Listen free for 30 days
-
Remarkably Bright Creatures
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Marin Ireland, Michael Urie
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $32.62
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's Summary
A New York Times Bestseller!
A Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick!
“Remarkably Bright Creatures is a beautiful examination of how loneliness can be transformed, cracked open, with the slightest touch from another living thing.” -- Kevin Wilson, author of Nothing to See Here
For fans of A Man Called Ove, a charming, witty and compulsively listenable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope that traces a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus
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 Puget Sound over thirty years ago.
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 arms for his human captors—until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.
Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late.
Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.
You may also enjoy...
-
The Women
- A Novel
- Written by: Kristin Hannah
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Kristin Hannah
- Length: 14 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.
-
-
A must read from Kristin Hannah!
- By Danielle on 2024-02-25
Written by: Kristin Hannah
-
Lessons in Chemistry
- A Novel
- Written by: Bonnie Garmus
- Narrated by: Miranda Raison, Bonnie Garmus, Pandora Sykes
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.
-
-
Very boring
- By LW on 2023-04-05
Written by: Bonnie Garmus
-
Tom Lake
- A Novel
- Written by: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Meryl Streep
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.
-
-
Beautifully read, but a slow story to unravel.
- By Denise on 2023-08-29
Written by: Ann Patchett
-
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
- A Novel
- Written by: Gabrielle Zevin
- Narrated by: Jennifer Kim, Julian Cihi
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sam and Sadie—two college friends, often in love, but never lovers—become creative partners in a dazzling and intricately imagined world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality. It is a love story, but not one you have heard before.
-
-
Love the characters and gaming elements!
- By Katy on 2022-12-04
Written by: Gabrielle Zevin
-
The Nightingale
- Written by: Kristin Hannah
- Narrated by: Polly Stone
- Length: 17 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France—a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.
-
-
Nightingale opened my eyes
- By Trish on 2018-09-13
Written by: Kristin Hannah
-
Demon Copperhead
- A Novel
- Written by: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
- Length: 21 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses.
-
-
Brilliant narration of beautifully written story
- By Kareem on 2023-05-28
Written by: Barbara Kingsolver
-
The Women
- A Novel
- Written by: Kristin Hannah
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Kristin Hannah
- Length: 14 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.
-
-
A must read from Kristin Hannah!
- By Danielle on 2024-02-25
Written by: Kristin Hannah
-
Lessons in Chemistry
- A Novel
- Written by: Bonnie Garmus
- Narrated by: Miranda Raison, Bonnie Garmus, Pandora Sykes
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.
-
-
Very boring
- By LW on 2023-04-05
Written by: Bonnie Garmus
-
Tom Lake
- A Novel
- Written by: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Meryl Streep
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.
-
-
Beautifully read, but a slow story to unravel.
- By Denise on 2023-08-29
Written by: Ann Patchett
-
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
- A Novel
- Written by: Gabrielle Zevin
- Narrated by: Jennifer Kim, Julian Cihi
- Length: 13 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sam and Sadie—two college friends, often in love, but never lovers—become creative partners in a dazzling and intricately imagined world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality. It is a love story, but not one you have heard before.
-
-
Love the characters and gaming elements!
- By Katy on 2022-12-04
Written by: Gabrielle Zevin
-
The Nightingale
- Written by: Kristin Hannah
- Narrated by: Polly Stone
- Length: 17 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France—a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.
-
-
Nightingale opened my eyes
- By Trish on 2018-09-13
Written by: Kristin Hannah
-
Demon Copperhead
- A Novel
- Written by: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
- Length: 21 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses.
-
-
Brilliant narration of beautifully written story
- By Kareem on 2023-05-28
Written by: Barbara Kingsolver
-
The Covenant of Water
- Written by: Abraham Verghese
- Narrated by: Abraham Verghese
- Length: 31 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala’s long-existing Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time.
-
-
Stunning Book!
- By Suzanne Flaro on 2023-06-14
Written by: Abraham Verghese
-
None of This Is True
- A Novel
- Written by: Lisa Jewell
- Narrated by: Kristin Atherton, Ayesha Antoine, Louise Brealey, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Celebrating her forty-fifth birthday at her local pub, popular podcaster Alix Summer crosses paths with an unassuming woman called Josie Fair. Josie, it turns out, is also celebrating her forty-fifth birthday. They are, in fact, birthday twins. A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject for her series. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life.
-
-
Best book I’ve heard in a long, long time!
- By George K on 2023-09-05
Written by: Lisa Jewell
-
The House in the Cerulean Sea
- Written by: TJ Klune
- Narrated by: Daniel Henning
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Linus Baker is a by-the-book case worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He's tasked with determining whether six dangerous magical children are likely to bring about the end of the world. Arthur Parnassus is the master of the orphanage. He would do anything to keep the children safe, even if it means the world will burn. And his secrets will come to light.
-
-
Narrator sounds like a bad computer generated voic
- By Ryan on 2020-12-24
Written by: TJ Klune
-
Hello Beautiful
- A Novel
- Written by: Ann Napolitano
- Narrated by: Maura Tierney
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
William Waters grew up in a house silenced by tragedy, where his parents could hardly bear to look at him, much less love him—so when he meets the spirited and ambitious Julia Padavano in his freshman year of college, it’s as if the world has lit up around him. With Julia comes her family, as she and her three sisters are inseparable: Sylvie, the family’s dreamer, is happiest with her nose in a book; Cecelia is a free-spirited artist; and Emeline patiently takes care of them all.
-
-
I wept!
- By Sydney Gilchrist on 2023-05-09
Written by: Ann Napolitano
-
Unlikely Animals
- A Novel
- Written by: Annie Hartnett
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall, Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Natural-born healer Emma Starling once had big plans for her life, but she’s lost her way. A medical school dropout, she’s come back to small-town Everton, New Hampshire, to care for her father, who is dying from a mysterious brain disease. Clive Starling has been hallucinating small animals, as well as having visions of the ghost of a long-dead naturalist, Ernest Harold Baynes, once known for letting wild animals live in his house. This ghost has been giving Clive some ideas on how to spend his final days.
-
-
Interesting characters and story
- By Erica on 2024-11-08
Written by: Annie Hartnett
-
All the Colors of the Dark
- Written by: Chris Whitaker
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Muhammad Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing. When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges—Patch, a local boy, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake. Patch and those who love him soon discover that the line between triumph and tragedy has never been finer. And that their search for answers will lead them to truths that could mean losing one another.
-
-
Unusual style - but I liked it!
- By Budb on 2024-09-03
Written by: Chris Whitaker
-
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
- Written by: V. E. Schwab
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 17 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
France, 1714: In a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever - and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world. But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.
-
-
Breathtaking from start to finish
- By Kasey on 2020-10-10
Written by: V. E. Schwab
-
The Great Alone
- Written by: Kristin Hannah
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 15 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: He will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.
-
-
Domestic Violence and darama
- By Hani on 2019-09-22
Written by: Kristin Hannah
-
The Briar Club
- A Novel
- Written by: Kate Quinn
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 15 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Washington, DC, 1950. Everyone keeps to themselves at Briarwood House, a down-at-the-heels all-female boardinghouse in the heart of the nation’s capital where secrets hide behind white picket fences. But when the lovely, mysterious widow Grace March moves into the attic room, she draws her oddball collection of neighbors into unlikely friendship. Grace’s weekly attic-room dinner parties and window-brewed sun tea become a healing balm on all their lives, but she hides a terrible secret of her own.
-
-
Recipes. Dumb!!
- By JSR on 2024-09-06
Written by: Kate Quinn
-
Yellowface
- A Novel
- Written by: R. F. Kuang
- Narrated by: Helen Laser
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars: same year at Yale, same debut year in publishing. But Athena’s a cross-genre literary darling, and June didn’t even get a paperback release. Nobody wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks. So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers to the British and French war efforts during World War I.
-
-
Am I missing something?
- By Katherine Provost on 2023-07-11
Written by: R. F. Kuang
-
The Measure
- A Novel
- Written by: Nikki Erlick
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It seems like any other day. You wake up, drink a cup of coffee, and head out. But today, when you open your front door, waiting for you is a small wooden box. The contents of this mysterious box tells you the exact number of years you will live. From suburban doorsteps to desert tents, every person on every continent receives the same box. In an instant, the world is thrust into a collective frenzy. Where did these boxes come from? What do they mean? Is there truth to what they promise?
-
-
I don’t know why I bothered to finish this
- By Sheelagh on 2023-01-17
Written by: Nikki Erlick
-
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
- A Novel
- Written by: Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo, Julia Whelan, Robin Miles
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now? Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband, David, has left her, and her career has stagnated.
-
-
Brilliant Voice Acting, Not So Great Storytelling
- By Gigi on 2021-12-03
Written by: Taylor Jenkins Reid
What the critics say
"This fantastical debut audiobook will enchant listeners. Gifted vocal artist Marin Ireland portrays Tova, a 70-year-old widow with a heart of gold whose teenage son died under mysterious circumstances 30 years earlier. Ireland's encouraging tones suit Tova, whose compassion touches everyone, and every creature, in her small Washington town.... A fanciful and enjoyable listening experience." (AudioFile)
What listeners say about Remarkably Bright Creatures
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Louise Nicholson
- 2023-01-02
it was a wonderful feel-good story!
I loved that the octopus had a voice. I enjoyed every bit of this book. You won't regret this one!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 2022-10-03
Beautiful Story
This is such a lovely heart-warming story. You will feel pretty sure you know how it’s going to end, but you are never sure how the author is going to get there. If you do feel sure, you’re probably not correct.
I loved the story and the performances are excellent. Thank you for the entertainment!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Candice Simpson
- 2023-01-09
LOVE!
I loved this book! I am so happy I read it! I will be recommending this one for sure.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Stephanie
- 2022-12-13
A remarkably touching novel
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The performance was wonderful. I especially enjoyed the Scottish accent for Ethan. I didn’t want this to end and found myself tearing up many times while listening.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Judith
- 2023-01-17
A Unique book
I loved listening to this story….it’s nice to hear something that’s both sad and happy. The ending is great!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 2023-01-22
A beautiful story
A beautifully written and realized story about love, grief and an octopus. Listened to it in one day
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Maria Boychuk
- 2023-02-24
Uplifting
This wasn’t my norm but it was a great story and left me feeling happy and hopeful.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Snow goddess
- 2023-06-13
A Fun Story with an Interesting POV Character
An enjoyable story that weaves together diverse but related narratives into a satisfying whole. The octopus, Marcellus, is quite entertaining.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 2023-06-27
Beautiful!
A very well written book with excellent readers. Something that will stay with you for a while. It made my heart happy.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Suzanne Flaro
- 2023-06-14
I Love this Book!
Multiperspectivity serves this book well. Seeing the world through the eyes of various characters keeps the listener on the edge of their seat. I thought I was going to cry and not too many words would pass and I would be laughing out loud. I took such pleasure in experiencing this book. Who would of thought that an Octopus could be that interesting??
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!