What a sweet and quirky book. The main characters are Cameron, who is searching for a dad he never knew, Tova, a widow who has also lost her only son, and Marcellus, an octopus. I was smitten by the smartness of the creature and the formed relationships by all of the character. I think the book could have been a tad shorter but overall I really enjoyed it.

This was my first book to read by this author but I cannot wait to read more! The characters stay with you long after you finish the book. Such a great story and fast read. Highly recommend!!!

I’m not sure if there is a specific genre for what this book is – lachrymose lyrical, tearjerker tale, heartwarming something something to fortify one’s faith in the innate goodness of people, etc, etc. – but this is definitely one of those. Normally, I stay away from these things, but this one charmed me with its cephalopodan charm, reached out and grabbed me with its eight tentacles, you know how it goes…you meet an octopus and you are just mesmerized.
And Marcellus is no ordinary octopus, he is a grand Pacific octopus, and smart even for his species, like an Einstein of octopuses, but with more emotional intelligence. Marcellus is on the last days of his life span, tragically short at only four years, and decides to use his time to help some clueless humans sort out their lives.
Cue in the humans…and that’s where the book can’t hold water. Or whatever the expression ought to be, since paper and water holding don’t seem like a great combination. There are two principal human characters – Tova, a charming industrious 70-year-old lady, who despite having plenty of money, works as a night cleaner at the aquarium where Marcellus lives for having something to do and Cameron, a 30-year-old loser. Tova has recently decided to rethink her self-reliance, sell her place and go live in a fancy old peoplecommunity.
Wait, you say, Tova got a proper description and Cameron got one word? Yes, because first and foremost Cameron is a loser. And the novel’s greatest downfall. Because this genre is supposed to have loveable losers who are reformed through magical intervention of miraculous randomness and kindness of strangers. Well, here the author forgot or failed to make Cameron lovable. Instead, he comes across as a whiny selfish brat who momma (boohoo) abandoned him when he was young – an excuse he used throughout his life to justify failure included but not limited to...taking advantage of a college scholarship, holding down a job, having a place to live, and so on. Mind you, Cameron wasn’t ever in the system, he was taken in, taken care of and loved by an aunt, it’s just that he’s never been able to shrug off that teenage angst.
Cameron is smart, so smart, we know this because we are constantly told this, by him himself and others, yet the only way his smarts present themselves in through occasional random trivia. Other than that, the guy’s a loser through and through. Obnoxious, annoying, whiny kind.
And so, when Cameron finds himself unmoored once more, he decides to track down his mystery father, a father he decides on scant evidence to be a local man of not inconsiderable wealth, and demand years of back child support payment. Yeah, smart plan, Cameron, we can see why everyone says you’re a genius.
Anyway, Cameron sets off on his quest, promptly finds himself penniless, has to borrow money off his aunt, and then ends up in the same small Washington state town as Tova and Marcellus. And wouldn’t you know it, life smiles on Cameron the entire way – people are feeding him, giving him places to live, jobs to do, etc. Presumably, that’s the heartwarming thing at play. Cameron does his best but, of course, ends up blowing up every chance he is given, until the (genuinely) smart octopus shows him and the kindly old Tova the error of their ways. In a plot twist, surprising to no one smart, their connection is revealed, the balloons are released, and a happy ending unrolls itself. Tada.
All in all, pretty basic proceedings, albeit objectively decently written, the bag of immature bricks that is Cameron just about sinks the entire production.
And the other thing…this genre, I just don’t care for it. it seems to strive for a certain degree of verisimilitude, albeit heavily buttered with niceness and it just doesn’t work, life doesn’t work that way.
I read plenty of speculative fiction, so I’m not stranger to altered realities, but this reality isn’t so much altered as it is skewed, uncanny valley style. It’s almost real, but then again it isn’t. This drama is to life what romcoms are to love - rubbish creating unreasonable expectations. The book to go...awww over, like the youtube videos of babies or something, look how cute. There’s obviously a market for this sort of thing and I’m sure this book will do just fine, but, as readable as it innately was, it kind of pissed this reader off. Which resulted in a ridiculously long review. Sorry. Not sorry. Anyway, it read quickly. Thanks Netgalley.

This was a sweet, earnest tale of lost family and interspecies friendship. Tova, a widow grieving the death of her son and husband, is the janitor at an aquarium where Marcellus, a deeply intelligent Octopus, lives. They befriend one another and find that they are linked in an unexpected way. An ensemble cast round out the story, with a shopkeeper and boy road tripping to find his father also playing a part in the mystery of Erik's death. Remarkably Bright Creatures was heartbreaking in many places, and genuinely funny in others. The middle section, when Cameron has arrived in Sowell Bay and is making friends, began to drag, but the narrative picked up speed again when Tova and Cameron's friendship blossomed. The writing is sharp but not overly written and not too ~literary~, making this an easy read. I'd recommend this to anyone interested in family drama, sea creatures, and quirky settings. A great beach read!