This delightful and heartwarming story by Shelby Van Pelt was such a pleasure to read. The main character at the beginning is Tova Sullivan, a woman in her 70's living in a small coastal town north of Seattle. She lost her 18-year-old son in a boating accident (although some claim it was suicide) and her husband and brother have recently died. Her only friends are a handful of women who used to gather for knitting and called themselves the Knit-Wits. But she also converses with the creatures at the local aquarium where she now works as an evening janitor; this provides some solace for her increasingly lonely existence. One creature in particular, Marcellus the Giant Pacific Octopus, is especially engaging and he gets the chance to offer his own perspective on human behavior and his own impending death in several chapters. There are two missing persons mysteries that carry through the story. How did Tova's son actually die? And, as we are introduced to 30-year-old Cameron, whose mother left him with an aunt in a trailer park when he was 9 and never returned. When Cameron finds a picture of his mom with a man he recognizes from newspaper stories--a successful businessman by all accounts--Cameron takes off to find his father, get years of unpaid child support from the man, and start a new life. Of course Cameron tracks his father down, living in the same small town that Tova does, and their lives collide. Marcus feels that he knows something about the solution to these mysteries and desperately tries to help his friend Tova before he himself dies. People, in all their strengths and frailties, are revealed in this touching story. And you might get a little surprise about the title at the end.
The Washington Post had this to say, "What makes the book so memorable and tender is Van Pelt’s depiction of Tova and her insistence on aging like a responsible person should....Tova won’t have anyone fussing over her — especially ... Ethan, the ... grocery store owner who’s been sweet on her for ages." NPR's Maureen Corrigan had her doubts about reading the book, but notes that "its weird premise kept calling to me." She calls the book "strange and freshly-imagined." Kirkus concludes their review as follows: "Although Tova and other characters are dealing with serious problems like loss, grief, and aging, Van Pelt maintains a light and often warmly humorous tone. Tova’s quest to figure out what happened to Erik weaves her back into other people’s lives—and occasionally into someone’s tentacles. A debut novel about a woman who befriends an octopus is a charming, warmhearted read."
An update (1/9/24) from The New York Times about this book's remarkable success and it's staying power.
No comments:
Post a Comment