Cleopatra and Frankenstein

𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐎𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐑𝐀 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐈𝐍 by debut author Coco Mellors has the dangerous distinction of being compared to such books as 𝘔𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 by Emma Straub and 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 by Sally Rooney. Those are big shoes to fill, but for me Mellors has done it. So, let me say right at the top that I thought her writing was simply exquisite. A pure pleasure to read. Bravo!⁣ ⁣ Cleo and Frank meet while leaving a New Year’s Eve party in 2007. She’s 24 and on a student visa that’s expiring in six months. He’s the 45ish owner of a successful New York marketing firm. Theirs is a whirlwind romance that ends in a marriage that takes most everyone by surprise including themselves. That’s the basic setup for 𝘊𝘭𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯, but the story is really what happens after: how two people who barely knew each other can make a go of their marriage, or not. It’s also about how the people in their lives feel about the couple and how that impacts their relationship. ⁣ ⁣ This is a story that delves into how two people can truly love each other even when they don’t seem to be able to fit together. It’s a story steeped in excess and touched by mental illness. It’s a love story, but not a romance. It’s dark, but not crushingly so. It’s hopeful, but not overtly. It’s a book I highly recommend to fans of Sally Rooney or even to those who find Rooney just a little too dark. 𝘊𝘭𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯 will give you the same feel, but won't leave you crushed. I loved it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫⁣ ⁣ Thanks to @bloomsburypublishing for an electronic ARC of #cleopatraandfrankenstein.

What a refreshing take on life, love, and heartbreak. I have been seeing this book everywhere and I finally decided to pick it up to see what all the fuss was about. It did not disappoint. This book is beautifully written and focuses on a group of friends that are all just trying to do the best they can with what life has dealt them. This book is character driven so if you are looking for a beautifully story about loss and love this book is for you. Side note: it totally give off Gatsby vibes

Well, this was definitely A LOT I definitely feel like this book was necessary for me and it could be for a lot of people Love in its most pure, basic and complex form, and life too. I wouldn’t say I loved this book, I started to hate it but I feel like once you get into the psychology of these relationships specially the main one, Cleo and Frank you can’t just hate this book, it’s way more complex than that, not your usual conform romance, this was rough, laughable, emotional, dramatic and again, rough. I did wish I got more of some specific characters but it’s understandable they went as far as they did in this book. 3 1/2 stars I think it’s fair, I did love the writing, very different than what I been used too, very fun too. But I did sometimes get kinda tired which made me stop and pick a different book and consequently I forgot some characters or happenings in this book that made be go back some pages. I would read it again, and I also would recommend depending on the person and their life situation at the moment.

I don’t remember the last time a book brought me to tears. This story is about real people, real love, the complexity of human emotions. It was beautifully written, speaks to all of us who have experienced difficult upbringings and that as adults have to learn how to navigate relationships. Highly recommended, just be ready to feel a lot of emotions.

I read this fast. Sorry to be self satisfied, but I knew how it would end. But I didn’t feel contempt for the characters. I somewhat liked them all. There were some nuances. The book also showed them mercy which is what I wanted this time. No book gets 5 stars. There is always something off or non functional. These people were too glittering. I have met such people and I know to give them a wide berth in real life.

Great book. Real characters, tough themes, amazing writing. There was not one paragraph that I glazed over. I devoured every word. There were multiple lines that I laughed at, which is rare. I recognize humor and jokes in books but it truly is another tier to make me laugh out loud. Sometimes I feel like good books have a great beginning and middle, but lack an ending that make the entirety of the book great, but all three parts of the book were excellent. My one gripe - the copy I got, which is the one I wanted and is very beautiful by the way, was really stiff. The pages were thick and holding a 400+ page book became unforgiving at times and made my hands hurt when holding it. Something small but rather noticeable. Buy it anyways.

The book held my interest well enough but I really disliked most of the characters. I need to relate to at least one character in a book and there was not that character in this book

I was so captured by the writing and these characters I finished this book in just a few days. I didn’t want it to end but I also couldn’t stop. It made me cry, it made me laugh (lots) and it made me appreciate what I have. Highly recommend!

is nice

Great book , great read

Ottimo

1) Short Verdict 🗽💔 A sleek, compulsively readable New-York novel about desire, money, and the stories we tell ourselves. Mellors balances romance and wreckage with an ensemble-driven, “no neat endings” energy — intoxicating and bruising at once. Los Angeles Times 2) Literary Analysis (Themes, Style, Form) 🔎 Themes: love vs. self-preservation; class and privilege; addiction and mental health; found-family vs. blood ties. Form & POV: Though centered on Cleo (a 24-year-old British artist) and Frank (a forty-something ad man), chapters rotate through friends and family; two striking interludes switch to first-person from Eleanor’s perspective, reframing the marriage from the outside. This ensemble structure widens the novel’s moral lens and keeps the narrative aerated and propulsive. shelf-awareness.com La Crosse Public Library Style: Crisp dialogue, snapshot scenes, and mood-rich city detail; the prose favors vibe and character over plot machinery, by design. Los Angeles Times 3) Placement in Literature & Culture 📚 A buzzy debut that sat squarely in the zeitgeist (TikTok/Bookstagram chatter) while earning a broadly Positive critical consensus. File it near contemporary relationship fiction that probes intimacy without tidy resolutions. Book Marks Washington Square News 4) Trivia & Background 🗂️ Tagline: The UK campaign leaned on the Sunday Times hook “the hottest new book.” The Times UK paperback: 2 February 2023, Fourth Estate/HarperCollins (ISBN 000842179X; 384 pp). Amazon Waterstones US publication: Bloomsbury (hardcover Feb 2022); widely reviewed (LA Times). Los Angeles Times 5) Final Take & Rating 🏁⭐ A glittering, many-voiced portrait of love’s aftershocks — tender, cutting, and very hard to put down. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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