Widowed seventy-year-old Tova Sullivan fills up some of her empty hours by working as the night cleaner at Sowell Bay Aquarium in Washington state. Tova's 18-year-old son Erik vanished 30 years ago, when he was boating in Puget Sound - a tragedy the police called a suicide; and Tova later lost her husband Will to cancer.
As Tova goes about her work she greets the animals in the aquarium, saying hello to the bluegills, Japanese crabs, sharp-nosed sculpin, wolf eels, anemones, starfish, seahorses, and her favorite - the giant Pacific octopus, called Marcellus.
We learn about Marcellus from his own lips (so to speak), because the octopus narrates part of the novel.
Marcellus starts by telling us this is day 1,299 of his captivity and the plaque near his tank says octopuses are remarkably bright creatures who can camouflage themselves to match their background (yes, Marcellus can read).
Marcellus regularly sneaks out of his tank at night, to snack on some of his fellow exhibits. As Marcellus informs us, he can live 'in the air' for 18 minutes, which is usually plenty of time for Marcellus to go from one tank to another.
One evening, though, Marcellus gets tangled in a mass of power cords on the floor and can't get free. Luckily, Tova frees Marcellus in time to save his life, and an octopus-human bond is forged. In other words, Marcellus and Tova become friends.
The novel is told from the perspective of three characters: Tova, Marcellus, and Cameron, a thirty-year-old Californian who seems unable to find his feet. After being abandoned by his single mother, Cameron was raised by his easygoing Aunt Jeanne, and though Cameron is a bright fellow, he can't seem to keep a job or a girlfriend.
As the story unfolds, alternating chapters follow the main protagonists as they go about their day-to-day lives.
✿ Tova: In addition to working at the aquarium, Tova regularly lunches with a group of long-time friends called the Knit-Wits;
shops at a grocery store whose Scottish owner, Ethan, has a crush on her;
deals with the death of her estranged brother Lars, who's been living in a luxurious retirement home;
and (sort of) adopts a gray cat who scratches at her door looking for food.
No matter what, Tova always has Erik at the back of her mind, wondering what happened to her son three decades ago.
✿ Cameron: At loose ends after being fired from his job and thrown out by his girlfriend, Cameron comes across some keepsakes that send him from California to Sowell Bay, where Cameron hopes to learn more about his family.
As Cameron goes about his business in Washington state, he meets Ethan, Marcellus and Tova. (I think we can all empathize with Cameron's shock when he spies Marcellus having 'a stroll' outside his tank.) Though Cameron is something of a ne'er-do-well, he inspires empathy in the hearts of Ethan and Tova, who try to help him out.
✿ Marcellus: As Marcellus relates his portion of the story he provides a countdown of his days in captivity. Marcellus is aware that a giant Pacific octopus lives for about four years, which gives him five months from the time we meet him. Marcellus puts his days to good use, sampling the goodies in the aquarium; philosophizing about this and that; and helping his friend Tova.
When assessing the characters, I'd have to say my favorites are Tova and Ethan, who seem like two very decent people. Cameron, on the other hand, has a sense of entitlement I find off-putting, though he evolves into a better man over the course of the story.
I'm purposely being a bit vague so as not to give away spoilers, but I CAN say the story is amusing, touching, uplifting, and ultimately satisfying.
All that said, I didn't love the book as much as many other people, perhaps because Cameron irritated me a bit too much. Still, it's a story that's worth reading.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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