For 70-year old Tova Sullivan, working as a night cleaner at the local Sowell Bay Aquarium helps keep her busy. Between the monotony of polishing glass and sweeping floors as well as the gentle presence of sea life, she can escape the grief of losing her loved ones. Five years prior her husband died of cancer, and thirty years ago her teenage son died via suicide, or so the police say… Tova has never believed this, though. Each night, she talks to Marcellus the Giant Pacific Octopus, and each night he listens.
One night, she finds him out of his tank, tangled in cords after raiding the trash bin for a snack. After saving his life, he vows to help her in some way. Giant Pacific Octopus are, as the sign in the aquarium says, remarkably bright creatures. Although they can’t speak with humans, they have a high understanding of patterns, information, and the world around them. Throughout the book, we are given snippets of Marcellus’s internal monologue as he tries to help Tova. Will he be able to before she retires and he, being extremely old for a Giant Pacific Octopus, dies?
I was highly surprised how quickly this book captured my attention and sucked me in. It’s been ages since I’ve read a book where I’m so engrossed that I lose track of time. Although the writing isn’t particularly flowery, it has just enough detail to really world-build. The side characters felt semi-realistic, in the way it feels to hear your grandma talk about one of her lady friends: a little clichéd but by no means flat. The mysteries to be solved were predictable in just the right ways. There was no impossible plot twist or unexplained “BBC Sherlock fall” situation. I personally love when a book gets to a point where it is clear what must happen, but you don’t know which path the author will take to get there.
The perspective of Marcellus was refreshing. I looked forward to every one of his chapters, enjoying his silly comments and the author Shelby Van Pelt’s creativity. It was also pretty exciting to be visiting Monterey while reading this book and getting to see their Giant Pacific Octopuses/Octopi in person. I wonder if Van Pelt is on to something and I was quietly judged by a cephalopod that day…
Overall, this book was an extremely pleasant read. It wasn’t YA, but didn’t have anything overly explicit or uncomfortable. I’ve read some goodreads reviews that found it a bit unrealistic, but this is certainly a fictional book and you should only come here for the story and not true-to-life octopus facts. I found myself having trouble putting it down and would highly recommend.
Happy reading,
-Beppa