel-good book that doesn't feel overly saccharine. Yes, it's cozy and funny, but it's also about different forms of grief and loss. I found it to be a perfect balance: not too heavy and not too light.

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thecriticalreader's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I initially picked up Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt because of the beautiful cover (seriously, it’s spectacular), and I decided to buy it after finding the synopsis intriguing.

Blurb:

Tova is a seventy-year-old woman who works as a night cleaner at a local aquarium in a small town in Puget Sound, Washington. She prides herself on her independence and work ethic, two qualities that allow her to remain strong in the face of the recent death of her husband and her son’s tragic disappearance thirty years ago. As she faces new changes, relationships, and challenges in her life, her friendship with the aquarium’s resident octopus, Marcellus, helps her face her future—and understand the past—in surprising ways.

Review:

Remarkably Bright Creatures is a fairly breezy read, and I found myself interested in the story and the characters. The writing, for the most part, is serviceable: some lines come across as a bit trite or out of place, but in general the writing was neither good nor bad enough to draw my attention away from the story.

The main character Tova was fun to read about. Her personality, age, traumas, and relationships make her an interesting and endearing character. Her well-meaning but occasionally tactless group of elderly friends (the ‘Knit-Wits), Ethan the grocery store clerk, and Terry her boss add color to the story. Occasionally, a character would say or do something that seemed a bit artificial, but this happened relatively infrequently.

Of course, the (arguably) central relationship of the story exists between Tova and the Giant Pacific Octopus, Marcellus. I found Marcellus, whose high intelligence gives him a near-perfect memory and the ability to understand English, to be an engaging and fun character. I was willing to suspend my disbelief that an octopus could understand English and insert himself into human affairs for the sake of the story, but a couple of narrative choices made this a bit difficult. For one, I was confused as to how he knows certain words but not others. Supposedly, he learns English by listening to human visitors at the aquarium and reading the aquarium’s plaques. Thus, he knows some English words but not others. But this does not explain why he knows words such as ‘lawnmower’ and ‘cuckold’ but not ‘pacifier,’ the latter of which he collects in his tank? Furthermore, Marcellus’s role in Tova’s story is undeniably far-fetched, even for an octopus who understands English. This story could easily have been told without Marcellus’s interference, so it strikes me as a bit odd that Van Pelt chose to involve him so heavily in the plot. The far-fetched nature of Marcellus’ role contributes to a larger problem of the book, which is that the plot requires a lot of well-placed coincidences to unfold.

If my problems with the book ended with some minor issues with characters, plot, and writing, I would have rated Remarkably Bright Creatures higher. Unfortunately, my enjoyment of the book was mostly ruined by one character: Cameron Cassmore. He is undoubtedly one of the worst fictional characters in existence. He has NO redeeming qualities. He is a lazy, selfish grifter who expects people to bend over backward for him despite his terrible track record as a human being and employee. He practically demands that people give him jobs—despite him blatantly lying on his job applications and having no relevant experience—because he thinks he’s “smart” and deserves a “chance.” He treats the people around him like dirt, especially women. His behavior might be slightly understandable if he were, say, thirteen, but he is thirty and he blames everything that goes wrong in his life on the fact that he was raised by his (non-abusive, loving, middle-class) aunt after being abandoned by his mother at a young age. I understand that being abandoned as a child can cause someone to have problems in their development, but it is no excuse for being an absolute garbage human being, especially at thirty years old. And yes—I understand the author intended to write Cameron as unsympathetic. However, he never really comes to grips with his shitty actions or learns his lesson, despite the story implying otherwise. He continues to be unjustly rewarded and enabled by the people around him, despite showing only minor improvements in his personality. Cameron’s lack of accountability made me want to throw the book across the room. If his character had been written more sympathetically, I would have probably enjoyed Remarkably Bright Creatures a lot more than I did.

The Run-Down:

You will probably like Remarkably Bright Creatures if:

· You enjoy cozy, heart-warming stories with small-town settings

· You love the documentary My Octopus Teacher and/or love stories about human and animal companionship

· You don’t mind sacrificing a bit of believability in exchange for cozy vibes, fun characters, and heartwarming relationships between humans and animals

You might not like Remarkably Bright Creatures if:

· The idea of an octopus who understands English sounds ludicrous to you

· You get annoyed by far-fetched plots

· You want to see unsympathetic or flawed characters face the consequences of their actions and undergo realistic character growth

A Similar Book:

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen (a personal 4-star read). Similarities between these books include:

· Magical realism

· Cozy, small-town setting

· A large cast of (mostly) likable, quirky characters

· Characters healing from grief and trauma through friendship and community

· A mystery surrounding a young man’s parentage

Content Warnings

midnightverde's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I LOVED this book. I was drawn in quickly and fell in love almost instantly with Marcellus and Tova. There was something so real about Tova and how she wanted to work through her grief, literally, by going to work and keeping busy. Grief is different for everyone, and imagining her cleaning an aquarium and befriending an octopus somehow just made sense. Cameron, the mystery of his father, his struggles growing up with his Aunt Jeanne and feeling abandoned by his mother added so much richness to the story as I wondered about his backstory. The way the details are revealed is exquisite and I have already recommended my mom read it—and she’s not into reading, lol, so that’s my highest praise.

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nicoley3's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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stephbakerbooks's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a sweet story with a lot of quirky characters that will feel like a warm hug by the end of it.

We get three points of views: Tova, a young man named Cameron, and then Marcellus the octopus. Obviously having an octopus narrate part of the story was a little odd at first; but there's nothing else "fantastical" to this story, so once I just accepted Marcellus, I looked forward to his chapters—he's such a unique, funny, and endearing character! You can tell the author did her research on octopuses too. He's definitely the stand-out character from this book, but I enjoyed the human characters too. Both Tova and Cameron get nice development over the course of the plot, and we even get development and complexity from side characters. No one felt like they were in the book just to serve the plot and I loved that.

The plot itself was fairly predictable. There were no surprises as the familiar storyline played out; and yet it was still really enjoyable. Maybe Marcellus gave it that special something, but I think it was just a good story too, despite its predictability. You could tell the author cared about her characters, which in turn makes me care about them.

Overall, a heartwarming story to read, especially at this time of year, especially after the craziness of the past two years. Sometimes you need a book that won't surprise you or make you cry—but it makes you feel something regardless.

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