Remarkably Bright Creatures: A Novel

Tova remembers riding through them when she was a little girl, next to her older brother, Lars, in the back seat of the family’s Packard. The plaque states one additional piece of information: the average life span of a giant Pacific octopus. A train ride from Uppsala, a stiff goodbye to their father at their hotel in Gothenburg; he flew to America on an airplane, arriving several weeks ahead of the family in order to secure their paperwork and housing. Finally, he finds it on the floor, under a dirty sock that must’ve escaped this morning’s laundry roundup.