Remarkably Bright Creatures (Ven Pelt)
by Shelby Van Pelt (2022)
(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)
This has been sitting as a draft since July. I honestly thought I'd posted it. Oops.
This was a pandemic book club selection. I listened to it as well as read it.
This was a first novel, and it was a very good one. What put it over the top was that portions of the book were narrated by a Giant Pacific Octopus named Marcellus (McSquiddles, but he's not a squid) who can escape his tank and wander around the aquarium. Thankfully, Van Pelt realizes that too much of a good thing would be bad, and Marcellus's chapters are more like short interludes.
That said, Marcellus makes the book. Without his point of view, the rest of the book would be a little monotonous and "by the book" with coincidences and missed chances. The octupus elevates it. Also, at one point, Marcellus lets out a large spoiler, which is good, because it was obvious where that story line was going. (Basically, if it didn't go there, most of Cameron's story wouldn't be needed.)
Tova Sullivan is a widow who works the night shift cleaning up the aquarium. Her son died in a boating accident for which she doesn't have any sufficient explanation. She befriends Marcellus who she discovers has found a way out of his tank. Unfortunately, he's trapped himself and needs her help or he'll perish. She never reports this. Marcellus has been know to move around and sample the fish in the other tanks.
Cameron lives in California with his aunt. His mom left a box of stuff for him. It's mostly junk but she finds a class ring that he believes belongs to the father he never knew. Suddenly, down on his luck and basically lazy and good for nothing Cameron is on his way to Seatle.
Paths cross, things are slowly (very slowly) revealed, and the first one to notice in the octopus.
Some stuff is resolved but some mysteries remain because there's no way to get a full explanation. But there's closure, so maybe that's the next best thing.
I enjoyed this book. It was one of the better club picks and such an improvement of the Witches book. (No link -- you wanna know, go find it!)
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