Book Review - Remarkably Bright Creatures - by Shelby Van Pelt

We ride at dawn for Marcellus.

“Humans. For the most part, you are dull and blundering. But occasionally, you can be remarkably bright creatures.”

3.5/5 ⭐️’S

So let me get this out of the way…I did not enjoy this book as much as everyone else. In fact, I found some of the characters annoying, the story boring at times, and overall, I just wasn’t that invested after I realized the plot twist within the first few chapters. Now, imagine my surprise when I got to the end of the story — one that took some effort to get through — to realize I was incredibly moved by the conclusion. Actual tears…I know! Okay so then get this: I watched the movie (which was way better than the book in my opinion), and low and behold I suddenly LOVE this story and these characters. Now, please know this before I continue…every negative thing I just said about this book does not apply to Marcellus. He was my favourite character. We ride at dawn for him.

“My death is imminent. But I am not dead yet.”

Remarkably Bright Creatures tells the story of some remarkably ordinary people who find themselves in a completely extraordinary circumstance. Tova, an elderly widow, works at the local aquarium as a cleaner at night. She is closed off from the world — having lost her son when he was a teenager and her husband recently from cancer — she’d rather live the rest of her days (or nights) among the sea creatures. Then there’s Cameron: 30 years old but hasn’t quite outgrown his early twenties, broke, searching for his father. You see, Cameron never knew his dad, and his mom abandoned him as a child. Now, strapped for cash and thinking he may possibly have some rich biological relation he never knew, he high-tails it out of wherever and right into Sowell Bay, Washington (Tova’s little town) to hunt him down.

I feel as though the unofficial theme of this month’s reads is ordinary people searching for meaning in the mundane. First there was Elizabeth Strout’s Tell Me Everything which also followed elderly characters in a search for connection and purpose. Then, Madeline Cash’s Lost Lambs, which had several adult characters who found themselves dealing with their own mid-life crises’ that resulted in personal reflective journeys. After this novel, my last of the month is Virginia Evans’ The Correspondent: aka another account of an ordinary woman at the end of her life, reflecting back on the moments that held purpose, searching for meaning in the rest.

This story has an extremely sentimental premise: two lost souls (three if you count Marcellus), all looking for connection, hope, meaning. And if anything, that is the strongest point of this novel. The ways Van Pelt makes the struggles of seemingly average characters feel significant. These characters on their own aren’t entirely interesting. Yet, they serve their purpose: to be mirrors for the reader, no matter their stage of life. They help us think, reflect on our own mundane lives and experiences. By the end of this story, I wasn’t thinking about Tova or Cameron or Ethan the grocer. I did however, carry the emotion brought on by their stories into my own musings about life, grief and purpose for days after I finished reading.

“Why can humans not use their millions of words to simply tell one another what they desire?”

In my review for Tell Me Everything, I noted how that story reminded me of a book by Jon McGregor I read in undergrad called, If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things. Now I feel as though I should have referenced that here…I mean it fit’s really well. Like that novel, Shelby Van Pelt touches on “unremarkable” things we often do not speak about — the grief of losing a child, romantic desires of the elderly, not knowing how to function as an adult despite being one. And the reason these experiences become remarkable is that they are what ultimately bring these characters together. I love any stories involving invisible string (which Taylor Swift invented, of course). So even though I guessed the surprise dynamic early on, I was still satisfied to see it to it’s conclusion.

In theory, I also really do appreciate stories about ordinary people…as long as the author is able to make them interesting. In this case, I was less invested than I had hoped which really effected the beauty in this story’s structure. For example, I found myself skimming through Cameron’s POV to get back to Tova — and even then, her way of speaking and acting got old about halfway through this reading. I believe the film really did rectify most of these issues, taking necessary character flaws and making them bearable rather than excruciating. For one thing, Cameron was much easier to watch than he was to read. The film took his whiny, man-baby like tendencies and translated them into an easier to sympathize with version of a broken man. The film also made necessary cuts that I felt could have greatly improved the novel — removing Cameron’s aunt and friends was smart. They were never fleshed out in the novel, extremely one-note, cringey and ultimately felt like an after-thought. Every great fish-out-of-water (pun intended) story starts with the new guy in town. That is how the film introduced us to Cameron, and that is what the novel should have done as well.

I also think it could have been nice to have Tova’s son Erik be more central to the story so that the eventual reveal of his box under the floorboards felt more impactful. Even a short chapter/flashback from his pov near the end, would have been very moving. The one voice I never got tired of was Marcellus. I do believe he is the most necessary aspect of this story for a reason, aka he carries it (maybe something to do with having eight arms?). The one chapter I didn’t like was when he got sassy: “Day 1,361 of My Captiv- Oh, Let Us Cut the Shit, Shall We? We Have a Ring to Retrieve.” It’s a small thing, but this was extremely cringey millennial humour (nothing against millennial humour except right now) and I just needed to mention that somewhere because it feels like a forced joke I’m sure many people LOVE and as a result, I am here to be a firm hater.

“We must say goodbye, friend. But I’m glad Terry saved you, because you saved me.”

As I mentioned, this story did move me in the end and I’d say it’s worth a read for that reason alone — don’t we all just want to feel something from the media we consume… or is that just me?? Either way, this book is beloved for a reason, so it must have something special worth checking out. My personal opinion is that the film is a much better way to spend your time. The cast was amazing, Sally Field can do no wrong as far as I’m concerned. I will end with this: Marcellus is maybe my favourite character of the year, and he is great in both versions. If there is one reason to pick up this book, it’s for him!

If you made if this far, thank you!