Why this book:  I listened to a preview of it on audible, in the voice of an octopus in a tank in an aquarium.  Since reading Soul of an Octopus and watching the movie My Octopus Teacher, I’ve been very intrigued by the creature. And two friends of mine had read it and said they really liked it. 

Summary in 3 Sentences:  The book does mini cameos of 4 main characters living on the coast of  Washington State in the recent times (the book was published in 2022) and the stories and characters are separate, but as the story unfolds, their lives and stories converge. Tova, a 70ish year old widow working as a cleaning lady in an aquarium,  who had lost her son in a mysterious accident many years ago;  Cameron, a 30 year old irresponsible ne’er-do-well, who’d grown up an orphan living with his aunt, and though immature not a bad kid, can’t hold down a job: Ethan, an old man who’d grown up in Scotland who ran the local grocery store in the small town of Sowell Bay in Washington State where the story takes place, and  Marcellus, a Great Pacific Octopus living in an aquarium tank, who observes people and has a sensibility and understanding of people and his environment much more than people suspect.  We get to know these characters and their lives and struggles as their life trajectories converge to bring them together.

My Impressions:  A fun, different and easy to read book – which i enjoyed listening to.  It starts out a bit slow as the author introduces us to the characters and the setting, but picks up pace as we start seeing the issues and drama unfold.  It’s an interesting and clever story and a “feel good” book.  I enjoyed getting to know the characters representing worlds I’m not terribly familiar with. It takes place in current time in the small town of Sowell Bay on the coast of  Washington State.  In addition to the story and the character descriptions, the book also gives insight into the insulated life in a small town on the Pacific Northwest – a town which is trying to bounce back after losing some of its luster from years ago.

In Tova the main protagonist, we get to know a kind, polite, lonely, compassionate but sad widow in her 70s, facing her old age alone, and worried that as she gets older, she has no family to take care of her. She is an extremely tidy and conscientious cleaning lady at the local aquarium, working not because she needs the money but because she needs some thing t0 do. She misses her husband of 47 years and continues to lament the mysterious loss of her son Erik some  30 years ago.   She has been for years a part of  a gossipy group of old hens who call themselves “the knit-wits,” good hearted older gals, who she respects but often finds annoying as they are always minding other people’s business. 

Cameron was frustrating to follow – a 30 year old modern-day Holden Caulfield, immature with poor judgment, irresponsible, resentful of those who are able to make their lives work, is convinced that he’s a victim of bad luck, because he never knew his father, and his mother abandoned him. His immaturity was clearly meant to frustrate the reader, which it certainly did me.  Cameron was always looking for the easy way out, and never seemed to be willing to take any responsibility for his so called bad luck.   But while I grimaced at his impulsive, poorly thought out decisions, it was clear that he was not “bad” – just very immature.  We are pleased to see him finally turn a corner.

Ethan the Scottish grocer is an eccentric and sympathetic character who inadvertently becomes a key person in the story by his tendency to share town gossip with the customers of his grocery store. He is a lonely old bachelor, smitten with Tova, always ready to help in the community, when and where he can.

Marcellus the Octopus is bored and lonely in his aquarium tank, amuses himself by observing the foolishness of the humans who observe him, and  is the wise observer of all that goes on around him,  Marcellus  is the only character in the book who speaks to us in the first person. He shares with us things about the Octopus genus, his life, unique biology, his abilities,  how he sees the world, what he eats and enjoys.   We learn that he is at the end of his lifespan, and that he knows he has little time left to live – and is feeling his age in diminished energy and abilities. His observations from an octopus’s perspective of the folly of the humans who visit the aquarium are interesting, fun and insightful.  I’m reminded of a quote from The Soul of an Octopus, (my review of it here) that says,  “I am certain of one thing as I sit in my pew: If I have a soul – and I think I do – an octopus has a soul, too.”

As the story unfolded, I knew that somehow these characters’ lives would converge and there were clues as to where it was going.  I did anticipate a satisfying and happy ending, which I was happy enough to get, though there were a couple of surprises.  Though some will complain that it may have been a bit formulaic, the portrayal of Tova and her perspective was particularly descriptive and realistic – she is a very sympathetic character.  In her compassion and loneliness, she develops a “relationship” of mutual respect and understanding with Marcellus, who she cares for in her capacity as cleaning woman for the aquarium.  They seem to communicate and understand each other telepathically.  She and Marcellus have in common the knowledge that they are each in the last phases of their lives and they are both trying to have an impact of some significance before they die.  The affection and mutual respect they have for each other become central to the book, and both of their lives.

I listened to Remarkably Bright Creatures,  and found the narration excellent – the reader did well at creating believable versions of the voices of the characters – a separate male reader was the voice of the octopus Marcellus.  By the way, while we may assume that the “remarkably bright creatures” are octopuses, that is a line that Marcellus uses to describe humans.

Several threads were left hanging at the end, which I believe screamed for some resolution, and I am surprised and a bit disappointed the author left them hanging.   What happened to Cameron’s mother?  Were there any more clues as to how Tova’s son Erik died?    Was there going to be any attempt to reconcile Cameron with his mother?  How and and under what circumstances was Erik secretly involved with her?  That the author left these questions unaddressed surprises me, and make me wonder if there is a sequel in the works.