On a recent vacation, I finally got around to reading Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. It is every bit as charming as its hype claims.
There are multiple points of view in the novel, one of which belongs to an octopus, Marcellus, who has spent most of his life in a tank in an aquarium. Being observant and very intelligent, Marcellus is aware that he is reaching the end of his lifespan. He approaches the end with a great deal of dignity. Drawn in as a reader, it was impossible not to empathize with this kind, sad, lonely creature.
But there were human viewpoints as well. Primarily, we meet Tova Sullivan, a widow who cleans the aquarium in the evenings and strikes up a relationship of sorts with Marcellus. Tova is meticulous in her work. She is also lonely, although she does have concerned friends. Tova is not only a widow, but she lost her only son many years earlier when he was just 18. He disappeared at work on a pier, and was eventually declared dead, likely a suicide. Tova is certain he did not kill himself. She accepts that he is dead. She just wishes she knew what really happened.
Another viewpoint is that of Cameron Cassmore. A lost young man, not quite so young anymore, Cameron is a classic case of failure to launch. He can’t hold a job and his closest friends are getting a bit tired of his impositions. He drinks too much and takes no responsibility for his failures. He blames it all on the fact that he never knew his father, and his mother, a drug addict, abandoned him, leaving him with his aunt. He is good-looking and can be charming, but I had a hard time warming to this character. I preferred the octopus.
At any rate, it is a lovely story of complicated relationships and a remarkably bright octopus determined to help a friend before he dies. (The octopus dies, not the friend.)
Now that I’ve read it and loved it, I may have to see the movie, despite my bias that the movies are never as good as the books.
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