Remarkably Bright Creature

Title: Remarkably Bright Creatures
Author: Shelby Van Pelt
Genre: Literary Fiction
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 360
Reason Read: Book Club
Rating:

My Thoughts

I’m so glad my book club chose to read REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES. Otherwise, I might never have read it and I absolutely adored this book. As soon as I started reading it, I could tell it was going to suck me right in. I laughed, I cried, and I mostly smiled as I read this heart-warming story of love, loss, grief, and resilience.

I loved that it’s mostly told in a third-person limited POV and a charming first-person POV from Marcellus, the octopus–the star of the book. Marcellus is smart, snarky, a little bit cranky, and a delightful narrator. I especially loved his friendship with Tova, the main human character. Their friendship reminds us, not in a preachy way, that animals know more than they let on and they each have feelings and deserve our kindness and respect.

I also loved Tova. She was such a likable person despite being a bit closed off because of her grief. She reminded me a bit of my own grandmother whose family, like Tova’s, immigrated to the US while she was very young.