I decided to read Remarkably Bright Creatures because it features an octopus detective. Yes, you read that right. An octopus that is a detective. Remarkably Bright Creatures turned out to be an incredibly sweet story about friendship, family and hope, with an ending that made me feel both sad and happy. I highly recommend this novel if you are looking for a cozy read.

Remarkably Bright Creatures is about a seventy-year-old woman named Tova Sullivan who gets a job as a night janitor at her local aquarium after her husband dies so she can keep busy and not spend too much time thinking about her son, Erik, who disappeared in Puget Sound thirty years ago when he was just eighteen. At the aquarium lives a giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus. Marcellus is exceptionally clever. He knows how to escape from his tank after the aquarium is closed and make his way over to the other tanks so he can snack on the aquarium’s other residents. He also knows what happened to Tova’s son.

The novel is also about a thirty-year-old man named Cameron Cassmore who was abandoned by his mother as a child and raised by his aunt. He has just been dumped by his girlfriend and struggling to find a place to live when he finally gets a clue as to who his father might be, which leads him to Tova’s town, and a job at the aquarium after Tova sprains her ankle.

There really isn’t much of a mystery to Remarkably Bright Creatures as it is obvious to both Marcellus and the reader what the relationship is between Tova and Cameron. Instead, the story is about how these two finally discover this relationship, with the help of Marcellus the Octopus.

Lack of mystery aside, I love two out of three of the main characters in this novel. Marcellus is a charming character and easy to relate to with his longing to return to the ocean that he was born in and his disdain for humans, which the exception of Tova. Tova could have very easily been reduced to the stereotype of a curmudgeonly old person, but she’s a great geriatric character. She is a kind person albeit a bit clueless about what’s going on around her (she does not even own a cellphone). She keeps herself at a distance from others due to the losses in her life, and part of her growth is accepting that there are still people out there who care for her and want her to be happy.

Cameron, on the other hand, I found more difficult to empathize with. He uses his mother’s abandonment as an excuse to basically be a red flag. Thankfully, Remarkably Bright Creatures is the kind of story where all the characters grow and learn to become better versions of themselves. I think this is a book that I would enjoy reading again in the future.