Take a photo of a barcode or cover
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Racism, Violence
Minor: Rape
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Romanticises drug use and SH
" wanna be " Sally Rooney
Can't believe it took Coco Mellors 7 years to write this when I could write something much quicker with much more substance all whilst avoiding attacking Irish culture and stereotypes
" wanna be " Sally Rooney
Can't believe it took Coco Mellors 7 years to write this when I could write something much quicker with much more substance all whilst avoiding attacking Irish culture and stereotypes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Self harm
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m not really sure what I have to say about this book. I enjoyed reading it. I think maybe the way I felt during this book is how I was supposed to feel about Sally Rooney.
Reading description after description of Cleo and then spotting Coco Mellor’s author photo was a bit of an eyebrow raise, haha. And I do have very mixed feelings about Quentin, the only queer character, being the only one with a bleak, hopeless ending. Especially considering he was only given one POV chapter in the book. idk. It just feels like this book prides itself on being adjacent to queer culture but is ultimately very heteronormative.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Infidelity, Suicide attempt
Minor: Animal death
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not my fave kind of story, but the craft of the writing was exceptional 🤍
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Medical content, Pregnancy
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Death of parent
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug use, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Minor: Domestic abuse, Vomit
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Dezember. Sie stand schon im Fahrstuhl als er Einstieg, er nickte ihr zu und schloss mit einem Rattern das Eisengitter...
- Cleopatra und Frankenstein, 1%
🎧 gehört als Hörbuch
Einerseits war dieses Buch eine berührende Liebesgeschichte gone traumatic.
Andererseits bildet es verschiedene Menschen, die in verschiedenen Beziehungen miteinander stehen ab, die teils problematisch sind, teils liebevoll.
Und dann ist die Geschichte auch Klischee beladen, aber durch den wundervollen Schreibstil kann man darüber hinwegsehen.
Cleo und Frank sind die titelgebenden Hauptfiguren, aber sie leben nicht isoliert, sondern man bekommt auch die Gedankenwelt der Menschen um sie herum mit. Dadurch entsteht ein schönes, rundes Bild. Was mir hier nicht so gefallen hat war, dass man von Cleo gefühlt nicht recht viel mehr POVs bekommt, als von so manch anderem Nebencharakter. Da hätte ich mir mehr erwartet, da Cleo ja immerhin eine Namensgeberin des Buches ist. Außerdem hätte ich gerne mehr darüber erfahren, was sich Cleo bei so manchen Aktionen gedacht hat (zB
Das Ende war
Ich fand es einfach super, dass Cleo und Frank sich normal über ihre beendete Beziehung unterhalten konnten, ohne großes Drama. Von dieser Sorte brauchen wir unbedingt mehr! Es gibt leider viel zu viele Beispiele in Filmen und Büchern, wo sich Ex-Partner auch lange nach der Trennung bis aufs Blut hassen, anstatt einfach zu versuchen drüber zu stehen und weiterzumachen.
Mein Lieblingscharakter war Cleo (Romes Version). Ich hatte wirklich den Eindruck, dass es ihr besser geht, dass sie heilt und sie es schaffen wird.
Von Zoe hätte ich gerne noch mehr erfahren, wie ging es mit ihr weiter?
Dass es für Frank so einfach war mit dem Trinken aufzuhören hat mich sehr überrascht. Meist braucht es bei sowas mehr Anläufe, und natürlich wissen wir nicht, ob Frank es nicht vor Beginn der Geschichte schon mal versucht hat oder er nach dem Ende nochmal rückfällig wird... Aber das Framing "er hat mit dem Trinken aufgehört, weil er ist jetzt in Eleonor verliebt" finde ich nicht nur unrealistisch und unauthentisch, sondern auch sehr problematisch. Jemand der jahre- oder jahrzehntelang Alkoholiker war, hört nicht so einfach auf, unfortunately that's not how the world works...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Rip Quentin, author did him dirty :/
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you’re a reader that likes a true plot then this isn’t really the book for you. However, whilst the majority of characters cannot be described as lovable, all are relatable and the book really explores the difficulties of navigating complex relationships in the modern day world.
Several really important topics are covered with enough depth that they’re not trivialised but evoke thought. The title of the book is the most perfect symbolism. However, excluding Santiago, I didn’t have a true connection with the characters hence the rating, but it’s still a book I would recommend.
Several really important topics are covered with enough depth that they’re not trivialised but evoke thought. The title of the book is the most perfect symbolism. However, excluding Santiago, I didn’t have a true connection with the characters hence the rating, but it’s still a book I would recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Moderate: Medical content, Death of parent
Minor: Sexism, Terminal illness
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Alcohol