SEPTEMBER 2023 READING
Remarkably Bright Creatures
by Shelby Van Pelt
published 2022
Ecco Publishing
368 pp (hardcover)
ISBN-13 (hardcover): 9780063159488
Book Club Meeting
September 26, 2023, 7:00 PM
Hosted by: Colleen McClenahan
Snack provided by: Trudy Cedar, Tollie Stuprich
Wine provided by: Sara Ashman, Ann Manzano
Book selected by: Linda Le Van
Accessibility
Book
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Fingerlakes Library System
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NY Public Library
Large Print
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Fingerlakes Library System
Book on CD
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Fingerlakes Library System
E-book
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Amazon Kindle (purchase)
Overdrive Audiobook
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Fingerlakes Library System
Audible
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Amazon (purchase)
About Shelby Van Pelt
"Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Shelby Van Pelt lives in the suburbs of Chicago with her family. Remarkably Bright Creatures is her first novel."
NPR Book of the Day
Audio Interview
A 9-minute listen about "an unexpected, endearing friendship in 'Remarkably Bright Creatures'"
"Humans. For the most part, you are dull and blundering. But occasionally, you can be remarkably bright creatures." Shelby Van Pelt
Remarkably Bright Creatures
BookQuote Book Introduction
"After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.
Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors—until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.
Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late.
Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible."
BookQuote Book Reviews
“Remarkably Bright Creatures is a beautiful examination of how loneliness can be transformed, cracked open, with the slightest touch from another living thing. Shelby Van Pelt makes good on this wild conceit, somehow making me love a misanthropic octopus, but her writing is so finely tuned that it’s a natural element of a larger story about family, about loss, and the electricity of something found.” — Kevin Wilson, author of Nothing to See Here
“As Van Pelt’s zippy, fun-to-follow prose engages at every turn, readers will find themselves rooting for the many characters, hoping that they’ll find whatever it is they seek. Each character is profoundly human, with flaws and eccentricities crafted with care. But what makes Van Pelt’s novel most charming and joyful is the tender friendship between species, and the ways Tova and Marcellus make each other ever more remarkable and bright.” — BookPage –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Select Author Resources
The Octopus in the News!
Scientists recently discovered a large colony of over 20,000 octopus living about 80 miles off of the coast of California. This is one of the few large breeding colonies, dubbed "Octopus' Garden", in the world. Follow these links to learn more about this discovery:
- see is on this FOX News Video
- read about it in the San Francisco Chronicle
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