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Cleopatra and Frankenstein
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Fiction (2022),Nominee for Readers' Favorite Debut Novel (2022)For readers of Modern Lovers and Conversations with Friends, an addictive, humorous, and poignant debut novel about the shock waves caused by one couple's impulsive marriage.
Twenty-four-year-old British painter Cleo has escaped from England to New York and is still finding her place in the sleepless city when, a few months before her student visa ends, she meets Frank. Twenty years older and a self-made success, Frank's life is full of all the excesses Cleo's lacks. He offers her the chance to be happy, the freedom to paint, and the opportunity to apply for a Green Card. But their impulsive marriage irreversibly changes both their lives, and the lives of those close to them, in ways they never could've predicted.
Each compulsively readable chapter explores the lives of Cleo, Frank, and an unforgettable cast of their closest friends and family as they grow up and grow older. Whether it's Cleo's best friend struggling to embrace his gender queerness in the wake of Cleo's marriage, or Frank's financially dependent sister arranging sugar daddy dates to support herself after being cut off, or Cleo and Frank themselves as they discover the trials of marriage and mental illness, each character is as absorbing, and painfully relatable, as the last.
As hilarious as it is heartbreaking, entertaining as it is deeply moving, Cleopatra and Frankenstein marks the entry of a brilliant and bold new talent.
Twenty-four-year-old British painter Cleo has escaped from England to New York and is still finding her place in the sleepless city when, a few months before her student visa ends, she meets Frank. Twenty years older and a self-made success, Frank's life is full of all the excesses Cleo's lacks. He offers her the chance to be happy, the freedom to paint, and the opportunity to apply for a Green Card. But their impulsive marriage irreversibly changes both their lives, and the lives of those close to them, in ways they never could've predicted.
Each compulsively readable chapter explores the lives of Cleo, Frank, and an unforgettable cast of their closest friends and family as they grow up and grow older. Whether it's Cleo's best friend struggling to embrace his gender queerness in the wake of Cleo's marriage, or Frank's financially dependent sister arranging sugar daddy dates to support herself after being cut off, or Cleo and Frank themselves as they discover the trials of marriage and mental illness, each character is as absorbing, and painfully relatable, as the last.
As hilarious as it is heartbreaking, entertaining as it is deeply moving, Cleopatra and Frankenstein marks the entry of a brilliant and bold new talent.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published February 15, 2022
About the author
Coco Mellors
3books4,024followersCoco Mellors is a writer from London and New York. She received her MFA in Fiction from New York University, where she was a Goldwater fellow. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband. Cleopatra and Frankenstein is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 22,892 reviews
June 20, 2024
There were very many characters in this book that I didn't like, but also I wasn't supposed to, but also even when I'm not supposed to I usually do anyway, often more than when I AM supposed to.
And also, in addition to this, there was a character I loved so much that I cried through her chapters (of which there are only two), an insanely earnest and vulnerable moment the likes of which has never occurred to me ever.
How the hell am I supposed to rate that?
I guess, considering that it's been a month since I read this and I haven't been able to stop reading or talking or thinking about it, but also it's been that same amount of time that there's still been one thing bothering me...four point five stars.
For me, this is a book of characters. The writing is lovely, but in relation to the people it creates and summons. There isn't much of a plot to speak of, beyond the shifting dynamics and relationships between them, namely Cleo and Frank, a semi-green-card marriage built mostly on passion and age difference, and those around them: Frank's younger half-sister, Zoë; Frank's friends, Anders, and another more boring and half-hearted inclusion whose name I don't remember; Cleo's best friend Quentin; Zoë's best friend Audrey; and finally, ELEANOR.
So basically this will be my review of this group of people.
(I keep wanting to call them people. They don't exist, emma! To my eternal chagrin.)
First - I didn't look any of those names up. So the fact that they stuck with me the way they did says a lot, no? I have the functioning memory of a goldfish, and not in the Ted Lasso motivational speaking way.
Let's start with the bad news.
I hate Cleo and her goofy artsy poetic depression very much. I find attempts at making violent mental illness beautiful to be very gross and in poor taste, at best, and devastatingly unrealistic at worse. I, like every vaguely creative young person, have multiple diagnoses, but my brain chemistry failures never include installing art with my self harmed body at the center for my loved ones to find, I will tell you that.
Who, in the midst of a depressive breakdown, even has the energy?
This is the only part of this book I genuinely and actively disliked. Fortunately or unfortunately, it was nowhere close to enough to get me to shut up about it.
Anyway.
Many of the people in Cleo's life are also somehow both unrealistic and uninteresting, like her drug addicted and toxic gay best friend (cliché, cliché) best friend Quentin and her brief love interest Anders (an older man who sleeps with younger women and doesn't view them as people, how original).
Frank, though he is a workaholic alcoholic with a younger wife and thereby also a cliché, somehow pulls off the grand accomplishment of being consistently intriguing to read about, as does his very annoying sister Zoë and her rarely present friend Audrey.
But none of them really matter very much, somewhat because all of them are supposed to be complicated and hard to like, but mostly because the greatest character of my reading life is in these pages.
Eleanor, Eleanor, Eleanor.
I love her so much I don't know what to do with myself. Her life, her jokes, her work, her allusions. Her mom and dad, her brother, her friends. Her house and her train rides and - I am genuinely getting worked up and I have to stop.
The last thing I'll say is that lately I have been holding a pen in my hand while I read, but I'm rarely prompted to use it.
There were countless exceptions in this.
Bottom line: If only characters were real.
-------------------
tbr review
the very idea of cleopatra and frankenstein...think of what they could accomplish.
couple goals
(thanks to the publisher for the copy)
And also, in addition to this, there was a character I loved so much that I cried through her chapters (of which there are only two), an insanely earnest and vulnerable moment the likes of which has never occurred to me ever.
How the hell am I supposed to rate that?
I guess, considering that it's been a month since I read this and I haven't been able to stop reading or talking or thinking about it, but also it's been that same amount of time that there's still been one thing bothering me...four point five stars.
For me, this is a book of characters. The writing is lovely, but in relation to the people it creates and summons. There isn't much of a plot to speak of, beyond the shifting dynamics and relationships between them, namely Cleo and Frank, a semi-green-card marriage built mostly on passion and age difference, and those around them: Frank's younger half-sister, Zoë; Frank's friends, Anders, and another more boring and half-hearted inclusion whose name I don't remember; Cleo's best friend Quentin; Zoë's best friend Audrey; and finally, ELEANOR.
So basically this will be my review of this group of people.
(I keep wanting to call them people. They don't exist, emma! To my eternal chagrin.)
First - I didn't look any of those names up. So the fact that they stuck with me the way they did says a lot, no? I have the functioning memory of a goldfish, and not in the Ted Lasso motivational speaking way.
Let's start with the bad news.
I hate Cleo and her goofy artsy poetic depression very much. I find attempts at making violent mental illness beautiful to be very gross and in poor taste, at best, and devastatingly unrealistic at worse. I, like every vaguely creative young person, have multiple diagnoses, but my brain chemistry failures never include installing art with my self harmed body at the center for my loved ones to find, I will tell you that.
Who, in the midst of a depressive breakdown, even has the energy?
This is the only part of this book I genuinely and actively disliked. Fortunately or unfortunately, it was nowhere close to enough to get me to shut up about it.
Anyway.
Many of the people in Cleo's life are also somehow both unrealistic and uninteresting, like her drug addicted and toxic gay best friend (cliché, cliché) best friend Quentin and her brief love interest Anders (an older man who sleeps with younger women and doesn't view them as people, how original).
Frank, though he is a workaholic alcoholic with a younger wife and thereby also a cliché, somehow pulls off the grand accomplishment of being consistently intriguing to read about, as does his very annoying sister Zoë and her rarely present friend Audrey.
But none of them really matter very much, somewhat because all of them are supposed to be complicated and hard to like, but mostly because the greatest character of my reading life is in these pages.
Eleanor, Eleanor, Eleanor.
I love her so much I don't know what to do with myself. Her life, her jokes, her work, her allusions. Her mom and dad, her brother, her friends. Her house and her train rides and - I am genuinely getting worked up and I have to stop.
The last thing I'll say is that lately I have been holding a pen in my hand while I read, but I'm rarely prompted to use it.
There were countless exceptions in this.
Bottom line: If only characters were real.
-------------------
tbr review
the very idea of cleopatra and frankenstein...think of what they could accomplish.
couple goals
(thanks to the publisher for the copy)
March 28, 2023
it's so depressing to know that this terrible, poorly thought-out book took 7 years to write.
i like flawed and unlikeable characters, but there was something about the way it was written here that did not work for me. idk what it was but everything felt so shallow. it touched on a lot of things that it failed to explore them in a more meaningful way, so that the important topics became a quirky backdrop for the characters instead. the characters themselves were selfish, self-pitying fools (derogatory) without one redeeming quality at all. they're all self-absorbed immature people who cannot empathise with others and cannot think of anybody but themselves. sure they would have been "realistic" had there been more layers to them, but unfortunately the character work was weak and so the characters themselves fell flat. they read like caricatures to me than actual characters, they go on poetic rants about their life and whatnot— and it reeks of white privilege. so although there were interesting elements in the story, it felt disconnected and inconsistent with everything else that was going on. i could imagine the author having a checklist of cool and funny topics for dialogue because there really wasn't much substance in what any of the characters were saying and it felt like i was reading a script of what kids think grown-ups in New York talk about. this was a messy book from start to finish, i don't understand the hype. it's generic at best.
the story dragged painfully and tried so hard to be 'not like other girls' that it became like every other girl, which really isn't bad (bc i, too, am just like other girls) except that it's false advertising. also, the comparison to Sally Rooney is offensive, because Rooney can write very well while i can't say the same for Mellors. (and the self-insert here is atrocious.) Mellors does not have the writing skill nor does she have the ability to capture certain aspects of life that Rooney can so naturally do. Mellors also does not have the ability to make her insufferable characters compelling like Moshfegh. so i am absolutely baffled by the hype the book is receiving and the continuous comprison of the authors.
i like flawed and unlikeable characters, but there was something about the way it was written here that did not work for me. idk what it was but everything felt so shallow. it touched on a lot of things that it failed to explore them in a more meaningful way, so that the important topics became a quirky backdrop for the characters instead. the characters themselves were selfish, self-pitying fools (derogatory) without one redeeming quality at all. they're all self-absorbed immature people who cannot empathise with others and cannot think of anybody but themselves. sure they would have been "realistic" had there been more layers to them, but unfortunately the character work was weak and so the characters themselves fell flat. they read like caricatures to me than actual characters, they go on poetic rants about their life and whatnot— and it reeks of white privilege. so although there were interesting elements in the story, it felt disconnected and inconsistent with everything else that was going on. i could imagine the author having a checklist of cool and funny topics for dialogue because there really wasn't much substance in what any of the characters were saying and it felt like i was reading a script of what kids think grown-ups in New York talk about. this was a messy book from start to finish, i don't understand the hype. it's generic at best.
the story dragged painfully and tried so hard to be 'not like other girls' that it became like every other girl, which really isn't bad (bc i, too, am just like other girls) except that it's false advertising. also, the comparison to Sally Rooney is offensive, because Rooney can write very well while i can't say the same for Mellors. (and the self-insert here is atrocious.) Mellors does not have the writing skill nor does she have the ability to capture certain aspects of life that Rooney can so naturally do. Mellors also does not have the ability to make her insufferable characters compelling like Moshfegh. so i am absolutely baffled by the hype the book is receiving and the continuous comprison of the authors.
February 13, 2023
I read this because everyone was comparing it to Sally Rooney, which I guess is appealing to me. But it brings all the stuff that irks me about Rooney— hipster millennials having endless navel-gazing pseudo-intellectual conversations about themselves and the universe —and misses out the key component that, for me, makes Rooney as engaging an author as she is irritating.
What is it? It’s this chilling, anxiety-inducing moroseness. I want to strangle the characters because they’re so awkward and annoying and they’re sabotaging their own relationships. But, also, I care. I care so much. It’s a hard thing to explain to sane humans.
Rooney has this way ofbotheringme. I want her characters to figure it out because for some weird reason I am invested in them. Neither Cleo nor Frank inspired those same feelings in me. From their first ludicrous encounter to the end, I found the pair simply irritating, nothing more. And all of the side characters serve to hammer home the book's whole point about how a relationship can affect those around the couple. None of them felt real or believable.
I feel like I just read a book full of characters auditioning to be in a Sally Rooney novel.
What is it? It’s this chilling, anxiety-inducing moroseness. I want to strangle the characters because they’re so awkward and annoying and they’re sabotaging their own relationships. But, also, I care. I care so much. It’s a hard thing to explain to sane humans.
Rooney has this way ofbotheringme. I want her characters to figure it out because for some weird reason I am invested in them. Neither Cleo nor Frank inspired those same feelings in me. From their first ludicrous encounter to the end, I found the pair simply irritating, nothing more. And all of the side characters serve to hammer home the book's whole point about how a relationship can affect those around the couple. None of them felt real or believable.
I feel like I just read a book full of characters auditioning to be in a Sally Rooney novel.
August 8, 2022
Everyone is LYING about this book
May 25, 2022
it gets better towards the end because it’s ending.
September 29, 2022
Sometimes you read books because they have pretty covers and that’s okay.
May 29, 2022
death to frank
April 23, 2022
This book will surely divide readers. Either described as poignant and relatable or shallow and pretentious, this debut novel from Coco Mellors feels like the personification of an Instagram filter—something that simultaneously enhances and yet covers up reality.
Cleo and Frank, the eponymous couple (though those are not their legal names, but 'cute' nicknames they give each other early on in their relationship), meet on New Year's Eve and are married within six months. She, an early 20s artist, and he, a mid-40s ad executive, bond over their troubled family histories and seek solace in one another. Their caustic relationship, however, doesn't prove to be as picture perfect as it seems, as each struggles with addiction (whether sex, drugs or alcohol) and mental health issues. The effects of their marriage reverberate out into the lives of their family and friends: Zoe, Frank's ambitious half-sister; Quentin, Cleo's best friend grappling with his sexuality; Eleanor, a new hire at Frank's office; and more.
I'll admit: the first page of this book had me rolling my eyes. When Frank describes Cleo's British accent as "how biting into a Granny Smith apple feels...crisp," I figured this might be some overwrought, MFA-style prose. And honestly, in some ways it kind of is. There is no doubt that Cleo and Frank are fairly pretentious. This feels in some ways like it was written to eventually be adapted; I'd be shocked if it isn't a miniseries in the next few years. At the same time, it's highly readable and incredibly engaging. Mellors really does know how to write, how to set a scene, describe the setting, hit the reader with some strong images, and write a darn good metaphor. While not every sentence sticks the landing, there's more than enough in this novel to make up for the few issues I had with it, especially considering this is a debut!
You have to be okay with unlikeable characters to read this book. You have to be willing to go on a journey that doesn't necessarily leave our protagonists shining and shimmering in the end. And I would've appreciated a bit more time to have the characters really dig into their issues, to grapple with the fact that the world is much bigger than just the two of them; though in some ways I think that's part of the point Mellors is trying to make.
People in love, or in lust, don't see the world beyond them. Young people, people with addictions, people with traumatic childhood experiences, whatever it may be. All these things can add up to the perfect cocktail of misery and searching for meaning. That's no excuse for their behavior, and of course not all people with these problems turn out like Cleo and Frank. But this the story of just two of those people, and I think Mellors did a pretty masterful job of it.
Cleo and Frank, the eponymous couple (though those are not their legal names, but 'cute' nicknames they give each other early on in their relationship), meet on New Year's Eve and are married within six months. She, an early 20s artist, and he, a mid-40s ad executive, bond over their troubled family histories and seek solace in one another. Their caustic relationship, however, doesn't prove to be as picture perfect as it seems, as each struggles with addiction (whether sex, drugs or alcohol) and mental health issues. The effects of their marriage reverberate out into the lives of their family and friends: Zoe, Frank's ambitious half-sister; Quentin, Cleo's best friend grappling with his sexuality; Eleanor, a new hire at Frank's office; and more.
I'll admit: the first page of this book had me rolling my eyes. When Frank describes Cleo's British accent as "how biting into a Granny Smith apple feels...crisp," I figured this might be some overwrought, MFA-style prose. And honestly, in some ways it kind of is. There is no doubt that Cleo and Frank are fairly pretentious. This feels in some ways like it was written to eventually be adapted; I'd be shocked if it isn't a miniseries in the next few years. At the same time, it's highly readable and incredibly engaging. Mellors really does know how to write, how to set a scene, describe the setting, hit the reader with some strong images, and write a darn good metaphor. While not every sentence sticks the landing, there's more than enough in this novel to make up for the few issues I had with it, especially considering this is a debut!
You have to be okay with unlikeable characters to read this book. You have to be willing to go on a journey that doesn't necessarily leave our protagonists shining and shimmering in the end. And I would've appreciated a bit more time to have the characters really dig into their issues, to grapple with the fact that the world is much bigger than just the two of them; though in some ways I think that's part of the point Mellors is trying to make.
People in love, or in lust, don't see the world beyond them. Young people, people with addictions, people with traumatic childhood experiences, whatever it may be. All these things can add up to the perfect cocktail of misery and searching for meaning. That's no excuse for their behavior, and of course not all people with these problems turn out like Cleo and Frank. But this the story of just two of those people, and I think Mellors did a pretty masterful job of it.
June 9, 2023
“Everything she had ever wanted to hear from a man was hers from the mouth of a girl.”
August 22, 2023
1.75
Jestem na zupełne nie.
Jestem na zupełne nie.
April 14, 2022
so glad to be free from this book
May 17, 2023
the sugar glider deserved better.
May 10, 2024
I honestly have no idea what to think of this one. Like it wasn't good, but it wasn't bad enough to put me off either. The way it's written isemotionless, bland and lacking in substance,but I was interested enough in Cleo and Frank story. The monologues and narratives were not fun to read but at the same time the conversations were good and interesting enough to keep me reading.
I didn't like any of the characters.I sympathized with Cleo but she wasn't perfect herself. Perhaps the only character with some growth was Zoe. The rest of them were all bad. I could not connect with them at all. They come across as emotionless despite the supposed bs they're going through and the author tries very hard to provoke some feeling for the reader's sake, an unsuccessful attempt.
Overall, a very meh read. I didn't hate it, I didn't love it. I will most definitely forget it. It did not impact me at all.
~•~•~
Starting this. Guys, do we like it or not? I need to be mentally prepared...
I didn't like any of the characters.I sympathized with Cleo but she wasn't perfect herself. Perhaps the only character with some growth was Zoe. The rest of them were all bad. I could not connect with them at all. They come across as emotionless despite the supposed bs they're going through and the author tries very hard to provoke some feeling for the reader's sake, an unsuccessful attempt.
Overall, a very meh read. I didn't hate it, I didn't love it. I will most definitely forget it. It did not impact me at all.
~•~•~
Starting this. Guys, do we like it or not? I need to be mentally prepared...
February 18, 2022
BEWARE…..of this review…
…..as I find it almost impossible to believe that any reviewer could write one with a straight face…..
so, I’m not even going to try.
Since I can’t take the book - or even my thoughts about it serious….I’ll have a little playful fun,….trying not to be too harsh in my poo-poo of it.
The beginning was the best part…..
Here it is:
“British? he asked”
“London”.
“Your voice sounds like how biting into a Granny Smith Apple feels”.
“Now she laughed, with less abandon. How does that feel?”
“In a word? Crisp”.
“What’s your name?”
“Cleo, said Cleo”
“He nodded”.
“Appropriate”
“How so?”
“Cleopatra, the original undoer of men”.
“But I’m just Cleo. What’s your name?”
“Frank, said Frank”.
“Short for?”
“Short for nothing. What on earth would Frank be short for?”
“I don’t know, Cleo smiled. Frankfurter, frankincense, Frankenstein... “
“Frankenstein sounds about right. Creator of monsters”.
“You make monsters?”
“Sort of, said Frank. I make ads”.
“I was sure you were a writer, she said”.
“Why?”
“Crisp, said Cleo, raising an eyebrow”.
That ‘above’ beginning is catchy- funny - contemporary-free-range-FRESH.
The downhill slope falls deep….at 384 pages long….
….from a little funny, clever, tantalizing naughty-escapades….
to eventually foolish-full-of-itself-nonsense.
“Cleopatra and Frankenstein”….debut for Coco Mellors….
is an exorbitant excessively overabundant kaleidoscope of parodies.
“Everyone Frank knew was the greatest ‘something’ in the world. His half-sister Zoe was the greatest actor, his best friend Anders was the greatest art director and amateur soccer player, and Cleo, well, Cleo was the most talented painter, the deepest thinker, the most beautiful woman on earth. Why? Because Frank wouldn’t have married anyone else”.
The above excerpt is a ‘hint’….that what we’ll continue to read is….a PERFORMANCE of the greatest sentences, the greatest off-the-wall absurdities, the greatest exaggerated character descriptions….
And it all becomes exhaustingly ridiculously imbecilic.
….There is a Free sex-positive meetup gathering…
….A polyamorous vegan who loved cooking for his mother
….sex, alcohol, exhaustion, disappointments, healing exercise
…..” The Clima xing to Consciousness” group met every Friday in a hot yoga studio, advertising $10 aura readings.
…..A newborn baby name Humphrey…
….There was the subterranean Oyster Bar….served with dialogue about childhood trauma, masturbation and a four-in-a-half year old who had her first orgasm.
….There’s a Rock and Recline Zero Gravity Massage chairs.
….a grandmother polish heiress
….No more Brother Bank
…. Undiagnosed mental illness
…. Melting purple popsicles..
….A hairless cat
….” Begin Again, Slim Again” weight loss
And…
…..lots of pale eyes, golden hair, unruly eyebrows, curly hair, pressing lips, slim ankles, breezy air, affairs, friendship predicaments, side kicks, lovely girls like a butterfly in a bar of sunshine, marriage blunders, children screaming in ecstasy on a playground, “Exquisite beauty and extreme danger”…
A few excerpts….
“My mom used to say don’t fuck anyone who doesn’t love Manhattan, said Frank”.
“Well, let’s not be vulgar, said Miriam”
“At least she has an opinion, set Cleo, glancing at her father”.
“I squint into the icy sunlight. The path sparkles with a thin layer of frost. Everything is hard and bright, like I’m looking from inside a diamond”.
“A breeze filled with light and ice circle us. A police officer sitting on a bench and wraps a silver Hershey’s kiss. Children scream and ecstasy on a playground out of sight. We stop walking. Frank is looking at me. I am looking at Frank. This is a place of exquisite beauty and extreme danger”.
“The yellow light of headlamps splashed and pooled in slush puddles along the sidewalk”
Many thanks to ‘Begin Again, Slim Again’…..
to introduce us to….
“a smiling Jamaican American who wore fuchsia lipstick with a dress made of swaths of bright diaphanous fabric— who had lost over hundred pounds thanks to the weight loss program.
“When she moved, her long braids swung across her back like ropes of twisted pastry”.
“Frank’s curly hair was silhouetted against the purple hillside. Frank’s voice was calling her name. And then she was running toward the lights, and the door was flinging open with a taxi still moving and Frank was stumbling out toward her, and she catapulted herself into his arms, and his lips were pressing hot and quick against her face, her ears, her hair, because it was a miracle, against all the odds he had found her here on this dark patch of road, and now everything else was forgotten, forgiven, all that mattered was that he was here, holding her close against his familiar chest, and she knew what it was to be a miracle”.
“Later, as they lay naked in each other’s arms, the mosquito net breathing softly around them, Cleo turned to his profile”.
“Frankenstein, she said, tracing his nose with her finger”.
“Cleopatra, he said”.
My final thoughts….
TOO MUCH…..
….yep, too much wit, swooning, tidbits, themes, dialogue, life quandaries, perple xing showy sentences, and cheesiness,……
My energy got zapped.
1.5 stars…..
…..as I find it almost impossible to believe that any reviewer could write one with a straight face…..
so, I’m not even going to try.
Since I can’t take the book - or even my thoughts about it serious….I’ll have a little playful fun,….trying not to be too harsh in my poo-poo of it.
The beginning was the best part…..
Here it is:
“British? he asked”
“London”.
“Your voice sounds like how biting into a Granny Smith Apple feels”.
“Now she laughed, with less abandon. How does that feel?”
“In a word? Crisp”.
“What’s your name?”
“Cleo, said Cleo”
“He nodded”.
“Appropriate”
“How so?”
“Cleopatra, the original undoer of men”.
“But I’m just Cleo. What’s your name?”
“Frank, said Frank”.
“Short for?”
“Short for nothing. What on earth would Frank be short for?”
“I don’t know, Cleo smiled. Frankfurter, frankincense, Frankenstein... “
“Frankenstein sounds about right. Creator of monsters”.
“You make monsters?”
“Sort of, said Frank. I make ads”.
“I was sure you were a writer, she said”.
“Why?”
“Crisp, said Cleo, raising an eyebrow”.
That ‘above’ beginning is catchy- funny - contemporary-free-range-FRESH.
The downhill slope falls deep….at 384 pages long….
….from a little funny, clever, tantalizing naughty-escapades….
to eventually foolish-full-of-itself-nonsense.
“Cleopatra and Frankenstein”….debut for Coco Mellors….
is an exorbitant excessively overabundant kaleidoscope of parodies.
“Everyone Frank knew was the greatest ‘something’ in the world. His half-sister Zoe was the greatest actor, his best friend Anders was the greatest art director and amateur soccer player, and Cleo, well, Cleo was the most talented painter, the deepest thinker, the most beautiful woman on earth. Why? Because Frank wouldn’t have married anyone else”.
The above excerpt is a ‘hint’….that what we’ll continue to read is….a PERFORMANCE of the greatest sentences, the greatest off-the-wall absurdities, the greatest exaggerated character descriptions….
And it all becomes exhaustingly ridiculously imbecilic.
….There is a Free sex-positive meetup gathering…
….A polyamorous vegan who loved cooking for his mother
….sex, alcohol, exhaustion, disappointments, healing exercise
…..” The Clima xing to Consciousness” group met every Friday in a hot yoga studio, advertising $10 aura readings.
…..A newborn baby name Humphrey…
….There was the subterranean Oyster Bar….served with dialogue about childhood trauma, masturbation and a four-in-a-half year old who had her first orgasm.
….There’s a Rock and Recline Zero Gravity Massage chairs.
….a grandmother polish heiress
….No more Brother Bank
…. Undiagnosed mental illness
…. Melting purple popsicles..
….A hairless cat
….” Begin Again, Slim Again” weight loss
And…
…..lots of pale eyes, golden hair, unruly eyebrows, curly hair, pressing lips, slim ankles, breezy air, affairs, friendship predicaments, side kicks, lovely girls like a butterfly in a bar of sunshine, marriage blunders, children screaming in ecstasy on a playground, “Exquisite beauty and extreme danger”…
A few excerpts….
“My mom used to say don’t fuck anyone who doesn’t love Manhattan, said Frank”.
“Well, let’s not be vulgar, said Miriam”
“At least she has an opinion, set Cleo, glancing at her father”.
“I squint into the icy sunlight. The path sparkles with a thin layer of frost. Everything is hard and bright, like I’m looking from inside a diamond”.
“A breeze filled with light and ice circle us. A police officer sitting on a bench and wraps a silver Hershey’s kiss. Children scream and ecstasy on a playground out of sight. We stop walking. Frank is looking at me. I am looking at Frank. This is a place of exquisite beauty and extreme danger”.
“The yellow light of headlamps splashed and pooled in slush puddles along the sidewalk”
Many thanks to ‘Begin Again, Slim Again’…..
to introduce us to….
“a smiling Jamaican American who wore fuchsia lipstick with a dress made of swaths of bright diaphanous fabric— who had lost over hundred pounds thanks to the weight loss program.
“When she moved, her long braids swung across her back like ropes of twisted pastry”.
“Frank’s curly hair was silhouetted against the purple hillside. Frank’s voice was calling her name. And then she was running toward the lights, and the door was flinging open with a taxi still moving and Frank was stumbling out toward her, and she catapulted herself into his arms, and his lips were pressing hot and quick against her face, her ears, her hair, because it was a miracle, against all the odds he had found her here on this dark patch of road, and now everything else was forgotten, forgiven, all that mattered was that he was here, holding her close against his familiar chest, and she knew what it was to be a miracle”.
“Later, as they lay naked in each other’s arms, the mosquito net breathing softly around them, Cleo turned to his profile”.
“Frankenstein, she said, tracing his nose with her finger”.
“Cleopatra, he said”.
My final thoughts….
TOO MUCH…..
….yep, too much wit, swooning, tidbits, themes, dialogue, life quandaries, perple xing showy sentences, and cheesiness,……
My energy got zapped.
1.5 stars…..
January 31, 2022
I was here to celebrate this debut (great title! great cover!), but alas, I had to stop reading at 51 % percent because I just couldn't bear it anymore, and I hardly DNF books. On New Year’s Eve 2006, 24-year-old British artist Cleo meets Frank, a wealthy 40-something advertising executive in New York City. First romance, then turbulance ensues, as Cleo's artistic ambitions do not develop as expected and Frank drinks quite a lot. Both protagonists are largely unsympathetic, which wouldn't be a problem (when it comes to writers likeOttessa Moshfegh,it's the whole appeal) if they were interesting. Needless to say, they are not: Wayward Cleo flexes with the fact that her husband pays, Frank lives his life like he's collecting stories he can tell at drug-fuelled parties (which should also show that this is clearly not an effort in the vein ofSally Rooney,the politics are fundamentally different and here, feminism mainly features as a rhetorical gimmick).
The text jumped the shark for me when, apparently to illustrate peak quirkiness, Frank impulsively buys an animal from an obviously shady animal trader, he and Cleo think it's super funny to cluelessly purchase such a creature and to keep it in their apartment although it's forbidden in the whole city and they don't know how to provide for its needs, and then neglect it. These people are assholes (maybe assholes with a trauma, but that's no excuse), but the way these animal cruelty passages are written, it seems like the writer disagrees and thinks that Cleo and Frank are...bohemians?
And then there is a whole cast of family and friends that are broadly described, although they hardly add to the main storyline and remain equally cliched: The mean stepmom, the jealous sister, the gay best friend...*siiiigh*. It's a cast right out of a 90's sitcom. And the text is way, way too long, there is not enough plot or depth to support this many pages. The lives of all of these people, their feelings and the events they attend feel stale, like déjà-vus.
I wish I could have loved this more.
The text jumped the shark for me when, apparently to illustrate peak quirkiness, Frank impulsively buys an animal from an obviously shady animal trader, he and Cleo think it's super funny to cluelessly purchase such a creature and to keep it in their apartment although it's forbidden in the whole city and they don't know how to provide for its needs, and then neglect it. These people are assholes (maybe assholes with a trauma, but that's no excuse), but the way these animal cruelty passages are written, it seems like the writer disagrees and thinks that Cleo and Frank are...bohemians?
And then there is a whole cast of family and friends that are broadly described, although they hardly add to the main storyline and remain equally cliched: The mean stepmom, the jealous sister, the gay best friend...*siiiigh*. It's a cast right out of a 90's sitcom. And the text is way, way too long, there is not enough plot or depth to support this many pages. The lives of all of these people, their feelings and the events they attend feel stale, like déjà-vus.
I wish I could have loved this more.
May 29, 2022
torn between a 4.5 and a full 5 star, but just know it's up there!
August 24, 2022
I'm bored...
Look I get that it's literary fiction and the literary fiction girlies will let an author do anything in the name of ~art... but what was this? Where was the substance? Why was this nearly four hundred pages??????
I think that it's offensive to offer nothing in terms of character, plot, or quote worthy writing. I get that writing a book is a lot of peoples dreams, and Mellors was certainly able to put words on the page... but all those words to say nothing? We could have kept this in the drafts.
The book is oddly racist at times, casually throws out slurs for the razzle dazzle factor, and approaches heavy topics [ sexual assault + attempting to end ones life ] only to shock the reader and not fully engage in those dynamics to the level they should be in a book like this...
It's the latest in a string of literary fiction pieces that I've read that feel aspirational to that title. It's giving aggressive general fiction.
I have nothing kind to say because for me to have a discussion about this book Mellors would have had to do something as an author worth discussing. I don't recommend this. But I guess if you want to read about a variety of characters and how they relate to Cleo and Frank while delving into the shallowest waters imaginable, pick this one up. If you'd like to read a good book I'm sure that anything else you have on hand would be a better use of your time on this planet.
Look I get that it's literary fiction and the literary fiction girlies will let an author do anything in the name of ~art... but what was this? Where was the substance? Why was this nearly four hundred pages??????
I think that it's offensive to offer nothing in terms of character, plot, or quote worthy writing. I get that writing a book is a lot of peoples dreams, and Mellors was certainly able to put words on the page... but all those words to say nothing? We could have kept this in the drafts.
The book is oddly racist at times, casually throws out slurs for the razzle dazzle factor, and approaches heavy topics [ sexual assault + attempting to end ones life ] only to shock the reader and not fully engage in those dynamics to the level they should be in a book like this...
It's the latest in a string of literary fiction pieces that I've read that feel aspirational to that title. It's giving aggressive general fiction.
I have nothing kind to say because for me to have a discussion about this book Mellors would have had to do something as an author worth discussing. I don't recommend this. But I guess if you want to read about a variety of characters and how they relate to Cleo and Frank while delving into the shallowest waters imaginable, pick this one up. If you'd like to read a good book I'm sure that anything else you have on hand would be a better use of your time on this planet.
July 3, 2023
dnf
i would happily burn this book.
i would happily burn this book.
April 17, 2022
who gave this book the right to hurt me? who???
July 7, 2022
somehow I have started to wonder if reading has become a kind of obscure self-harm practice I engage in, or if maybe I’m just incredibly sensitive and weak. either way I have come to realize that I adore SUFFERING through books, I want to become really fucking depressed by a book, I want to feel the urge to rip my heart out and stab it back in. if it doesn’t do that for me then that’s unfortunate. cleopatra and frankenstein absolutely did it for me. this book left me in a sink hole so black and deep it took me too long to climb out. (30 minutes I’m just being dramatic)
the first pages suck you in with it’s witty and perfectly romantic start… but then… oh jesus… it does crumble hard. I think this book hurt so much because it makes you fall in love with the idea of love, the idea of a “person” and then lets it crash hard. this is how I have loved so many times, so it does hit close to home.
the characters are cool, but I did hate eleanor. and I kiiiinda hated cleo but just because I know people like her are insufferable in real life. in books I love sad art bitches like cleo so whatever. everybody seems to love eleanor because she is down to earth and funny but to me she was so mediocre. MY OWN LIFE IS MEDIOCRE I DON’T NEED TO READ ABOUT MEDIOCRE PEOPLE. the fact that she gets it all (won’t say what) made me furious. like GO HOME TO YOUR MOM AND LEAVE MY CLEO ALONE. I stayed attached to my tracic awfully flawed heroine, I guess that’s my greek side in me, whatever¿ (GIVE ME MORE TRAGIC AWFUL HEROINES OKAY?) it’s just good people bore me, terrible people are more interesting in literature. and I love toxic love in books, movies whatever GIVE IT TO ME ALL.
(this all might be very unpopular opinion but books with morally righteous characters do bore me to death)
the first pages suck you in with it’s witty and perfectly romantic start… but then… oh jesus… it does crumble hard. I think this book hurt so much because it makes you fall in love with the idea of love, the idea of a “person” and then lets it crash hard. this is how I have loved so many times, so it does hit close to home.
the characters are cool, but I did hate eleanor. and I kiiiinda hated cleo but just because I know people like her are insufferable in real life. in books I love sad art bitches like cleo so whatever. everybody seems to love eleanor because she is down to earth and funny but to me she was so mediocre. MY OWN LIFE IS MEDIOCRE I DON’T NEED TO READ ABOUT MEDIOCRE PEOPLE. the fact that she gets it all (won’t say what) made me furious. like GO HOME TO YOUR MOM AND LEAVE MY CLEO ALONE. I stayed attached to my tracic awfully flawed heroine, I guess that’s my greek side in me, whatever¿ (GIVE ME MORE TRAGIC AWFUL HEROINES OKAY?) it’s just good people bore me, terrible people are more interesting in literature. and I love toxic love in books, movies whatever GIVE IT TO ME ALL.
(this all might be very unpopular opinion but books with morally righteous characters do bore me to death)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 28, 2022
Just a list of cliches in book form
October 26, 2023
deleted my old review because i was senselessly ranting, but i still do think this felt painfully self-indulgent, more so than the works of sally rooney – of which this book has been exhaustively compared to. though i love it, i can admit that this type of literary genre or niche does tend to not have the substance you’d expect an overtly hyped book to have and often appears juvenile. yet in the defense of rooney, she was here first and filled a role. you can’t just slather more cement on top of an already-filled hole and expect the outcome to be smooth.
June 30, 2023
To nie jest książka, którą poczuje każdy, ale wierzę, że trafi do tych osób, które jej potrzebują. Ja zdecydowanie potrzebowałem. Jest znakomita.
Want to read
March 30, 2024idgaf abt the book i just love the cover tbh
August 8, 2022
we cannot allow sad girl lit riddled with typos become its own genre
May 16, 2022
Oh man. I started off quite enjoying the vibe of this (because that’s all it’s really offering is a vibe) but I’ve never read a book that is more up itself.
The writing has potential, there were some funny moments and I enjoyed her description but this book has no idea what it’s doing. I love a book where nothing happens as much as the next person, but there was nothing below surface level to keep the narrative afloat. Any attempt at meaningful discussions on the books themes felt superficial to me, and distracted by an insufferable need to assert the tragic but beautiful shine of Cleo.
I also found Mellors’ writing about other races and cultures a bit too confident and often super generalising in a way that felt quite ignorant or tokenising.
The writing has potential, there were some funny moments and I enjoyed her description but this book has no idea what it’s doing. I love a book where nothing happens as much as the next person, but there was nothing below surface level to keep the narrative afloat. Any attempt at meaningful discussions on the books themes felt superficial to me, and distracted by an insufferable need to assert the tragic but beautiful shine of Cleo.
I also found Mellors’ writing about other races and cultures a bit too confident and often super generalising in a way that felt quite ignorant or tokenising.
Shelved as 'dnf'
August 10, 2023DNF 10%
Za bardzo przypomina mi te wszystkie pauzowe książki, które mi się nie podobały, dodatkowo połączone z Sally Rooney. Totalnie nie dla mnie, więc odpuszczam.
Za bardzo przypomina mi te wszystkie pauzowe książki, które mi się nie podobały, dodatkowo połączone z Sally Rooney. Totalnie nie dla mnie, więc odpuszczam.
Want to read
April 25, 2022i swear if this book is not good i'll riot. I saw it absolutely everywhere on instagram - so the sheep that i am obviously bought it today - and i don't want those 20 euros to go down the drain 😭
August 24, 2024
3.75 stars
“Cleopatra and Frankenstein"paints a candid portrayal of the bruised and raw aspects of human nature in a metropolitan city's diverse spectrum. the novel pendulums precariously between illicit and depraved activities, with characters oscillating between substance abuse, emotional infidelity, depression, addiction, and sexual dissatisfaction. through these tortured themes, the author reveals the intricate web of human motivations and desires.
the narrative is characterized by a distinctive focus on the personages' journey, leaving many questions and struggles unresolved. the story unfolds as a series of vignettes, each chapter delving into the lives of a group of friends whose experiences are intertwined. while some characters elicited strong emotions, ranging from revulsion to affection, the majority of them are portrayed as multifaceted individuals with inherent flaws and toxic tendencies. this complexity creates a peculiar phenomenon, where one can't help but simultaneously loathe and adore them in equal measure.
this book defies traditional narrative structure, eschewing a converging ending that distills a clear lesson. Instead, it presents a character-driven tale, where the focus lies on the intricate, flawed personalities of the variety of protagonists. the writing is effortless and engaging, allowing the reader to become immersed in the characters' lives without the need for a satisfying resolution or moral takeaway.
—————
here we go..
”when the darkest part of you meets the darkest part of me, it creates light.”
“Cleopatra and Frankenstein"paints a candid portrayal of the bruised and raw aspects of human nature in a metropolitan city's diverse spectrum. the novel pendulums precariously between illicit and depraved activities, with characters oscillating between substance abuse, emotional infidelity, depression, addiction, and sexual dissatisfaction. through these tortured themes, the author reveals the intricate web of human motivations and desires.
the narrative is characterized by a distinctive focus on the personages' journey, leaving many questions and struggles unresolved. the story unfolds as a series of vignettes, each chapter delving into the lives of a group of friends whose experiences are intertwined. while some characters elicited strong emotions, ranging from revulsion to affection, the majority of them are portrayed as multifaceted individuals with inherent flaws and toxic tendencies. this complexity creates a peculiar phenomenon, where one can't help but simultaneously loathe and adore them in equal measure.
this book defies traditional narrative structure, eschewing a converging ending that distills a clear lesson. Instead, it presents a character-driven tale, where the focus lies on the intricate, flawed personalities of the variety of protagonists. the writing is effortless and engaging, allowing the reader to become immersed in the characters' lives without the need for a satisfying resolution or moral takeaway.
”you’re just trying to hurt me.”
she shook her head.
“no,” she said. “I’m trying to survive you.”
—————
here we go..
May 28, 2023
3.5 rounded down
I really struggled to get through the first 30%. Maybe because each chapter was concerning a different person, which I used to love but didn’t in this circumstance. I think it meant I couldn’t connect to the story as quickly.
This book is definitely well written and modern. I particularly enjoyed the dialogue which was was witty, clever and impactful. But ultimately this was such a sad story and left me feeling a little low.
I really struggled to get through the first 30%. Maybe because each chapter was concerning a different person, which I used to love but didn’t in this circumstance. I think it meant I couldn’t connect to the story as quickly.
This book is definitely well written and modern. I particularly enjoyed the dialogue which was was witty, clever and impactful. But ultimately this was such a sad story and left me feeling a little low.
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