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A review by weelasswithabook
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
CW: death of a spouse, death of a child, cancer, addiction, parental abandonment, grief
๐ Contemporary fiction
๐ Definite tearjerker
I don't even know where to start with my feelings on this book.
I love octopuses (do not correct me, it is NOT octopi, I will 100% fight you ๐คฃ), so I HAD to read it. Knowing how intelligent and sophisticated a creature they are, Marcellus' story isn't even far fetched.
The characters in this book stole my heart and refused to give it up. It's rare I come across novels with 70+yo characters so Tova was a delightful surprise. She reminds me so much of older women I've known in my life. Her losses in life were so plentiful, but she truly thrived in life despite of the cards she was dealt.
Cameron had the potential to be a serious PITA, but I understood his character and who he was the more I read. Maybe it was my own experience having an absent parent that made me connect with him in a less angrier way than some other readers.
Marcellus, my precious angel, was the star of the show. Sometimes humanising animals in a novel seems forced and becomes tiresome, but something about Marcellus' character and how he is just made sense, it felt right.
I cried so many tears at so many points reading this book and it just warmed my cold jaded heart at every turn. Even with the anxiety that wove through me during the "sliding doors" moments.
This book was a heartwarming journey of serendipity and cephalopod meddling.
Absolutely wonderful, and a book I am 100% likely to reread in the future.
๐ Contemporary fiction
๐ Definite tearjerker
I don't even know where to start with my feelings on this book.
I love octopuses (do not correct me, it is NOT octopi, I will 100% fight you ๐คฃ), so I HAD to read it. Knowing how intelligent and sophisticated a creature they are, Marcellus' story isn't even far fetched.
The characters in this book stole my heart and refused to give it up. It's rare I come across novels with 70+yo characters so Tova was a delightful surprise. She reminds me so much of older women I've known in my life. Her losses in life were so plentiful, but she truly thrived in life despite of the cards she was dealt.
Cameron had the potential to be a serious PITA, but I understood his character and who he was the more I read. Maybe it was my own experience having an absent parent that made me connect with him in a less angrier way than some other readers.
Marcellus, my precious angel, was the star of the show. Sometimes humanising animals in a novel seems forced and becomes tiresome, but something about Marcellus' character and how he is just made sense, it felt right.
I cried so many tears at so many points reading this book and it just warmed my cold jaded heart at every turn. Even with the anxiety that wove through me during the "sliding doors" moments.
This book was a heartwarming journey of serendipity and cephalopod meddling.
Absolutely wonderful, and a book I am 100% likely to reread in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Death, Terminal illness, Abandonment
Minor: Drug use, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy