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A review by jefferz
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Remarkably Bright Creatures is a rather remarkable novel that was unfortunately not for me, my rating does not represent the quality of this book. Very similar in concept Other Birds" by Sarah Addison Allen which I had recently read last month, Remarkably Bright Creatures is a shifting perspective narrative focusing on several characters whose only connection at first is living/arriving in Sowell Bay. A quiet, small town nestled on the Puget sound, the most notable attraction in the area is the Sowell Bay Aquarium.
Tova Sullivan is a 70-something year old senior who works part time at the aquarium in the evenings as a cleaning lady busying herself with moping floors, wiping fingerprints off aquarium glass, and keeping herself busy. She has a group of fellow senior ladies affectionately called the "knit-wits" (I found this hilarious) she often has lunch with, her evening job making sure the aquarium is clean and orderly, and frankly not much else. After losing her husband to cancer a few years ago and her only son Erik when he was 18 (a mysterious disappearance and suspected drowning in the bay), her life has little meaning or direction apart from an unexpected friendship with Mercellus, a senior giant Pacific octopus who she rescues from an assured death when he gets stranded out of his tank on a quest to raid leftover food scraps. Marcellus is a highly intelligent octopus who is well aware of his declining health and approaching death and contends with his situation with nightly escapades for food and people-watching.
Despite the situation Tova finds herself in and losses she's experienced in life, Remarkably Bright Creatures never reads like a tragedy or sob story. Tova is logical (to a fault), relatively unsentimental, and detached from the social small talk and gossip of her friends. She constantly has a no-nonsense approach to life, including the romantic interest of Ethan Mack, a senior bachelor who owns the only grocery store in town. Conscious of her age and lack of family support (and by that, a complete lack of family), she grapples with potentially moving into a senior residence center and giving up her house, job and life; not that it means much to her. When the story sticks to Tova's perspective and narrative, I felt like the story really shined.
Shelby Van Pelt's writing flows nicely and her dialogue is layered. A great deal of character psyche and thought can be gathered from what is left unsaid and there's a certain degree of finesse that makes the reading experience feel like an accomplished piece of work (this is most evident in Tova's perspective compared to some other characters like Cameron, more on that shortly). It's never explicitly written or mentioned, but the way the novel is very effective in its portrayal of how flat and lifeless Tova's experiences with everything around her. Marcellus's two-five page perspective chapters are also a real treat that have a tongue-in-cheek wit, often poking fun at the oddities of human behavior and mannerisms.
While the above summary sounds interesting, I personally never really felt invested in the story. I can appreciate slow and poignant approaches, but even I felt like the story was dragging and lacked a certain spark to keep things interesting; Marcellus' chapters being the main draw. But these are few and far between compared to how much of the novel focuses on its human characters. Tova's perspectives are quiet and subtle, but the other characters are where I had more of an issue with.
Thirty (or thirty one?) year old Cameron who is a hopeless and directionless young adult who can't hold down a job, a significant other, never owns up to his own mistakes often tested my patience. I don't have any issues with the way the character is written or portrayed as many other readers did, in fact I thought he was incredibly well-written and a perfect representative of the millennial/gen-z worker mentality particularly common post Covid-workplace-exit. It's that his narrative and perspective isn't particularly interesting (trying to find his father for all the wrong reasons of getting a child support payout) compared to the complexities of Tova's situation. Store owner's Ethan's perspective (in my own opinion) also feels like a waste of time; chapters assigned to his narrative don't feel like they add any characterization or backstory from what was already witnessed from Tova/Cameron. It's by design that each character's narrative are seemingly unrelated to each other, but the problem is that I found them to all be bland and boring separately. The story also takes a long time to finally connect the dots but by that time, it's almost 70-80% through. Unless you are emotionally invested in the characters (which in Cameron's case, is hard to do), it can be trying to get there. Nothing notable really happens, new faces are introduced, but everything feels like an unwanted distraction whenever it's not focused on Marcellus's commentary on people or Tova's psyche. I don't think I can even say it's a slow burn, it's just a quiet kindle and meandering nonchalant walk through a summer in the Pacific Northwest.
The book's synopsis says it best, "Shelby Van Pelt's debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible." It is indeed a very gentle novel that looks at each character's past and how they can shape their future. Sowell Bay is also portrayed very effectively. I went to university in Bellingham which is just north of where this story takes place, Shelby Van Pelt really captures the feel and essence of these sleepy, often overcast and slow towns. Unfortunately this was too gentle and too slow for me and while the conclusion brought everything together, I wanted a lot more from the journey to get there and the actual ending. Even Marcellus' ending conclusion, while intended to be sweet or heartfelt, did not move me anywhere as much as it did for other many other readers. However I fully acknowledge that Remarkably Bright Creatures is not bad novel and objectively this deserves at least 4 stars based on the quality of writing, this just wasn't for me.
Tova Sullivan is a 70-something year old senior who works part time at the aquarium in the evenings as a cleaning lady busying herself with moping floors, wiping fingerprints off aquarium glass, and keeping herself busy. She has a group of fellow senior ladies affectionately called the "knit-wits" (I found this hilarious) she often has lunch with, her evening job making sure the aquarium is clean and orderly, and frankly not much else. After losing her husband to cancer a few years ago and her only son Erik when he was 18 (a mysterious disappearance and suspected drowning in the bay), her life has little meaning or direction apart from an unexpected friendship with Mercellus, a senior giant Pacific octopus who she rescues from an assured death when he gets stranded out of his tank on a quest to raid leftover food scraps. Marcellus is a highly intelligent octopus who is well aware of his declining health and approaching death and contends with his situation with nightly escapades for food and people-watching.
Despite the situation Tova finds herself in and losses she's experienced in life, Remarkably Bright Creatures never reads like a tragedy or sob story. Tova is logical (to a fault), relatively unsentimental, and detached from the social small talk and gossip of her friends. She constantly has a no-nonsense approach to life, including the romantic interest of Ethan Mack, a senior bachelor who owns the only grocery store in town. Conscious of her age and lack of family support (and by that, a complete lack of family), she grapples with potentially moving into a senior residence center and giving up her house, job and life; not that it means much to her. When the story sticks to Tova's perspective and narrative, I felt like the story really shined.
Shelby Van Pelt's writing flows nicely and her dialogue is layered. A great deal of character psyche and thought can be gathered from what is left unsaid and there's a certain degree of finesse that makes the reading experience feel like an accomplished piece of work (this is most evident in Tova's perspective compared to some other characters like Cameron, more on that shortly). It's never explicitly written or mentioned, but the way the novel is very effective in its portrayal of how flat and lifeless Tova's experiences with everything around her. Marcellus's two-five page perspective chapters are also a real treat that have a tongue-in-cheek wit, often poking fun at the oddities of human behavior and mannerisms.
While the above summary sounds interesting, I personally never really felt invested in the story. I can appreciate slow and poignant approaches, but even I felt like the story was dragging and lacked a certain spark to keep things interesting; Marcellus' chapters being the main draw. But these are few and far between compared to how much of the novel focuses on its human characters. Tova's perspectives are quiet and subtle, but the other characters are where I had more of an issue with.
Thirty (or thirty one?) year old Cameron who is a hopeless and directionless young adult who can't hold down a job, a significant other, never owns up to his own mistakes often tested my patience. I don't have any issues with the way the character is written or portrayed as many other readers did, in fact I thought he was incredibly well-written and a perfect representative of the millennial/gen-z worker mentality particularly common post Covid-workplace-exit. It's that his narrative and perspective isn't particularly interesting (trying to find his father for all the wrong reasons of getting a child support payout) compared to the complexities of Tova's situation. Store owner's Ethan's perspective (in my own opinion) also feels like a waste of time; chapters assigned to his narrative don't feel like they add any characterization or backstory from what was already witnessed from Tova/Cameron. It's by design that each character's narrative are seemingly unrelated to each other, but the problem is that I found them to all be bland and boring separately. The story also takes a long time to finally connect the dots but by that time, it's almost 70-80% through. Unless you are emotionally invested in the characters (which in Cameron's case, is hard to do), it can be trying to get there. Nothing notable really happens, new faces are introduced, but everything feels like an unwanted distraction whenever it's not focused on Marcellus's commentary on people or Tova's psyche. I don't think I can even say it's a slow burn, it's just a quiet kindle and meandering nonchalant walk through a summer in the Pacific Northwest.
The book's synopsis says it best, "Shelby Van Pelt's debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible." It is indeed a very gentle novel that looks at each character's past and how they can shape their future. Sowell Bay is also portrayed very effectively. I went to university in Bellingham which is just north of where this story takes place, Shelby Van Pelt really captures the feel and essence of these sleepy, often overcast and slow towns. Unfortunately this was too gentle and too slow for me and while the conclusion brought everything together, I wanted a lot more from the journey to get there and the actual ending. Even Marcellus' ending conclusion, while intended to be sweet or heartfelt, did not move me anywhere as much as it did for other many other readers. However I fully acknowledge that Remarkably Bright Creatures is not bad novel and objectively this deserves at least 4 stars based on the quality of writing, this just wasn't for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, and Grief
Minor: Terminal illness