Cleopatra and Frankenstein

“Sometimes you read books because they have pretty covers and that’s okay.” — Goodreads

Tati’s Thoughts

When we first meet Cleo and Frank during their initial chance encounter in a stairwell on one fateful New Year's Eve, we begin what’s billed as a story about the impact of tumultuous love. As Cleo and Frank fall in love, they tear into each other and everyone around them, leaving destruction and broken promises across the New York City landscape. 

Now, I love a bit of drama as much as the next girl, and as someone who has never lived the “starving artist” life, the allure of ✨complex ✨characters trying to find themselves and their promise of happiness had me running to Daunt Books. Unfortunately, where this book excelled at pulling me in, it also failed to keep me engaged. Coco Mellors created the outlines of what could have been interesting and flawed characters, but unfortunately, she didn’t colour them in.

When people are in love, or like Cleo and Frank in lust (“chemistry love”), the world around them can fade away. Hell be damned if Cleo and Frank had the mental space to care about the things that happen to their family, friends, or pets (#justiceforJesus). While the novel focuses on our two lovers, we meet their friend group, which is predictably diverse in race but not in depth. The secondary characters are absolutely going through it, and while you read the novel, you can’t help but think that their struggles are included only to make Cleo and Frank interesting and quirky. We don’t spend enough time with these characters - who have standalone chapters - to really care about them. It’s great that Zoe finds her version of healthy sexual expression, but what did it mean for the story? It’s heartbreaking that Quentin turns to drugs to cope with his identity expression and loneliness, but the way this update is thrown into the narrative is jarring and abrupt, not profound in the way I expect Mellors believed it would be. 

Now, what I did like. Eleanor was set up to be the hero of this book, and my god did she save it. Our funny ugly duckling had the most interesting chapters and her interactions with her family felt true to life. She was set up to be Cleo’s antithesis and she was; where Cleo was young, beautiful, and broken, Eleanor was older, average, and stable. While some will (rightfully) criticize Mellor for creating this dynamic to fulfill Frank’s romantic arc, I believe that Mellors did excel in demonstrating - if it’s her belief - that chemistry love is not enough. Love requires depth, understanding, and commonality - things that Frank and Eleanor have to a much greater extent than Cleo and Frank ever would. 

Overall, this book is… fine. It’s not a read that will stay with me for months or years to come, but I do plan to read Mellors’ next novel, Blue Sisters, which I hope will have the benefit of time and deeper bonds with the story’s characters.