Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelvy Van Pelt

 

Summary (from the publisher): After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she's been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.

Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors--until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova's son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late.

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.

Review: Tova Sullivan is a recent widow who spends her time working as a housekeeper at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. Over thirty years ago, Tova's only child, her son Erik, died under mysterious circumstances on a boat in the Puget Sound. Now that she has no remaining family, she spends a lot of time contemplating her remaining years and trying to make a plan. She also befriends Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus that is quite skilled at escaping his enclosure at the aquarium. Unbeknownst to Tova, Marcellus knows more than she could guess about her son and also about other parts of the past that Tova never knew. With the help of Marcellus and others, Tova is given a very different future than she had thought possible. 

This was such a charming novel. It is unusual for a novel to feature an octopus's perspective and to claim an octopus as one of the main characters. But it worked! In his way, Marcellus helps uncover some of the mysteries of the past for Tova, and the unlikely friendship ultimately helps fill a void for her. The intertwined storylines in this novel, that mostly alternate between Tova, Marcellus, and Cameron, the hapless young man who has ventured to Sowell Bay to try to find his father and winds up working at the aquarium with Tova. 

There is a lot of sadness and loss in this book. Tova has experienced tremendous loss. Even decades, later, the loss of her child is never far from her mind, and she has poured over every detail of the day of his disappearance, which never ceases to haunt her. Likewise, Marcellus has spent his life in captivity and has now reached an old age and knows he does not have long to live. Cameron has had a hard life. Abandoned by his mother, he never knew his father and was raised by an aunt. In nearly every way, he feels like a failure and adrift with few connections. 

But there is also great joy in this novel, which has a mostly happy ending. While lacking in living family, Tova has great friends who are always looking out for her, including Marcellus. And ultimately Cameron finds a home too. This was ultimately a very charming and uplifting read about second chances and never giving up on hope for the future. 

Stars: 4