Remarkable Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt

 

Characters
Aquarium	Sowell Bay
Marcellus McSquiddles   Pippa the Grippa   Tora Sullivan Will – husband, deceased Erik – son, deceased Lars – brother, Charter Village, deceased   Terry – runs aquarium   Cameron Cassmore Aunt Jeanne – raised Cameron Daphne Cassmore - mother	Knit-Wits Mary Ann Minetti Janice Kim Barb Vanderhoof   Ethan Mack – owns Shop-Way   Adam Wright – high school friend of Erik’s   Simon Brinks – high school friend of Daphne’s, Cameron’s suspected father   Avery – owns surf shop Marco – son   Brad – Cameron’s friend Elizabeth – wife, expecting

 

For Discussion

NOTE: Page numbers are from the hardback edition.

1.       Discuss the various characters, including Marcellus.  How important was he to the novel’s popularity? 

2.       Marcellus was given many human-like skills, for example: he could open puzzle boxes, tell fingerprints apart, remember faces, use tools, and see the differences in human gaits.  How many of these things can you do?

3.       How do you think Erik died – suicide, accident?  Does it matter to the story to know?  How difficult would it be for Tova and Cameron not to know?

4.       At what point in the novel did everything start to fall into place for you?

5.       Do you think Daphne is alive somewhere?  Simon told Cameron, “you can’t fix someone who is determined to stay broken” (page 306).  If she is still alive, do you think she will want to be found?

6.       Cameron was raised by his mother’s sister, Aunt Jeanne.  Should she have told him more about his mother?  For example, he never knew he was from Sowell Bay until he was about 30.

7.       In regards to being “fixed,” how was Cameron different from his mother, Daphne, in that regard?

8.       What do you think contributed to Cameron turning around and returning to Sowell Bay to “do things the right way” (page 340).

9.       Were you sorry Tova sold the family home or did that turn out for the best?

10.   Did you like the ending?  Was it too neatly wrapped up?   Were you happy for Marcellus to be free for his death?  Cameron found the hidden space in Erik’s bedroom – was that realistic?

11.   On the one hand this was a fun book, but on the other it addressed many serious issues such as the loss of a loved one including a child, aging and how to handle that, loneliness, drug issues, etc.  How well do you think the author accomplished both entertaining the reader and addressing these issues?