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lisapisa8's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
juhmeejohns's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Upon reflection i hate this book
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, and Alcohol
excritos's review against another edition
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
tiredtristan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5✨
“When the darkest part of you meets the darkest part of me, it creates light.”
This was something different than I usually read and I’m so glad I picked it up.
-0.5 because:
- the end chapter of chapter 10
WHY IS HE m**** IN A STEAKHOUSE BATHROOM - I don’t like Eleanor or her first person pov.
Why doesn’t Cleo get a happy ending :( but Frank, the guy who has more red flags than I have sticky notes, gets a happy ending?????
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
paulawind's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
The only reason I finished this book was because it is my Book Club novel. I fought and sweated my way through page by page because it’s just so bad. It’s part of the trend for authors to try to make their books “deeper” by flooding every character with trauma. Pain Porn if you prefer.
The author thought that by giving each character a single-defining struggle she is making them less one-dimensional but because of that they felt almost like cartoon characters. Cleo - beautiful, thin, talented, young BUT WAIT she is depressed and has both mummy and daddy issues; Frank - beautiful, “manly”, successful, rich and older BUT WAIT he had mummy issues and is an alcoholic, Zoe - beautiful, thin, talented BUT WAIT she has seizures, Quentin - beautiful, thin, rich “snarky gay best friend” BUT WAIT he can’t come out of the closet because of his homophobic Polish family (fuck you for that Coc, enforcing Polish stereotypes) and is a drug addict, Anders - beautiful, thin, rich fuckboy BUT WAIT his step-son doesn’t like him anymore and his parents don’t visit him in the US. You see what I mean? The only half-decent characters are Eleanor and Santiago, just because they are not awful to other people, but they rarely are given voice and in the end are pushed into the role of “I can fix him” girl for Frank and “losing weight will let you find love”, respectively. Nauseating. TikTok girlies, wake up, this is not literary fiction you claim it to be.
The book obviously features a lot of content warnings - wouldn’t be a pain porn without it - but I’m not sure if it’s handled even passably well.
This book angered me on so many levels. It was the superficial depth, wannabe literary fiction, over sexualisation of everything (Zoe saying that she is “a real girl” now, after climaxing, nauseated me), disrespectful treatment of a lot of extremely heavy issues and -how could I forget - BLATANT plagiarism of other media (yes, I’m looking at you ripped-off Fleabag dinner scene). Awful
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Deadnaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Classism
ashlynregan's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
jennymchugh's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
book_soulsbee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
avasreads_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
⭐⭐⭐⭐
4/5
what a book to get me out of my reading slump! i haven't read a full length novel in a couple of months, and this one was kind of perfect for the occasion.
cleopatra and frankenstein follows the impulsive marriage between 24-year-old cleo and 43-year-old frank, to, broadly, secure cleo a green card. their marriage (inevitably) has far-reaching consequences, and the novel explores themes such as loss, complex relationships and addiction.
this beautifully vivid portrayal of the new york of the early 2000s makes me feel nostalgic for a time i don't remember, and the central characters lead a glamorous life of art, culture, drink and drugs. i loved how the characters felt painfully real - although the plot, at times, seemed almost unbelievable, readers recognise that they lead a ridiculous life. almost certainly backed up by a hefty trust fund, many of the characters don't seem to be burdened by student loans, paying the rent and bills, and can therefore gallivant around new york city. despite the perhaps unrealistic lack of financial struggles, this places emphasis on the mental and emotional journeys of the characters, which is objectively far more important. the characters are far from simple, and can be perceived to be both protagonists and antagonists, having both a positive and negative impact on each other. i love the unrealistic realism, it gives the novel an ethereal quality.
for me, the most interesting storyline was that of zoe's, the younger sister of frank. she is broke, nineteen years old and navigating a large city. i seemed to identify with her, whether that's because we are similar in age or i deeply sympathise with her and her situation i don't know. i hope she is happy, she deserves the world 🤍
it certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea, and definitely feeds into the 'sad girl' trope (i was delighted with the lana reference, or just delusional). regardless, i ate this the fuck up.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
saskiasreading's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship