Rakestraw Books presents Shelby Van Pelt & Simon Van Booy in Conversation

Rakestraw Books is delighted to welcome bestselling novelist Shelby Van Pelt as we celebrate the paperback publication of Remarkably Bright Creatures. She will be joined in conversation by novelist Simon Van Booy (Sipsworth) on Thursday, 15 May 2025 at 7 PM. It's going to be a marvelous evening that book group readers will not want to miss.

Remarkably Bright Creatures is a charming, witty and compulsively readable 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.

Join us for a powerful conversation between two Rakestraw favorites about aging, loss, and the healing power of friendship. Both Shelby Van Pelt and Simon Van Booy will sign books following the event.

This ticket is a two for one. You get to bring a friend, but you will only pay for one paperback copy of Remarkably Bright Creatures. We will have additional books for sale.

--

About Sipsworth: Following the loss of her husband and son, Helen Cartwright returns to the village of her childhood after living abroad for six decades. Her only wish is to die quickly and without fuss. She retreats into her home on Westminster Crescent, becoming a creature of routine and habit: "Each day was an impersonation of the one before with only a slight shuffle--as though even for death there is a queue." Then, one cold winter night, a chance encounter with a mouse sets Helen on a surprising journey. Over the course of two weeks in a small English town, this reclusive widow discovers an unexpected reason to live. Sipsworth is a reminder that there is always reason for hope. No matter what we have planned for ourselves, sometimes life has plans of its own. With profound compassion, Simon Van Booy illuminates not only a deep friendship forged between two lonely creatures, but the reverberations of goodness that ripple out from that unique bond.

Also check out other Arts events in Danville, Literary Art events in Danville, Workshops in Danville.