Remarkably Bright Creatures
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4.4 • 123 Ratings
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- $22.99
Publisher Description
Bloomsbury presents Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, read by Marin Ireland and Michael Urie.
Have you met Marcellus the octopus yet?
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'Full of heart and humour . . . I loved it.' Ruth Hogan
'Will stay with you for a long time.' Anstey Harris
'I defy you to put it down once you've started' Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night cleaner shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. Ever since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat over thirty years ago keeping busy has helped her cope. One night she meets Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium who sees everything, 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 body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late...
Shelby Van Pelt's debut novel is a reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.
'You won't be able to put it down because when you're not reading this book you'll be hugging it.' Jamie Ford
'Truly original and touching' Helen Hoang
'Unique and luminous' Booklist starred review
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READER REVIEWS
'I couldn't put it down'
'Marvelous, heartwarming, brilliant'
'I enjoyed every second'
'I was gripped from the first page'
'I was completely charmed by this story'
Customer Reviews
Remarkably Bright
Shelby Van Pelt ignites the imagination with her beautiful writing. Loved it!
Heartwarming? More like irritating!
The novel boasts that the NYT called this a “heartwarming novel to suit any mood”, but that’s only if you can get past the insufferable, man-baby of a supporting character, and the non-sensical behaviour of most of the characters.
The fundamental story isn’t too bad, albeit rather implausible, but the story has a tendency to drag on by inserting inorganic plot devices, or having characters move on from things of importance too early/too quickly. It feels like the author wanted the book to last longer, so had to manufacture ways to draw it out.
Even if you like the pacing of the novel, you’ll have to endure the insufferable supporting lead character, who makes some of the most irritating decisions all throughout the book. He’s not endearing and someone you want to see get the happy ending, mostly because there is no growth to the character. There are unlikable characters in plenty of novels that are still enjoyable to read about, or even more so if they have a great character arc of development. Sadly, that’s devoid in this novel.
It’s a shame, because with more organic plot development and a more likeable supporting lead, this book would actually be decent and more like a 4/5 instead of a 2/5.
The best book!
Loved everything about this beautiful story and the narration was excellent. I'm sad that I've finished.