MAY 2022 - AudioFile
This fantastical debut audiobook will enchant listeners. Gifted vocal artist Marin Ireland portrays Tova, a 70-year-old widow with a heart of gold whose teenage son died under mysterious circumstances 30 years earlier. Ireland's encouraging tones suit Tova, whose compassion touches everyone, and every creature, in her small Washington town. After she injures herself at her job at the aquarium, Tova meets her temporary replacement, Cameron, a 30-something recently transplanted Californian. Cameron is searching for the father he never knew, and Ireland poignantly expresses his longing for community. Their quests are aided by Tova's unlikely "friendship" with the formidable Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus whose acerbic wit and shrewd observations are wonderfully captured by Michael Urie. A fanciful and enjoyable listening experience. M.J. 2023 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Good Housekeeping
[A] beautiful novel about friendship and family.”
Elle
A wholly original meditation on grief and the bonds that keep us afloat.”
Marie Claire
The best books about grief find a way to illuminate the darkness of loss, and Remarkably Bright Creatures offers a masterclass.”
AudioFile
Marin Ireland’s encouraging tones suit Tova, whose compassion touches everyone, and every creature…Cameron is searching for the father he never knew, and Ireland poignantly expresses his longing for community…The formidable Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus whose acerbic wit and shrewd observations are wonderfully captured by Michael Urie..[makes for] a fanciful and enjoyable listening experience.”
Business Insider
[A] brilliant upcoming novel about hope and reckoning.”
Washington Post
About what it feels like to have love taken from you, only to find it again in the most unexpected places…Memorable and tender.”
From the Publisher
Remarkably Bright Creatures [is] an ultimately feel-good but deceptively sensitive debut about what it feels like to have love taken from you, only to find it again in the most unexpected places. . . . Memorable and tender.” — Washington Post
“A heartwarming novel to suit any mood.” — New York Times
“Infused with heartfelt humor, Van Pelt’s elegant portrait of a widowed woman who finds understanding and connection with a clever octopus is refreshingly, if surprisingly, relatable. Despite the unorthodox relationship at its core, the debut novel offers a wholly original meditation on grief and the bonds that keep us afloat.” — Elle
“The best books about grief find a way to illuminate the darkness of loss, and Remarkably Bright Creatures offers a masterclass." — Marie Claire
“[B]rilliant upcoming novel about hope and reckoning." — Business Insider
“ [B]eautiful novel about friendship and family.” — GoodHousekeeping.com
“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
“A debut novel about a woman who befriends an octopus is a charming, warmhearted read.” — Kirkus Reviews
"A unique and luminous book." — Booklist (starred review)
“Remarkably Bright Creatures is the rarest of feats: a book that manages to be wry and wise, charming and surprising, and features one of the most intriguing and satisfying characters I’ve encountered in fiction in a very long time—Marcellus the Octopus. I don’t know how Shelby Van Pelt managed to make this uncommon tale sing so beautifully, but sing it does, and I defy you to put it down once you’ve started.” — Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney, author of Good Company and The Nest
“Shelby Van Pelt has done the impossible. She’s created a perfect story with imperfect characters, that is so heartwarming, so mysterious, and so completely absorbing, you won’t be able to put it down because when you’re not reading this book you’ll be hugging it.”
— Jamie Ford, author of The Many Daughters of Afong Moy and The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
“Truly original and touching, Remarkably Bright Creatures is a story of family, community, and optimism in spite of darkness. Prepare to fall in love with a most exceptional octopus.” — Helen Hoang, author of The Heart Principle
“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
BookPage
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.
Business Insider
[B]rilliant upcoming novel about hope and reckoning."
Helen Hoang
Truly original and touching, Remarkably Bright Creatures is a story of family, community, and optimism in spite of darkness. Prepare to fall in love with a most exceptional octopus.
Jamie Ford
Shelby Van Pelt has done the impossible. She’s created a perfect story with imperfect characters, that is so heartwarming, so mysterious, and so completely absorbing, you won’t be able to put it down because when you’re not reading this book you’ll be hugging it.”
Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
Remarkably Bright Creatures is the rarest of feats: a book that manages to be wry and wise, charming and surprising, and features one of the most intriguing and satisfying characters I’ve encountered in fiction in a very long time—Marcellus the Octopus. I don’t know how Shelby Van Pelt managed to make this uncommon tale sing so beautifully, but sing it does, and I defy you to put it down once you’ve started.
Washington Post
Remarkably Bright Creatures [is] an ultimately feel-good but deceptively sensitive debut about what it feels like to have love taken from you, only to find it again in the most unexpected places. . . . Memorable and tender.
Booklist (starred review)
"A unique and luminous book."
Kevin Wilson
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.
GoodHousekeeping.com
[B]eautiful novel about friendship and family.”
MAY 2022 - AudioFile
This fantastical debut audiobook will enchant listeners. Gifted vocal artist Marin Ireland portrays Tova, a 70-year-old widow with a heart of gold whose teenage son died under mysterious circumstances 30 years earlier. Ireland's encouraging tones suit Tova, whose compassion touches everyone, and every creature, in her small Washington town. After she injures herself at her job at the aquarium, Tova meets her temporary replacement, Cameron, a 30-something recently transplanted Californian. Cameron is searching for the father he never knew, and Ireland poignantly expresses his longing for community. Their quests are aided by Tova's unlikely "friendship" with the formidable Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus whose acerbic wit and shrewd observations are wonderfully captured by Michael Urie. A fanciful and enjoyable listening experience. M.J. 2023 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
