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Overview
Remarkably Bright Creatures, published in 2022, is Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel
. It tells the story of Tova Sullivan, a seventy-year-old widow who forges a relationship with a giant Pacific Octopus named Marcellus during her work as an aquarium cleaner. The plot follows Tova and Cameron Cassmore—a down-on-his-luck construction worker—whose lives intersect in a thematic exploration of grief, familial love, and the power of connection between humans and other species. Most chapters end with a first-person excerpt from the point of view of Marcellus the octopus, who offers wry and bemused commentary on the lives of humans and ultimately uncovers the truth of Tova and Cameron’s pasts. Remarkably Bright Creatures sold millions of copies following its publication, hitting the New York Times hardcover fiction best-seller list multiple times and winning the 2023 McLaughlin-Esstman-Stearns First Novel Prize. The book is set to be adapted into a Netflix film starring Sally Fields.Read the full book summary, an in-depth character analysis of Tova Sullivan, and explanations of famous quotes from Remarkably Bright Creatures.
