By: Shelby Van Pelt
Libby audiobook 11 hours
Read by: Marin Ireland and Michael Urie
Published: 2022
Genre: mostly realistic fiction
What an engaging story! I loved Tova, the strong-though-tiny widow who cleans at the aquarium. I really liked the octopus Marcellus (and the vocal work of Urie) even though he came across as supercilious at times. Cameron was a bit too much of a deadbeat for me . . . though he got better as the story went on.
I was surprised to see that it's being made into a movie . . . and also that this is Van Pelt's debut novel. It was interesting to think about Tova's life - her Swedish father building the house she lived in, her husband's illness and death, the loss of their son Eric at age 18 . . . the author did a nice job making connections throughout the book.
For some reason, I really liked the Grateful Dead t-shirt part of the book. I really disliked Tova's "KnitWit" girlfriends, especially Barb. I wish the author had described some aspects of the characters lives in more depth. Aunt Jean was quirky, to say the least. And Ethan's back story seemed slim. But overall, a very delightful book. Marcellus' chapters really enhanced the story.
I found a scrap of paper after I posted this six days ago. Nothing big, but I wanted to note that Cameron's band was "Moth Sausage," and I loved that Ethan found a shirt with their logo. Early on, I had noted "loser" by Cameron's name. I just didn't like him even though his bio mom had dumped him on her sister, his Aunt Jean. It's hard to have empathy for someone who is a lazy slob with a "poor me" attitude. Tova, on the other hand, was amazing. Interesting how things turn around.
No comments:
Post a Comment