Remarkably Bright Creatures by Van Pelt
Ref: Shelby Van Pelt (2022). Remarkably Bright Creatures. HarperCollins.
___________________________________________________________________________
Summary
Tova Sullivan, an aging custodian at Sowell Bay Aquarium, forges a friendship with Marcellus, an aging giant Pacific Octopus, who seeks a return to the sea. Through months of late-night chats, Marcellus deduces that Tova’s deceased son Erik, had fathered a child, Cameron, who by fate had found himself taking over as Sowell Bay’s custodian as Tova moves toward retirement. Marcellus shows Tova the licenses of both Erik and Cameron in addition to Erik’s class ring, proving the connection between the two. Tova releasees Marcellus back into Puget Sound and Tova retires happily with her grandson, Cameron.
___________________________________________________________________________
Misc Quotes
“Humans. For the most part, you are dull and blundering. But occasionally, you can be remarkably bright creatures.”
“It seems to be a hallmark of the human species: abysmal communication skills. Not that any other species are much better, mind you, but even a herring can tell which way the school it belongs to is turning and follow accordingly. Why can humans not use their millions of words to simply tell one another what they desire?”
“Some trees aren’t meant to sprout tender new branches, but to stand stoically on the forest floor, silently decaying.”
“Secrets are everywhere. Some humans are crammed full of them. How do they not explode? It seems to be a hallmark of the human species: abysmal communication skills.”
“Ah, to be a human, for whom bliss can be achieved by mere ignorance! Here, in the kingdom of animals, ignorance is dangerous. The poor herring dropped into the tank lacks any awareness of the shark lurking below. Ask the herring whether what he doesn’t know can hurt him.”
“Tell me again about the intelligence of humans. They cannot even manage to comprehend predictable meteorological events.”
“What do you think I’m trying to do? Not my fault I was dealt a shitty hand.” “No, the deal is never anyone’s fault. But you control the way you play.”
“My neurons number half a billion, and they are distributed among my eight arms. On occasion, I have wondered whether I might have more intelligence in a single tentacle than a human does in its entire skull.”
___________________________________________________________________________