Remarkably Bright Creatures

A gripping family mystery meets a story of second chances in this warm, feel-good debut.

A winningly totally original feel-good mystery packed with memorable characters that, once started, demands to be finished

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

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

A unique and luminous book

Truly original and touching , Remarkably Bright Creatures is a story of family, community, and optimism in spite of darkness. Prepare to fall in love

Shelby’s characters are unique and yet completely relatable ... It is a fresh and fascinating story full of heart and humour and I loved it .

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 .

A warm and satisfying book. It wrapped itself around me, luring me into the many mysteries hidden just beneath the surface.

Remarkable characters , who will stay with you for a long time.

You’ll bask in this book’s warmth and wit

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

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Shelby Van Pelt lives in the suburbs of Chicago with her family. This is her first novel.