Remarkably Bright Creatures [Movie Tie-in]: A Novel

Now a Netflix Film

Featuring a New Essay by Shelby Van Pelt About the Film Set

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 about what it feels like to have love taken away from you, only to find it again in the most unexpected places. . . . Memorable and tender.” — Washington Post

“Completely charming.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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 mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.

Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a brilliant, giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors—until he forms a 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.

When Shelby Van Pelt isn’t feeding her flash-fiction addiction, she’s juggling cats while wrangling children. Her debut novel, REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES, will be published by HarperCollins in May 2022. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, she’s currently missing the mountains in the suburbs of Chicago. Find her at www.shelbyvanpelt.com, on Twitter @shelbyvanpelt, and Instagram @shelbyvanpeltwrites.

“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

“Freshly-imagined. . . . An elderly woman named Tova works nights at an aquarium on the Puget Sound . . . Watching Tova from his tank is the aquarium's main attraction — a giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus. One night, Tova frees Marcellus from a near fatal entanglement with a power cord; in return, Marcellus silently resolves to use his knowledge of the sea and his superior memory for faces and objects to help Tova discover the truth about her son's fate…Like a noir detective, Marcellus looks the ultimate deadline of death in the eye and doesn't blink.” - Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air

“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]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.”

Shelby Van Pelt’s heartwarming and utterly unique debut novel, Remarkably Bright Creatures, is a beautiful exploration of grief, aging, and the unexpected ways we find connection and healing. The story is set in the quiet, fictional town of Sowell Bay, Washington, and centers on Tova Sullivan, a seventy-something widow who works the night shift cleaning the local aquarium. For Tova, staying meticulously busy is a survival tactic. Her husband, Will, recently passed away from cancer, but her most profound, unhealing wound is the loss of her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, who vanished on the waters of Puget Sound over thirty years ago. The police ruled his death a suicide, a conclusion Tova has never accepted. To manage her crushing loneliness and avoid dwelling on the past, she spends her nights mopping floors and talking to the marine life, taking comfort in the quiet routine of her work.

The most extraordinary character in the novel is Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living in captivity at the aquarium. Marcellus is exceptionally intelligent, highly observant, and nearing the end of his natural four-year lifespan. He serves as a narrator for portions of the book, offering a witty, slightly cynical, but deeply profound perspective on the humans he observes through his glass walls. Marcellus frequently uses his intelligence to pick the locks of his enclosure, sneaking out at night to snack on sea cucumbers and fish in neighboring exhibits. During one of these daring midnight excursions, he miscalculates and gets hopelessly tangled in power cords, risking suffocation. Tova discovers him and calmly helps him back into his tank. This encounter sparks a silent, profound understanding between the grieving widow and the captive cephalopod. Marcellus senses Tova's deep sorrow, and a genuine, protective affection grows between them.

Meanwhile, in California, thirty-year-old Cameron Cassmore is watching his life fall apart. Chronically unemployed, aimless, and constantly making poor decisions, Cameron harbors deep resentment over being abandoned by his mother, Daphne, when he was just nine years old. Raised by his eccentric Aunt Jeanne, Cameron has always felt discarded and lost. After being fired from yet another job and kicked out of his apartment, he makes a startling discovery in a box of his mother's old belongings: a high school class ring from Sowell Bay and a hidden photograph. Cameron jumps to the conclusion that the ring belongs to Simon Brister, a wealthy real estate developer in Sowell Bay, whom he assumes must be his absentee father. Desperate for answers and hoping to demand unpaid child support, Cameron buys a cheap ticket to Washington.

Upon arriving in Sowell Bay, Cameron's plan quickly derails, and he finds himself broke and living out of a camper. Through a stroke of luck, he manages to secure a temporary job replacing Tova at the aquarium after she severely sprains her ankle and is forced to take time off. Tova, who is secretly preparing to sell her beloved house and move into a sterile retirement community to avoid becoming a burden as she ages, reluctantly trains the chaotic young man. Despite their glaring generational and personality differences, Tova sees a glint of familiarity and a good heart hidden beneath Cameron's defensive exterior. Cameron, in turn, is drawn to Tova's steady, maternal nature, finding a sense of stability he has never known.

The true connection between Tova and Cameron remains a mystery to them both, but it is glaringly obvious to Marcellus. With his brilliant memory, the octopus recognizes the class ring Cameron carries. Marcellus was a young creature living in the bay the night Tova's son, Erik, died. He knows the truth: Erik did not commit suicide; he accidentally drowned while trying to retrieve that very ring. Marcellus also pieces together that Cameron's mother, Daphne, was secretly involved with Erik, making Erik—not the wealthy developer—Cameron’s true biological father. Consequently, the messy, lost young man cleaning the aquarium floors is Tova’s long-lost grandson. Knowing his days are strictly numbered, Marcellus makes it his ultimate, desperate mission to reveal this truth to the two humans he has come to care for.

Marcellus goes to extraordinary lengths to communicate, sneaking out of his tank to physically arrange clues. He manages to steal Cameron’s ring and place it deliberately alongside an old photograph of Erik that Tova keeps at the aquarium. Through a series of intelligent, deliberate acts, Marcellus forces Tova to look closely at the evidence. The realization hits Tova like a tidal wave: her beloved son left a child behind. Concurrently, Cameron uncovers the truth about his parentage, realizing his mother didn't simply abandon him; she was a broken teenager who had lost the love of her life.

The climax of the novel is deeply emotional as Marcellus’s health rapidly declines. In a beautiful act of gratitude and love, Tova sneaks into the aquarium at night and, with Cameron's help, transports the dying octopus to the Puget Sound. They release him into the ocean, allowing him to spend his final moments wild and free. Following this bittersweet farewell, Tova makes a life-affirming decision. She cancels her move to the retirement village, choosing instead to embrace the messy reality of family. She invites Cameron to stay with her, offering him the home he never had and finding the companionship she thought was lost forever. The story ends as a touching testament to resilience, the healing power of family, and the extraordinary connections that can save us.