Book Review: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel Remarkably Bright Creatures has proven to be somewhat of a phenomenon, remaining in high demand in libraries and bookstores since its release way back in 2022. What is it about this book that resonates so strongly with readers and does it live up to the hype? There’s only one way to find out.

The first character we meet is a giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus who has spent most of his life confined to a tank in a small aquarium located in Washington state, and who is aware that he is less than a year away from the end of his expected lifespan. Even for a species that is known for its intelligence he is exceptionally smart and has much to say about the world outside his enclosure, especially due to how adept he is at escaping into it each night.

We then meet Tova Sullivan, a 70-year-old woman who works nights as the aquarium’s janitor, more for something to do than a need for money. She has lost both her son and husband and now lives alone in the home her father crafted. She has a group of friends, though many of them have moved or passed away themselves, and she is beginning to wonder what she can expect at the end of her life without any family to help her. After finding Marcellus outside of his tank one night and rescuing him from a dangerous situation the two begin to form an unlikely bond.

And finally, there’s Cameron Cassmore, a terminally unemployed young man whose mother disappeared after leaving him to be raised by his aunt Jeanne. His life is also beginning to change as his friends begin to start families and the band he plays in breaks up. Feeling adrift, he stumbles upon a lead about a man who might be his father and makes his way to Washington to try and find him. Once there he realizes that his quest won’t be as easy as he hoped and so he takes a temporary job at the aquarium to sustain himself.

It won’t take a genius to figure out that by having met each other, each of these 3 will have their lives irrevocably altered for the better. The big “twist”, such as it is, should also be readily apparent to most readers pretty early on, so much so that it occasionally requires the human characters to come off as willfully obtuse in order to avoid them figuring it out too soon. The journey to reach the foregone conclusion is a pleasurable one however.

Van Pelt writes in a simple, clear-eyed prose that carries the reader along, happy to be spending time in this cozy little world. Many of the characters are delightful to learn about, with Tova especially proving to be irresistibly endearing. When the perspective is switched to Marcellus the writing takes on a more erudite tone befitting of a creature so bright and these brief passages are especially a treat to read, so it’s a shame then that there aren’t more of them.

Despite its flaws it’s easy to see why this story has come to mean so much to so many. We have all worried over feelings of loneliness or found ourselves feeling aimlessly adrift in our own lives at some point or other, especially as we get older and witness the world changing around us at every level, and these sentiments are captured here in a way that rings very true. Remarkably Bright Creatures is a comforting novel that celebrates the human spirit and the joys of family in its many forms that should elicit at least a few tears of happiness by its conclusion. ★★★★