A Remarkably Bright Creature-inspired reading list
I am a crier.
Not the dignified, single-tear type. I mean the kind where something gets me real, and the waterworks just keep going. Books, movies, even those tear-jerking, heart-warming advertisements—I have cried at many of them. I've teared up even at some work performance reviews. It's embarrassing, yes!
So when I tell you that I sobbed watching Remarkably Bright Creatures yesterday—I mean that I ugly-cried so hard.
photo from Netflix.com
What got me: it's three different characters, all alone in their own way, who somehow find each other and help each other through. And one of them is an octopus. Marcellus. An elderly, deeply opinionated octopus living in an aquarium, observing humans and finding them—mostly—lacking.
Did you know octopuses have the intelligence equivalent of a 3-year-old child? So let's eat less takoyaki. Marcellus is the reason I picked up the book, if I'm being honest. I read three chapters and decided that the human storylines would make me wait too long for him, and put it down.
If RBC broke something open in you—that particular mix of grief and warmth and "how is this creature making me feel this way"—here are five books I'd put in your hands:
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The Formidable Miss Cassidy A Scottish governess arrives in 1890s Singapore to care for a young girl whose family is being terrorised by Southeast Asia's most terrifying hantu—and it turns out Miss Cassidy has faced down worse things in her life than a pontianak. If you loved the found-family thread and the warmth that sneaks up on you, she will finish you off. Set against a Singapore that feels real and particular and lived-in, with an extremely satisfying middle-aged romance on the side. Meet Miss Cassidy |
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Lion City A short story collection where all the animals at the Zoo are robots, a secret terminal in Changi Airport caters to the gods, and a prince falls in love with a crocodile. If you're drawn to Singapore mythology and folklore but want it strange and a little dark, this is that. Sixteen stories, no two alike, all of them will make you go "wait, what?" at least once. Explore Lion City |
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Swimming Lessons Michelle's older sister Meredith is lying comatose in a hospital ward. As she tries to piece herself together, something starts following her—she can't quite put a finger on what. If coming-of-age stories that sit at the intersection of grief, the supernatural and figuring out who you are sound like your thing, this one will get you. The waterworks are a real possibility. Dive In |
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Finding Chopin Nineteen-year-old Finn's final-year photography project pulls him into excavating fragments of the past—and his mother Emerald becomes his reluctant guide through memories, some vivid, some buried. If you're drawn to stories where family history unravels slowly and the revelations hit quietly, Finding Chopin is that. The kind of book you finish and then just sit with for a while. Piece It Together |
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The Gatekeeper When young medusa Ria accidentally turns an entire village to stone, she flees with her sister to Nelroote—an underground settlement for non-humans pushed to the margins of society. She becomes their gatekeeper, seeking redemption, until a man from above stumbles in and threatens everything she's built. If you love outcasts-finding-their-own-world stories, with real emotional stakes, this is a good one. Enter Nelroote |
Now Open for Preorders
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Terry Tan's Peranakan Classics Terry Tan learnt to cook at twelve, standing beside his mother in a Peranakan kitchen. He went on to write 45 Asian cookbooks, run a cookery school in London, and win the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards—twice—for best Asian cookbook in the world. Now he's back with a revamped edition of his first Peranakan cookbook, drawing on family recipes with a few contemporary twists. If you've always wanted to cook Peranakan food properly but didn't know where to start, this is the one to begin with. Clear instructions, authentic flavours, no fuss. Preorder an autographed copy |
Me at the end of this week:
Warmly,
Chloe
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