So many people have told me to read Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, but it just hadn’t risen to the top of my reading list until I was facing a 12-hour (each way) car ride to see my son compete in the esports national championship last weekend. Oh my goodness, what a delight.
This book follows Tova, a 70-year-old woman who stays busy with her job cleaning at the aquarium in her small Puget Sound town at night. She’s suffered remarkable loss in her life, and has the protective walls up to show for it. Then, perspective shifts to Marcellus, a Great Pacific Octopus who is housed, or in his words imprisoned, in the aquarium. He, also, is nearing the end of his life.
The highly intelligent Marcellus discovers something significant that will change the course of Tova’s life, and he must figure out how he can communicate it to her. As he is “remarkably bright,” he finds very clever ways to get the message across.
If you liked A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, or Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy, or even The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, you will like this story of human connection triumphing over isolation and self-protection.
The movie adaptation of Remarkably Bright Creatures starring Sally Field releases on Netflix on March 8.
Spilled Milk 