BOOK REVIEW
Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel
Shelby Van Pelt’s first novel features an octopus narrator
In a writing workshop you are challenged to write a story from an unexpected point of view. How many people would choose to write from the point of view of an octopus? I know it would never even occur to me! But that’s the viewpoint Shelby Van Pelt chose in a workshop she attended. The idea expanded and morphed into a delightful story of friendship and life transitions.
The two main characters in the story are Tova, a widow who takes a job at Sowell Bay Aquarium after her husband dies, and Marcellus, a Giant Pacific Octopus who resides there. Tova took the after-hours cleaning job after her husband’s death to keep busy. She enjoys polishing the glass to remove fingerprints and mopping the floors to ready the aquarium for the next day’s visitors.
One evening Tova is cleaning the break room and notices something brown in the corner near a small table. Believing it is probably a sweater, she reaches down to pick it up only to have it move!!! It’s Marcellus! What is he doing out of his tank? He seems to be tangled in some cords plugged in near the table and cannot pull himself free. With some trepidation, she slowly reaches around him and unplugs the wire wrapped around his tentacles to free…
