Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van PeltMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I've long been a fan of octopi, long before the film My Octopus Teacher made many people sit up and take notice of these wonderfully intelligent and mysterious creatures. Around 2018 or so, they went on my personal "do not eat" list, which aligns with my own needs/choices. I say all this because it was around 2017 or so when I started noticing videos and stories about octopi escaping their enclosures at aquariums. And this kind of behavior makes them easy to anthropomorphize!
So we meet Marcellus, the sometimes-narrator of Remarkably Bright Creatures. He is the linchpin of the story, and every bit the octopus we hope he would be. Shelby Van Pelt manages to give him narrative agency without resorting to maudlin sentimentality (see also Six-Thirty in Lessons in Chemistry). I applaud this. Many of the characters are vivid and well-written: Tova Sullivan, Ethan Mack, and Jeanne Cassmore stand out.
I struggled to enjoy Cameron Cassmore as a character, and I think that's part of what made this book 4 stars instead of 5, for me. He is so self-deprecating and self-pitying at times that it was difficult to gather sympathy for him. His clear love and respect for his Aunt Jeanne notwithstanding, every time his character started to grow up a step, I felt something else happened to move him two steps back. While growth is never linear, of course, this pattern disrupted the narrative flow for me, particularly given my other quibble described below.
The book isn't a mystery per se, but there are a couple of mysteries contained therein, and the big one was revealed far too early to us (the reader), so I spent a good chunk of the book getting frustrated waiting for the characters to catch up. But that frustration illuminates the soul and wisdom of Marcellus, whose patience and life-view is laudatory, so in that regard, it may have ultimately been a good thing!
Other subplots are very moving, particularly Tova's situation, as we learn how she navigated/continues to navigate life without her son and her husband, and her estrangement with her brother. Her narrative had a lot of moments that made me cry unexpectedly:
"These women have always worn motherhood big and loud on their chests, but Tova keeps hers inside, sunk deep in her guts like an old bullet. Private."
Ultimately there's a lot of wisdom here, tucked into the nooks and crannies, the way Marcellus keeps his treasures in his enclosures: "Humans are the only species who subvert truth for their own entertainment." I don't know if that is COMPLETELY true, as I have not studied imagination and animal behavior to any great extent, but we know what that little nugget means. The wisdom is delivered through a wide variety of characters and decisions, even mistakes. It is definitely an enjoyable read, and I'll look forward to more from Shelby Van Pelt.
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