Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - Cleopatra and Frankenstein

I'm torn between giving this 3 or 4 stars. Let's settle for 3.5/5

Stating the obvious, the book flows like a river. The writing's great, descriptions' great yada yada yada...

Finished the book in 3 days. That says enough.

Now, the interesting stuff...

I found the main character insufferable, which is absolutely fine, characters do NOT have to be likeable, but Mellors tried SO hard to make her likeable by mentioning just how likeable she is (how convenient) which made me dislike her even more.

TW//

The book also features PRETTY heavy themes like alcoholism, drug abuse, animal cruelty, su!cide, self-h@rm, and the list goes on....without ever really diving into the complexity and complications of each struggle, thereby making the character's problems seem shallow (they are not!!!)

Along with having like a bazillion unnecessary characters, this, too, was unnecessary. Towards the end of the book, it felt as if Mellors was just throwing in as much trauma as she possibly can for that shocker effect. Unfortunately, that had a counter effect. It made me desensitised to much of the events in the novel.

traumatised characters ≠ unconditional sympathy

I've read books with way fewer events going on but had a much deeper attachment to the characters.

Frustratingly, this could have been such a good book....

Content Warnings

artistic_nightsky's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Content Warnings

laurataylor's review

Go to review page

reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

joeykills's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

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

Content Warnings

syndierella's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I’d have liked to rate this book higher because I really enjoyed it, however something that really bothered me was the handling of queer characters in the novel (something that i immediately felt on reflection having just finished the book).
There is one queer character, Quentin, who forms part of the main storyline but his character is not developed as much as some of the other characters as the book progresses. Big spoilers ahead.

he only gets one chapter which is written from his perspective, in which you see him beginning to question his gender identity and also get introduced to the idea of meth/chem sex. Whereas other characters you meet that only have one or two chapters from their perspective (Zoe, Santiago, Anders) all show character development within those and you hear a resolution / see some character growth from them even through others, later in the novel. Whereas Quentin’s character is mostly ignored after his chapter early on until you learn from Cleo at the end that he got hooked on Meth and she doesn’t see him anymore. The gender identity point isn’t explored any further. I just thought it was really sad that the tropes of gay best friend and tragic ending for the only queer character were both employed in a book that deals well with topics of feminism, mental health and privilege including some commentary (albeit small) on race, including nuance within these

the other clumsy queer reference used is in reference to Eleanor’s father who we learn (tiny spoiler but you learn this pretty early on in her character and it doesn’t mean anything for the plot)

left her mother for a woman who in turn left him for another woman. This is then referred to throughout the rest of the novel as “he left you for a lesbian!”, with no comment/reference to the fact she might have been bi+, and it’s like some extra slight on her father not just that he left her mother for another woman but _for a “lesbian”_ as if the fact of her sexual orientation worsens his infidelity when obviously he wouldn’t have known that and maybe she didn’t either!

. I get it’s barely a plot point, but in that case, why put it in? It just feels clumsy compared to the nuanced treatment of & comments made by other characters in the book when it comes to other topics.

Content Warnings

mrjln's review

Go to review page

emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Though there were Black characters and one trans woman, in my opinion this book is not diverse since they were not well written. Coco Melors should have hired a sensitivity reader or researched more into the experiences of these marginalised groups of people. Also the slur with the g-word was used.
With this bad representation it would have been better if all characters were cis white.

Besides that it felt like reading about different kinds of rich white assholes that are addicted to drugs and destroy themselves and others and do not communicate with others.

I di understand where the hype comes from though, because I do like the style and it's intriguing to find out how all these mosaic pieces fit together.

Content Warnings

addie's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

calicosun's review

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

full of vague spoilers tbh

i liked that eleanor was in first person. it felt like we knew her intrinsically. she was the most ordinary and therefore she could speak to us directly
i wish the sex was more descriptive
i wish the self harm was too. i didn’t understand the gravity of the harm cleo had caused to herself until the mention of the scar that travelled from her write to her elbow.
i liked that we got to know about frank’s 5, and queinten… all these people whose personal lives intertwined and segmented in fascinating fans of darkness and depth. the third person descriptions of the characters and their thoughts and feelings were done with so much clarity and vivid expression that made the reader really feel a connection to the character and their emotions.
there was something about the segmented nature of eleanor’s sections that felt extremely personal,almost diaristic. there was a generosity to them that felt as though they weren’t meant for anyone else to read. i feel like the stars between sections represent lapses in time that also further this sense of a personal diary. that’s also why it feels so generous to. the idea that she has chosen to share so much of herself. releasing everything she writes her to everything outside of her control
the resolve that the end was very satisfying

Content Warnings

More...