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emotional
reflective
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt
Minor: Rape, Violence
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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 the song “I’m wearing his boxers/I cry in his bathroom, he turns off the big light” song “Complex” by Katie Gregson-MacLeod from tiktok was a book, this would be it. Or “You’re On Your Own, Kid” by Taylor Swift from Midnights. Or “Moon Song” by Phoebe Bridgers. Take your pick. If any of those songs break you, this book will finish the job 😭❤️🩹
Cleopatra and Frankenstein is a literary fiction masterpiece and in-depth character study. It’s the type of book that readers need to put some work into — you learn about the characters passively, by connecting the dots between their dialogue and their actions/behaviors. It’s a book worth annotating because so much is said between the lines.
Throughout the book you go from loving Cleo and Frank to hating them both, individually and as a couple. They’re messy, flawed, toxic people who bring out the worst in each other, and yet: “when the darkest part of you meets the darkest part of me, it creates light.”
It’s as beautiful as it is heartbreaking. It’s raw, it’s messy, it’s human. 5/5 stars⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Definitely adult content w/ triggering subjects. Check for content warnings ❤️🩹
Cleopatra and Frankenstein is a literary fiction masterpiece and in-depth character study. It’s the type of book that readers need to put some work into — you learn about the characters passively, by connecting the dots between their dialogue and their actions/behaviors. It’s a book worth annotating because so much is said between the lines.
Throughout the book you go from loving Cleo and Frank to hating them both, individually and as a couple. They’re messy, flawed, toxic people who bring out the worst in each other, and yet: “when the darkest part of you meets the darkest part of me, it creates light.”
It’s as beautiful as it is heartbreaking. It’s raw, it’s messy, it’s human. 5/5 stars⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Definitely adult content w/ triggering subjects. Check for content warnings ❤️🩹
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Dysphoria
Moderate: Death of parent
dark
emotional
slow-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
Toxic characters who are miserable in NYC. Join the club.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really wanted to enjoy this! I think Coco mellors shows a lot of promise as a writer, however a lot of Cleopatra and Frankenstein fell flat for me. The book is largely character driven but there is little time for each individual character to show any development due to the frequent changing of perspectives. In turn, they all become caricatures of themselves falling victim to predictable literary tropes. This coupled with the over-romanticising of mental illness made me struggle to finish the novel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship
dark
reflective
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
When I started this book I thought I would love it, the prose felt so beautiful and the characters were so interesting. However later during the book I kind of lost that feeling and I was glad to finish this book. I was not too happy with ending for several reasons.
Also: can I get a book JUST about Santiago?
Also: can I get a book JUST about Santiago?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was an interesting read.
It’s about Cleo, a young English artist living in New York and struggling to make ends meet, and Frank, a middle-aged and enigmatic man with a successful advertising company. They meet by chance one New Year’s Eve, and the book narrates the highs and lows of their relationship with each other, those around them and themselves.
I think this book had some really poignant commentary on the nature of mental illness and the different ways it can manifest. It’s prose on this sometimes touched a nerve with me in ways I found to be painful. You rarely read accounts of consenting adults in relationships with a large age gap and this was quite interesting and refreshing to read about.
However, it doesn’t quite get 5* for me because it felt very superficial. I didn’t like any of the characters (and I don’t think this was done on purpose). Cleo and Zoe came across like they were supposed to be relatable but personally I felt them both to be spoiled and entitled. If this was supposed to be a commentary on the dangers of living life with too much influence on partying and substance misuse, then it did a great job. I do suspect, based on the ending, that this was partially the case.
Overall, I’m really conflicted about this. I’m giving it 4* because I did keep wanting to come back to it and the ending was satisfying. But perhaps I need to come back to this later when some of the themes aren’t so raw.
It’s about Cleo, a young English artist living in New York and struggling to make ends meet, and Frank, a middle-aged and enigmatic man with a successful advertising company. They meet by chance one New Year’s Eve, and the book narrates the highs and lows of their relationship with each other, those around them and themselves.
I think this book had some really poignant commentary on the nature of mental illness and the different ways it can manifest. It’s prose on this sometimes touched a nerve with me in ways I found to be painful. You rarely read accounts of consenting adults in relationships with a large age gap and this was quite interesting and refreshing to read about.
However, it doesn’t quite get 5* for me because it felt very superficial. I didn’t like any of the characters (and I don’t think this was done on purpose). Cleo and Zoe came across like they were supposed to be relatable but personally I felt them both to be spoiled and entitled. If this was supposed to be a commentary on the dangers of living life with too much influence on partying and substance misuse, then it did a great job. I do suspect, based on the ending, that this was partially the case.
Overall, I’m really conflicted about this. I’m giving it 4* because I did keep wanting to come back to it and the ending was satisfying. But perhaps I need to come back to this later when some of the themes aren’t so raw.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Transphobia
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Moderate: Infidelity, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Vomit
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
SPOILERS THAT ARENT REALLY SPOILERS BUT ARE LOWKEY THEMATICALLY
I’ll be honest… I don’t have some big long grand entrance to my discussion of this book so I’ll just jump right in. This book was so interesting to me. It felt like a cross between FLEABAG, Sally Rooney novels, and (most important and pungently) Scott Street by Phoebe Bridgers. I also found a lot of literary verses almost plucked out of evermore songs (particularly happiness). The hodgepodge of all the things i love would make you think this book would be written for me. But at the same time, I felt like this book was one where it took me a long time to want to invest in it. And maybe that’s because not a lot of time was given to the development of the characters growing together and focused more on their individual stories. Don’t get me wrong, some of the chapters I was enthralled by (particularly Eleanor’s and Quintin’s first chapter) but other ones made me feel flat. Like I was just trying to get through them. This still is a beautiful book and I will be thinking of it every time that I hear Scott Street and I will be watching the show when it comes out, but it was not my favorite book of the year like I anticipated.
I’ll be honest… I don’t have some big long grand entrance to my discussion of this book so I’ll just jump right in. This book was so interesting to me. It felt like a cross between FLEABAG, Sally Rooney novels,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt
dark
emotional
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Alcohol
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Death of parent
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt