Book Bearings
Cover of Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Remarkably Bright Creatures

  • 368 pages · about 6 hours
  • First published 2022
  • 13 editions

Bookshop.org links may earn us a commission. It supports independent bookstores and costs you nothing.

1 About this book

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.

  • Human-animal relationships
  • Family life
  • Animals
  • Octopuses
  • Widows
  • Mothers and sons
  • Missing persons
  • Investigation

2 About Shelby Van Pelt

 

Shelby Van Pelt is an American writer. Her debut novel Remarkably Bright Creatures (2022) has sold over 4 million copies and was adapted into a 2026 film. She grew up in Tacoma, Washington, graduated from Claremont McKenna College in 2002, and spent the next several years working as a financial consultant on litigation. After graduation, Van Pelt spent several years living in Atlanta, where she began writing Remarkably Bright Creatures in 2013.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

3 Similar books

Find a book that fits your moment