Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

 

Reviewed by Kristin

Marcellus the giant Pacific Octopus begins his narrative with “Day 1,299 of My Captivity…” setting the tone for his perception of the state of affairs at the Sowell Bay Aquarium on Puget Sound. Marcellus was captured as a juvenile, and he has learned that his kind only live 3-5 years (1095-1460 days), so he assumes that he has maybe 160 days left, give or take. He is, after all, a very intelligent and methodical creature. Marcellus likes to stretch his limits, but he is very aware of “The Consequences” of poking his tentacles into forbidden areas.

Tova Sullivan recently lost her husband, and began working at the aquarium as a night cleaner just to fill the hours. Tova takes great pride in her work, eschewing the industrial cleaners for her homemade vinegar and lemon oil mixture. Thousands of little hands and feet dirty the glass and the floors of the aquarium every week, and Tova wipes away every trace of dirt, even in little seen corners and behind statues. She may be over seventy and tiny, but Tova would rather die than to do less than her best.

Cameron Cassmore has been told all his life that he’s a screw up. Sure, he keeps getting fired from jobs, but it’s really not fair that his boss got that mad when he was only ten minutes late. His Aunt Jeanne has his back, but it seems like nobody else in the world does. When he has a chance to finally find his father, a man he assumed just didn’t exist for the last thirty years, he has to take a leap.

These three unlikely characters connect in ways I did not expect. Tova is friendly to all the aquarium creatures, saying “Hello, dears!” to the eels and the sharks, but it is Marcellus who actually understands her, though of course she doesn’t fully comprehend. Cameron drives into Sowell Bay in a decrepit camper he bought along the way and stumbles into a part time job at the aquarium. Marcellus, Tova, and Cameron may differ wildly from each other in age and life experiences, but their stories are interwoven as they come to appreciate, and even heal, one another.

The audiobook narrators (Marin Ireland and Michael Urie) added a beautiful layer to the story. This is Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel, and I certainly look forward to more from this promising author.   

The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery

Reviewed by Kristin

I never thought a book about octopuses would be interesting.  Sure, they are kind of cool and pretty to look at behind glass at an aquarium, but I couldn’t imagine reading an entire book about them.  However, a Nevermore book club reader absolutely raved about The Soul of an Octopus, so I decided to give it a try.  Sy Montgomery is a naturalist known for her non-fiction books for both adults and children, and I was pleasantly surprised by the depths she reached in this volume.

Montgomery forged a relationship with the New England Aquarium in Boston that allowed her behind the scenes and eventually earned her a volunteer badge with the grand title of “Octopus Observer.”  From Athena the giant Pacific octopus to tiny Karma, (only nine or ten pounds when she first arrived,) Montgomery learned that each octopus had a distinct personality and the intelligence to remember individual humans.

The author was amazed at how octopuses can gather so much information using their eight limbs and thousands of suckers.  Even their brains are so unlike other animals; while human brains have four lobes, octopus brains have as many as 50 to 75 lobes.  Not only that, but most of their neural activity is located in their arms.  It’s no wonder that an octopus’ front arms are fully capable of doing one thing while their back arms are doing something entirely different.  Very dexterous, octopuses are also known as accomplished escape artists.

I also learned that octopuses have a relatively short life span, perhaps only three or four years in captivity.  They may have much shorter lives in the open ocean where there are predators lurking behind every plant and rock.  While it may seem cruel to contain these creatures in an aquarium, Montgomery points out that aquarists acknowledge that they are changing the fate of the individual octopus, but promoting human knowledge of the wild creatures which will in turn protect their entire species.

Montgomery imbues her writing with such a sense of wonder that I was drawn into her experiences.  I can’t quite imagine what it must feel like to have my human arm explored by the tentacles of an octopus, but I can understand that it must be a very unique and sensational experience.