Our August Book - Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

About the August Book - Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Our August book pick, as voted by our book club members, is ‘Remarkably Bright Creatures’ by Shelby Van Pelt. This has been on my TBR for a while now, so I’m really excited to read along with everyone!

Here’s a bit of an insight into the book and the author.

You can get your copy of Remarkably Bright Creatures at our book club, with a 10% discount!

Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Literary Fiction 
Page Count: 384
Average Rating: 4.37

Remarkably Bright Creatures is Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel, telling the story of a widow’s unlikely friendship with a giant Pacific octopus reluctantly residing at the local aquarium—and the truths she finally uncovers about her son’s disappearance 30 years ago.

After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in the Puget Sound over 30 years ago.

As she works, Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine, but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight tentacles for his human captors—until he forms an unlikely friendship with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. As his affection for Tova grows, Marcellus must use every trick his old, invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late.

Charming, compulsively readable, and full of wit, Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a beautiful exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope–a reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.

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About the Author - Shelby Van Pelt

Shelby Van Pelt was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest in the USA, and now lives in Chicago with her husband and children.

Her debut novel, REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES (Ecco, 2022) was an Instant New York Times Bestseller and a Read With Jenna Today Show book club pick. In 2023, she was awarded the Heartland Prize for Fiction and the McLaughlin-Esstman-Stearns First Novel Prize from The Writer’s Center. Remarkably Bright Creatures has sold over two million copies. It has spent, in aggregate, over a year on the NYT Hardcover Bestseller list.

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I’m really looking forward to reading this book with you! Make sure to pick up your copy at Waterstones. You can join in our discussions on Fable, Instagram, and Facebook, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts at our next meeting.

Happy reading!
Kee