Prepare to be charmed! This whimsical and heartfelt book by Shelby Van Pelt is not to be missed. Remarkably Bright Creatures refers to Giant Pacific Octopuses, one of which, Marcellus, is a protagonist in this novel. Chapters alternate between his point of view and characters residing in Sowell Bay, the small Pacific Northwestern town in which Marcellus's aquarium resides.
Marcellus is sentient and has been counting the days of his captivity. He's also counting the days he has left to live, as he knows his lifespan is only four years. He can read, communicate with humans, and find his way out of his tank every night to roam the aquarium, looking for a seafood snack and to alleviate his boredom. Marcellus also has a secret that he carries with him from the bottom of the sea.
The cleaning woman at the aquarium, Tova, talks to Marcellus. The stoic septuagenarian prefers the company of the sea creatures where she works, as she often feels like "the wrong piece of a jigsaw puzzle" when she's with her well-meaning friends who prattle on about their adult kids and grandchildren. Tova's husband has passed away and her only son died in 1989 when he was eighteen.
Tossed out by his girlfriend after once again getting fired, Cameron comes to Sowell Bay from California to try and cash-in on who he thinks is his birth father, a wealthy businessman in the area. Abandoned by his mom when he was nine years old, Cam often feels like "an intruder spying on the typical human experience, an outsider looking in on the normal, which is always out of his grasp". Broke and seemingly without options, Cam is taken under the wing of kind-hearted local store owner Ethan. He lets Cam park his camper in his driveway and helps him get a job at the aquarium.
The main characters all have something in common: they're longing for human connection to ease their loneliness. Their inevitable unification is facilitated by Marcellus through his creative, miraculous maneuverings. This plot point does not take as much suspension of disbelief as one might think. Credit that to Shelby Van Pelt's talented writing.
At one point near the end of the book Tova says to Marcellus, "you're so much more intelligent than we humans give you credit for". That idea in addition to the fact that Giant Pacific Octopuses have three hearts and what that represents in this tale is not lost. Remarkably Bright Creatures is a feel-good, one-of-a-kind story and I give it five stars out of five.
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