I have finished my book club pick of the month, and my first book from my TBR Jar prompts. Hmm, I just had a thought. I always struggle to know which book to read after my book club picks. What if I went in the order of my prompts for June? Maybe I will, although this month, I’m glad I didn’t go in order because I believe my last prompt was a book that scares me. And I picked The Count of Monte Cristo! I’ll think about it. But, in the mean time, how about we talk about Remarkably Bright Creatures?
Remarkably Bright Creatures Summary
So, Remarkably Bright Creatures was written by Shelby Van Pelt. It was nominated for two categories in the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards, meaning it was a very beloved book. This fictional story has 3 main characters; Tova, Cameron and Marcelles. We follow their lives and struggles and see how they converge together at an aquarium in Sowell Bay. Let’s break down each of their stories, shall we?
Tova
Tova Sullivan is an older woman, I believe in her 70s, who works as a cleaner at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. She is very meticulous and has incredibly high standards when it comes to keeping things clean, even in her home. We learn that she lost her 18 year old son to mysterious circumstances and her husband to cancer after that. She has a group of friends known as the Knit-Wits, who love to get together and gossip and support each other in their own way. After she receives news that her estranged brother has passed away, she contemplates her future and what will happen when she passes and there is no one to bury her.
Cameron
Cameron Cassmore, a 30 year old man is struggling through his life. His girlfriend kicks him out after he gets fired from his latest job and he has to crash for a few days on his best friends’ couch. They’re expecting a baby. Cameron was raised by his aunt, who now lives in a trailer court that Cameron doesn’t like. She encourages him to get his life together and gives him a box of his mother’s things. He isn’t interested since his mom abandoned him when he was 9 years old. But when he finds old pictures and a high school ring that could set him on the path to find the father he never knew, he leaves California and heads to Sowell Bay. There he befriends the owner of a grocery store and gets a job at the Sowell Bay Aquarium.
Marcelles
Marcelles is a Giant Pacific Octopus who lives in Sowell Bay Aquarium. He is extremely intelligent, more than most humans give him credit for. And he has figured out how to escape his tank at night, which is how he meets Tova when she finds him in the break room. Instead of Tova telling her boss, the two form an unlikely friendship. Marcelles wants to help Tova have closure about her son and see her happy. And he gets great amusement messing with Cameron. But he is old and dying. Can he help Tova and Marcelles find the peace and joy they seek?
Remarkably Bright Creatures Positives
I loved Marcelles and reading from his point of view. It was a unique way to read a book. The Knit-Wits were an entertaining bunch as well and their love for Tova and each other was so wonderful to follow. Ethan, the grocery store owner was a great character as well, and he has such a big heart. The book was easy to read and I got through it quite quickly, even if I did leave it to the last minute and had to power read before going to book club so it would be finished. In fact, now that I recollect a bit more, even for all the small town gossip, this town had a lot of really caring characters. It was a cute story.
Remarkably Bright Creatures Negatives
This was a unanimous decision at book club. Cameron was extremely aggravating as a character. He was so frustrating and childish and whiny and, well I could go on. None of us really liked him. Something else that most of us agreed on was that it was really predictable. The big reveal most of us figured out a third of the way into the book. Although, one girl suggested that it might have been written that way on purpose so we could just go along with the characters figuring things out. Which makes sense.
I Was Mislead
Now, I have heard people talk about this book before I read it and the way it was described made it seem like most of the book was from Marcelles point of view. The reality was that, compared to Tova and Cameron, we didn’t get a lot of his point of view, and it reduced as you went through the book. Another thing, don’t take the summary to heart. It is misleading in ways and that actually changes much of the story.
Final Thoughts and Rating of Remarkably Bright Creatures
This book didn’t really excite me much. When I was done, I closed the book and didn’t have any real thoughts on it after. Some of you might hate me for this, but I gave it a 3.5. It was a good book, but to me it was nothing special. will I watch the Netflix movie? Maybe, but I just didn’t see the hype this book got. Would I recommend it? Sure, if you’re looking for a fiction book with not a lot of high stakes or action. It’s a sweet book, but it just wasn’t my favourite.
How is my TBR Reading Going
Could be better but it could be worse as well. I am bravely charging through The Count of Monte Cristo and I’m attacking it on two fronts. At first I just had the eBook form through the library app. After reading a few chapters I suddenly realised that as I was updating Goodreads, it was showing a different page count. The physical book is 1276 pages. That’s a lot. The eBook is 3023 pages! So, I’m sure you can understand why I went to the library to seek out the physical copy. But, because this book is such a chunker and will take me most of, if not the whole month, to read, I need to read another at the same time. So I have started another book for my monthly reads.
Determined
I am very determined to read all 5 books for my monthly reading this time. With that, I am determined to read 50 books this year. I really do believe I can do this. I just need to lock in. And I will say that I am happy with the progress I’m making with Monte Cristo. And the extra push is that I want to see if I can go beyond that and catch up on my back log. I am hoping to take a week in summer, off of hotel work to focus on my work from home projects. So blogging, podcasting, books and such. Perhaps I will be able to take more time to read during that week. Maybe I’ll make myself a specific challenge for that week. Anything is possible, if I try.
