Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel
Van Pelt, Shelby
Citation (APA): Van Pelt, S. (2022). Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel [Kindle Android version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com
The Silver-Dollar Scar
Page 9
She understands what it means to never be able to stop moving, lest you find yourself unable to breathe.
Falsehood Cookies
Page 19
sometimes she still feels as if she’s a mistaken jigsaw piece who found her way into the wrong puzzle.
Page 20
Once your soul was soaked through with grief, any more simply ran off, overflowed, the way maple syrup on Saturday- morning pancakes
Day 1,306 of My Captivity
Page 47
Why can humans not use their millions of words to simply tell one another what they desire?
Day 1,319 of My Captivity
Page 96
Such are the secrets the sea holds. What I would not give to explore them again. If I could go back in time, I would collect all of it— the sneaker sole, the shoelace, the buttons, and the twin key. I would give it all to her.
Day 1,322 of My Captivity
Page 136
You know I have three hearts, yes? This must seem strange, considering that humans, and most other species, have only one. I wish I could claim a higher level of spiritual being on account of my multiple vascular chambers, but alas, two of my hearts basically control my lungs and gills. The other is called my organ heart, and it powers everything else.
Conscience Does Make Cowards of Us All
Page 177
“Conscience does make cowards of us all.” He feels himself start to redden. How does he always manage to drop this nerdy shit into conversation? He starts to explain, “It’s just some dumb Shakespeare quote. It’s from—” “Hamlet,” she says softly. “It was one of my son’s favorites.”
Day 1,329 of My Captivity
Page 185
Ah, to be a human, for whom bliss can be achieved by mere ignorance! Here, in the kingdom of animals, ignorance is dangerous. The poor herring dropped into the tank lacks any awareness of the shark lurking below. Ask the herring whether what he doesn’t know can hurt him.
Page 186
But you would do well to believe me when I tell you this: the young male who has recently taken over sanitation duties is a direct descendant of the cleaning woman with the injured foot.
Day 1,341 of My Captivity
Page 197
Humans are the only species who subvert truth for their own entertainment. They call them jokes. Sometimes puns. Say one thing when you mean another. Laugh, or feign laughter out of politeness.
Some Trees
Page 237
Cat’s afternoon nap comes to an end when a horsefly hurls itself against the window, enticing the sleeping gray hunter into an earnest, if fundamentally pointless, hunt. Tova watches the cat leap at the window, pawing the glass, as the fly hovers, unconcerned, outside. “I know how you feel,” she says, with a sympathetic nod. To know something is there, yet be unable to grasp it, is torture indeed.
Day 1 of My Freedom
Page 350
Humans. For the most part, you are dull and blundering. But occasionally, you can be remarkably bright creatures.