Unusually Intelligent Creatures

After her husband's death, Tove works as a night cleaner at the aquarium in the town of Sowell Bay, mopping floors, polishing glass, and... conversing with marine inhabitants. The job helps Tove cope with the grief she has been carrying... for thirty years - since the day her eighteen-year-old son Erik mysteriously disappeared. The aquarium has a special resident - an elderly giant octopus named Marcellus, a philosopher and observer. Marcellus is a true intellectual, bored in his cramped aquarium, and he entertains himself by solving human riddles. But he carefully hides his intellect - from everyone except Tove. Marcellus is intrigued by this woman, both sad and amusing. One day, an unlucky young man arrives in town who is also trying to solve a riddle - the riddle of his life. And Marcellus has another goal.
Shelby Van Pelt's debut novel became a sensation in the USA; this ironic and very kind story remained at the top of the bestseller lists for almost a year. This book is one of those that is guaranteed to lift your spirits and allow you to see ordinary life in a new light.