Remarkably Bright Creatures by
Shelby Van Pelt
My rating:
5 of 5 stars
There are multiple reasons why one remembers a good book - the plot ,the narration , the writing style , the impact it has on the readers , or for this historic significance it holds . This particular book will forever be etched in my heart for it’s unique and endearing characters .
The protagonist is a Giant Pacific Octopus , which lives in an aquarium in Sowell Bay, a small fictional town near Seattle . He is smart , intelligent and adventurous. He loves slipping out of his tank almost every night to feed on
other sea creatures or pick up trash in the hallway for his collectibles. Few of the people in the aquarium know of his stunts , they let it pass because they love him.
Tova , the cleaner of the aquarium, is a 70 year old woman on the verge of retirement. She is dealing with issues which come along with old age ,both physical and emotional . She has lost her husband to cancer and her only son dies under mysterious circumstances . With no family to take care of her , she is making retirement plans .
And then there is magic in the air . Tova begins to care about the octopus because of his adventures , and shows kindness towards him. She talks to him about her life everyday when she is cleaning his tank. To everyone’s surprise , the creature responds in kind !
The plot is not without shortcomings , but it is difficult to criticize this book because it has its heart at the right place . In the small town of Sowell Bay, everyone cares about everyone . Everyone knows what is happening in everyone’s life . People talk . Tova has her circle of friends , a Swedish shop keeper , who has a soft spot for Tova , her lady friends who meet regularly for gossiping about their grand kids and everyone else in town , and a bunch of people who run local businesses around the aquarium. So when a young lad , Cameron steps into the town , everyone’s whiskers go up, and in one particular case , the tentacles ( of our GPO).
The book does deal with loss , grief , sadness and especially aging, in great detail . At one point of time , our streak of independence ends and it is a major turning point in everyone’s life . Few move in with kids and few decide to settle in a retirement home . It is a very sensitive topic and is dealt very well in this book.
But there is also love , kindness and a lot of warmth which overrides the gloomy quotient . I fell in love with the GPO. His observations are very witty and accurate. According to him, we humans are heavily parasitic on each other and on other species . We cannot survive on our own especially in the world he belongs , the vast ocean . He has become and will remain one of my favorite protagonists of all times .
Do read this book when you get a chance . It is a short book, worth your time . I was smiling for most of the time , when I was reading this book, especially in those pages when the octopus was in action . And next time I go to an aquarium, I will definitely stand for a longer time in front of the octopus tank .
A 5/5 from my end . It is indeed , full of Remarkably Bright Creatures .
Ten Little Starfish: A Counting Book by Kim Ann
