This fall’s Lake Forest Reads selection, Remarkably Bright Creatures is author Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel, published by Harper Collins and first released in 2022.
Kate Buckardt, head of adult services at the Lake Forest Library, coordinates the Lake Forest Reads one book, one community program.
Friday’s Meet the Author event, took place at the Gorton Center, where Davis Schneiderman, author and executive director of the Krebs Center for the Humanities at Lake Forest College, led a conversation with Van Pelt, followed by a Q&A session and book signing.
“Our criteria over the years has been to pick a current title once a year with the potential for great discussions, and for great programming on related topics,” Buckardt said.
“In Remarkably Bright Creatures, the friendship between Tova, a widowed aquarium worker, and Marcellus, an octopus living in captivity, has captured the imagination of readers, in a moving story with a strong message about family and community, full of humor and hope,” Buckardt added.
Remarkably Bright Creatures was an instant New York Times Bestseller and has sold over two million copies in the United States alone. In 2023, the book received the Heartland Prize for Fiction and the McLaughlin-Esstman-Stearns First Novel Prize from The Writer’s Center, according to the author’s bio.
The Lake Forest Reads website describes Remarkably Bright Creatures as a book for fans of A Man Called Ove, a luminous debut novel about a widow’s unlikely friendship with a giant Pacific octopus reluctantly residing at the local aquarium — and the truths she finally uncovers about her son’s disappearance 30 years ago.
After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in the Puget Sound over 30 years ago.
As she works, Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine, but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight tentacles for his human captors — until he forms an unlikely friendship with Tova.
Van Pelt says her inspiration for the character of Tova, was based on her grandmother, Anna.
“My grandmother was one of those people whose shell was never cracked, she never wanted to be a burden and this was a guiding principle in her life, the character of Tova, deals with her grief in a solitary way, keeping busy and not wanting to lean on those around her,” Van Pelt said.
Born and raised in Tacoma, Washington, Van Pelt now resides in Wheaton, Illinois.
Buckardt says, Lake Forest Reads, was established in 2012, to encourage Lake Foresters to come together each fall to read one book to foster literacy, a culture of reading, and a sense of community.
Schneiderman has partnered with the Lake Forest Library on this community event for the past 12 years.
During his remarks Schneiderman said that Marcellus is more than just an animal narrator, he is an astute observer of human nature, and often understands humans better than they understand themselves.
Buckardt says, a month-long series of library events and activities in October, focused on themes in the novel, before culminating in Friday’s Meet the Author event.
Related programming included: four book discussions with leaders including Lake Forest Librarian Judy Levin, and Lake Forest Open Land’s Julia Lunn, an octopus wind-chime activity and take-home kit, an underwater-themed watercolor painting class, an octopus paper craft in collaboration with Youth and Adult Services, and an ocean-themed story time in the Children’s Library.
Other events included a presentation on octopus intelligence from the University of Chicago Ragsdale Lab and a screening of the film, The Shape of Water (2017), at the Gorton Center.
According to Buckardt, several community organizations have joined Lake Forest Library this year in presenting Lake Forest Reads, including the Friends of Lake Forest Library, Lake Forest College, Gorton Center, Dickinson Hall and Lake Forest Book Store, the official bookstore of the event.
Lake Forest Library also hosted a 10 a.m. workshop with Van Pelt on Saturday, November 2, for a presentation about her writing process and how she keeps it playful.
Van Pelt says that Netflix is developing the movie adaptation of Remarkably Bright Creatures, which is expected to star Sally Field.
Margaret McIntire of Lake Bluff attended Friday’s event.
“My mother turned me on to this book originally, when she was going through an ‘octopus phase’ – I found this story to be a tender exploration of human loneliness and healing,” McIntire said.
“Charming, compulsively readable, and full of wit, this is a book for those of us looking for some joy,” Buckardt said.
Gina Grillo is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.
