# Remarkably Bright Creatures

by Shelby Van Pelt (2022)

**Verdict:** Stayed with me — It lodged, whether or not you'd inflict it on a friend.

**Who I'd hand it to:** People who need a palet cleanser

_ebook · finished 2026-09-26_

## Fingerprint

Positions between two named poles. Neither pole is the good end.

- Place: far toward "the place is the book"
- Moral weight: between "pressing a case" and "just a story"
- Cleverness: toward "the form does the work"
- Lift: between "left me heavier" and "left me lighter"
- Friction: far toward "reads itself"
- Economy: between "compressed" and "stretched"
- Clarity: far toward "easy to hold"

## How it read

How much I wanted to keep reading, at each stage.

- Beginning: steady
- Middle: eager
- End: couldn’t stop
- Afterwards: held (stayed where it landed)

## Review

The book is a feel good story, and fun. It won't make its way into the list of modern classics, but it is fun and I found myself laughing many times. Netflix made this in a movie and it is the kind of story that is perfect for that.

Tags: octupus, Puget Sound, small town

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https://paulhasread.com/books/remarkably-bright-creatures · Paul Has Read