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Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt was one of those books that stays with you way after you have finished reading it. I listened to the audiobook that was brilliantly performed by Marin Ireland and Michael Uris. It was A Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club pick for May. The premise for the book centered around a lonely widow, a young man searching for answers and an old Pacific Northwest octopus that was perceptive, clever and intriguing. The means by which Shelby Van Pelt brought these three lives together was ingenious. It was difficult for me to remember at times that Remarkably Bright Creatures was her debut novel because in my opinion it was just so good. The characters were endearing and I felt myself rooting for them. All my emotions were triggered while I listened to this audiobook. I laughed out loud, smiled and cried real tears. It was one of those books that I did not want to end. Oh, and did I mention the beautiful cover? What a cover!

Tova Sullivan, employed by the local aquarium in the small town of Sowell Bay in the state of Washington as the night cleaner, was a lonely woman. She was a widow who had lost her husband to cancer and a mother who had lost her only son, Erik, when he was eighteen years old in a boating accident that was deemed a suicide. It was about thirty years ago now that Erik had died. Tova never believed that Erik would have taken his own life. To take her mind off of her losses, Tova, mindlessly but proficiently mopped the floors of the aquarium and conversed with its inhabitants and made sure they were well and thriving. Tova unexpectedly made the acquaintance of the aquarium’s only but extraordinary old Pacific Northwest octopus named Marcellus. The octopus was old as well. It had lived in the captivity of the aquarium almost its entire life and Marcellus was nearing the end of his own life. He was old for an octopus. Tova befriended the octopus and Marcellus and Tova developed the most beautiful yet unexpected friendship.

The plot was further enhanced with the arrival of a young man in search of his biological father who he believed lived in Sowell Bay. His mother had abandoned him when he was nine years old and he never saw or heard from her again. That did not stop him, though, from wondering about her or who his father might be. When he discovered some things his mother had left behind, he told his aunt that he was going to try and figure out who his father might be. He ended up in Sowell Bay. A Scottish grocer befriended him and allowed the young man to park his trailer on his property. The grocer helped him by making sure he had plenty of food to eat and gave him advise about how to find a job and they both slowly became an important part of each other’s lives.

Remarkably Bright Creatures was about loss, hope, loneliness, old age, friendship, trust, family and community. It was most original, funny and heartwarming. This book touched me in a way that I have not felt in a long while. I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook of Remakably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt and I highly recommend it. I can’t wait to see what she writes next.