Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Cleópatra e Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

616 reviews

fairyko's review against another edition

2.25

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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

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 Often I have walked past this book in the bookstore and thought about buying it. At the request of a friend, I did, because she said she would need someone at the end to exchange her thoughts about it and quickly it became clear to me why she said that. Right at the beginning a big warning. Please read the trigger warnings on the internet if you plan to buy this book. I did not know that certain topics are discussed so intensively and I claim to be able to handle a lot well - but here even I felt sick to my stomach now and then. A content warning at the beginning of the book would have been good in my opinion. Now about the content. I did not like the characters. Except for Santiago, I found every single person introduced annoying, boring, tiring, or just plain mean. Or all at once. The relationship between Cleo and Frank was doomed to fail from the start and you practically watch the two of them gradually destroy themselves and each other. Other characters (especially Quentin) leave too much room for interpretation and are there, but ultimately do not contribute to the development of the plot. They are all tragic in their own way, but only superficially so. Each character has their own story, their own trauma, and their own fate, but each character would need their own book to properly deal with all of this and not just skim over it. Coco Mellors does a poor job of addressing the problems of each individual and illuminating them in a light that does them justice. The wounds of each character are opened, but then not treated with the necessary sensitivity. At best, a small plaster is put on the metaphorical stab wound, but the reader does not get more. It was a very frustrating experience and from halfway through I prayed on every third page for a quick end to my reading experience. The novel presents itself as a shimmering, profound love story between a successful middle-aged man and a nearly childlike artist, but brings the reader nothing but pain. Not even because the story is so tragic, but because it just drags on. What one must credit Coco Mellors with is that she achieves her goal. People talk about her book, it stays in the mind for a long time and one thinks a lot about it, as each of these characters leaves a strange feeling in the stomach. Her writing style is also very appealing and especially graphic. She has certainly mastered "show, don't tell" as few others have. If she now also creates a story that does not claim to be something it is not, I can certainly imagine reading something from her again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Alcohol

Moderate: Animal death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Sexual harassment

leonhardtj's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I was going to say it was surprising to learn that years were passing, but you could feel a difference in writing/characters from end of book vs. beginning. 

The constant descriptions of doing drugs and cocaine were very boring. 

Once it got to the introduction of Eleanor, I was all in! The character, the humor, the style those chapters were written. I just want a whole book written in that format now. I felt like somehow those little bursts got more information across and made me feel more deeply connected to this character than any of the other characters in the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use

Moderate: Addiction, Suicide attempt, Alcohol

siriface's review against another edition

3.75

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt

annemarijequartel's review against another edition

2.75

dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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It read away very easy, but the characters and their relationships lacked depth. Too many character POV’s with too little description of how they became the way they are. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail

anh_read's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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While the novel centers around the relationship/marriage between Cleo and Frank, it also depicts its impact on their surroundings. As the novel follows a different character in each chapter, the reader gets a more in-depth look into their relationship

Therefore, the reader gets a better understanding why things didn’t work out between Cleo and Frank.

 

As I am not a big fan of romance novels, I am relieved that this novel didn’t turn out to be a typical and cheesy love story. Moreover, if you like Sex and the city, it definitely catches the vibe - just in a darker manner.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol

Moderate: Infidelity, Violence, Toxic friendship

Minor: Animal death, Sexual harassment

readwithsaray's review against another edition

3.0

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt

baruss666's review against another edition

3.75

dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Suicide attempt

emm4reads's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent

moonlitmercutio's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 13%

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I was pushing my way through the audiobook. Wonderful narration but I can not stand the story, writing, characters, etc. Just used it as white noise while going about my day without an issue until the story strayed from Cleo and Frank (yknow, the titular characters) and started focusing on the stereotypical gay guy who apparently only cares about fashion and sex. Could ignore the downright terrible depiction of gay men until the author decides to throw in an unnecessary "orgy" scene? Couldn't get through two minutes of it. Corny writing. Bad characters. Offensive. Cannot imagine myself ever enjoying this book, in audio or physical format. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Alcohol

huge age gap (approximately 20 or more years)

theraindiary's review against another edition

3.0

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria

Moderate: Misogyny, Transphobia, Death of parent