Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

 In June, we met at Laura's home where Linda hosted. Linda had prepared

for the discussion and being a retired Literature teacher she did a fantastic job in 

leading. This was also the author's debut novel and she grew up in the Pacific

Northwest where the novel is set. She was inspired to write this novel when she

saw a video of an Octopus opening a locked box in order to get a treat, The idea

of Marcellus the  main character who is a remarkably bright creature came to her,

The story is about an Octopus who is captured and lives in an aquarium but

he is bored and makes nightly excursions out of his tank to get  more delectable

food items from the other tanks as well as some Chinese food he happens upon.

Marcellus observes humans everyday and has many wry observations of their

behavior, 

He forms a relationship with Tova, a  grieving cleaner who has lost her son,

husband and brother. She has no family left and is an inscrutable, strong Swedish

lady who is in her 70's, Marcellus helps solve the mystery of her son's death.

He also connects her with her grandson Cameron who is searching for his

unknown father, Cameron is a hapless young man who up to this point has not

been very responsible in life. With the help of Ethan, a gregarious local store keeper

and Tova who both show him kindness and love he is learning to do things right.

You have to love this book and the Giant Pacific Octopus who risks his short

life to help all these humans some of which he says are remarkably bright creatures.

Linda had a variety of salads such as chicken, eggs, grapes, and broccoli. She ended

with a wonderful pie and fudge. This was all accompanied by wine while we sat at

Laura's beautifully set table. The dynamic duo of Linda and Laura set the

bar high for Donna who is our next hostess. She chose a book called The

Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins.

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

In May, we met at Madeleine's home to discuss her book

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. This book is set

in the 1960's when women were not well respected in the

male dominated scientific workplace. Elizabeth Zott is a

research chemist working at Hastings laboratory. She is

treated more like a secretary rather than an equal except

for Calvin Evans a brilliant Nobel prize winner who falls

in love with her mind. They have a wonderful relationship

but then he dies leaving her with an unexpected daughter.

Elizabeth has to leave her research position because her

boss molests her and she is struggling  as a single mom

to raise her very bright daughter. Bonnie starts to host

a TV cooking show called Supper at Six which becomes

a huge hit because it begins to empower women to live

their best lives and to pursue their dreams. 

We were encouraged to share stories of personal experiences

in the workplace that might have been similar to Elizabeth's.

This book was witty, and sometimes even hilarious. It was

the author's debut novel. The book was full of charm, energy

and hope. It tackles feminism, resilience and features a great

dog. It was a book to savor.

Madeleine had nibbles for our discussion and lots of

wine to accompany our many Cosco treats of sandwiches,

salads and cookies. 

Linda chose a book called Remarkably Bright Creatures

for our next read.