This deluxe Barnes and Noble Exclusive Edition features unique sprayed and stenciled edges, silver foil, an exclusive essay by Shelby Van Pelt and one chapter annotated by the author in her own handwriting.
A New York Times Bestseller!
A Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!
“Remarkably Bright Creatures [is] an ultimately feel-good but deceptively sensitive debut...Memorable and tender.” — Washington Post
A charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope that traces a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus
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.
This deluxe Barnes and Noble Exclusive Edition features unique sprayed and stenciled edges, silver foil, an exclusive essay by Shelby Van Pelt and one chapter annotated by the author in her own handwriting.
A New York Times Bestseller!
A Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!
“Remarkably Bright Creatures [is] an ultimately feel-good but deceptively sensitive debut...Memorable and tender.” — Washington Post
A charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope that traces a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus
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.
Sometimes a short synopsis is all you need: A detective octopus helps a grieving aquarium employee solve the mystery of her missing son. It's certainly unique in vessel, but the themes of coping, recovering and moving forward resonate whether you have two arms or eight.
This deluxe Barnes and Noble Exclusive Edition features unique sprayed and stenciled edges, silver foil, an exclusive essay by Shelby Van Pelt and one chapter annotated by the author in her own handwriting.
A New York Times Bestseller!
A Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!
“Remarkably Bright Creatures [is] an ultimately feel-good but deceptively sensitive debut...Memorable and tender.” — Washington Post
A charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope that traces a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus
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.
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.
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Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt is the big-hearted tale of a detective octopus helping a grieving aquarium employee solve the mystery of her missing son. Shelby joins us to talk about living in an octopus renaissance, small towns, feeling uprooted, writing about grief, creating chapter titles and more with cohost Jenna Seery. This […]
In between planning backyard barbecues and summertime getaways, leave room in your beach bag for our latest Monthly Picks. From a detective octopus to a mother-daughter murder mystery, a deep-dive into the human psyche and a big-hearted modern monster story, there’s so much to love about this month. Get lost in the magic of May’s […]
