Remarkably Bright Creatures - Shelby Van Pelt

I had heard about this book from a few people and when I was looking for books for this year, it was part of the top book lists. It sounded good and after putting it on hold at the library and seeing the outrageous wait list, I figured it had to be good.

Remarkably Bright Creatures follows two main characters.....or three if you count Marcellus the octopus, and I guess we should count Marcellus. The other two main characters are Tova Sullivan, the nearly eighty-year-old cleaner at the local aquarium, and Cameron Cassmore, a thirty-year-old who has never held a job for more than a few weeks. Marcellus is a giant Pacific octopus who has been at the aquarium for 1,299 days and is remarkably bright.

Tova works at the Sowell Bay aquarium to keep busy. One evening while she is finishing her cleaning, she finds Marcellus stuck in some cords in the staff room. Tova gets him untangled and he gets back into his tank. She wonders how he got out and it turns out Marcellus has been escaping his tank for quite some time and enjoys snacking on some of the other inhabitants. Marcellus is also a collector and a great observer of humans.

Tova is recently widowed and also lost her son in a suspected accident eighteen years earlier. She has a group of friends who meet once a month, known as the knit wits, though they don't do much knitting anymore. She also enjoys chatting with the local grocery store owner, Ethan. Tova becomes very fond of Marcellus and keeps an eye on him as he wanders the aquarium at night. One evening while talking with Marcellus and standing on a stool, she slips and hurts her foot, forcing her to take some time off work.

Cameron lives in California has never known his father and barely knew his mother. He was raised by his aunt and is exceptionally smart, but has never been able to hold a job or make anything of his life. After his aunt gave him a box of his mother's things, he discovers a picture of her with a boy and a class ring. After some internet sleuthing, he finds old yearbook pictures and thinks he's finally found his father. With money borrowed from his aunt, he flies to Seattle and then buys a used camper before making his way to Sowell Bay. As luck would have it, Cameron meets Ethan, who kindly offers his driveway as a camp site and even helps Cameron get a job at the aquarium covering for Tova.

Tova has trouble staying away from the aquarium, so as soon as she can, she's back to help out with the cleaning. She and Cameron form a friendship and each looks forward to seeing the other every evening. Throughout the summer, Tova begins to plan a move to a retirement home, knowing she has no one to look after her. Cameron starts to pull his life together, keeping the job at the aquarium and meeting a woman.

Things fall apart a bit when Cameron finally tracks down the man he thinks is his father. Throughout all the human activity, Marcellus has been quietly observing and gathering his treasures. He pieces things together and solves the puzzle before the humans even know there is a puzzle. Then he helps them solve it.

Jen and I both enjoyed this book. It was a nice easy read, even if we both figured out very quickly what the twist would be. We both really enjoyed Tova's character and thought Marcellus's chapters were a great addition to the book. We both found Cameron's character to be very frustrating, to be so smart and to not even try to make something of your life is something neither of us could understand. But we were happy to see his character grow and ended up rooting for him.

There were a lot of other great characters, but our favourite was Ethan. The Scottish grocery store owner had a great back story. His love for Tova was evident from the start and we liked his gossipy nature. We could both think of people that reminded us of Ethan.

If you're looking for a light-hearted, easy read with great characters and a book with a happy ending, this is the one for you.

Until next time, have a drink, read a book and be happy!