Debut Novel Offers Readers Eventful Ending

BOOK REVIEW

“REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES” By Shelby Van Pelt

Selecting the correct genre for “Remarkably Bright Creatures” presents a conundrum: who should be considered the novel’s primary protagonist — Tova Sullivan, the 70-year-old reserved, grieving night custodian of the Sowell Bay Aquarium, or Marcellus, the four-year-old, sixty pound, highly intelligent giant Pacific cephalopod?  

That decision stands at the crux of choosing the correct genre. Choices might be science fiction, mystery, travel, magical-realism, fantasy, literary-fiction, drama, and certainly others.

Mostly set in a fictitious small Washington town near Puget Sound, where everyone knows everyone else’s business, “Remarkably Bright Creatures” features only four main characters.

As core characters, each “stars” in alternating chapters, whose points-of-view are limited to Marcellus and Tova, along with Cameron Cassmore, a crass 30-year-old failure-in-life who goes to Sowell Bay in hopes of finding and duping a long-lost father; and Ethan Mack, owner and often cashier of the town’s only grocery store, Shop-Way.  

Of course, several minor characters revolve around the action that these 4 create, but one of the many things this book has going for it is how these major characters tell the story.

Another plus for the book is its construction:  short chapters with intriguing titles, like “Muckle Teeth,” “A Three Martini Truth,” and “There Was A Girl” — this title, one of several related motifs in the book.  

The chapters limited to Marcellus – all in first person – begin with the first chapter, “Day 1,299 of My Captivity.”

(Marcellus’s chapters are illustrated in the upper corner; no doubts about who their narrator might be.)

The first chapters establish the bizarre relationship that Marcellus and Tova share as she goes about her nightly cleaning chores.  Early in the book, Tova disentangles the octopus from a jumble of power cords, which cements their unique bond; theirs is the first relationship to emerge in the story, which ultimately, is a book that celebrates relationships.

Tova’s only child, Erick, disappeared over 30-years ago while working on the pier when he was only 18.

That loss has saddened Tova and shaped her life, especially after Will, her husband, died several years ago. Ethan Mack would certainly like to step into Tova’s life.

There’s another relationship to follow.

Marcellus calls himself “a prisoner,” but also admits that “Yes, I can read.  I can do many things you would not expect” and brags that “Octopuses are remarkably bright creatures.”

In fact, though with a different subject in his sentence, Marcellus repeats that phrase as the last thought of the book. Interestingly, one of Marcellus’s many talents is escaping his tank and wandering around, often collecting various objects – for his “Collection” — that he carries back and hides within his chamber.

Several of those items become motifs that connect the story; watch for a class ring, and a house key.  

“The Consequences,” however, haunt Marcellus when he is out of the water, and eventually take their toll.

Chapter 5 introduces Cameron Cassmore, a thorough enigma to the plot until more than twenty chapters later.  Then with numerous curious clues, he eventually enters the world of Sowell Bay, lives with Ethan, and finds a job at the aquarium. Now the plot thickens, and Marcellus goes to work!

Spoiler alert:  The ending is tearful, ecstatic, and eventful.

Enjoy!

About the author: Shelby Van Pelt, a native of Tacoma, Washington, modeled Tova after her grandmother, “stoic,” “unruffled,” and “emotionally inscrutable.” She invented Marcellus to be not only a curmudgeon but also a creature frustrated with humans. Those two characters and their interactions most likely have formed the basis of Van Pelt’s first novel’s landing on Jenna Bush Hagar’s “Read with Jenna!” “Remarkably Bright Creatures” has also appeared in the New York Times hardcover fiction best-seller list multiple times.

— Kay Bradshaw Holland is a retired English teacher and writes book reviews for the Concho Observer.