Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Cleópatra e Frankenstein

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Cleópatra e Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

420 reviews

tolu_odejide's review against another edition

4.0

challenging 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

I have a penchant of reading books too fast. This book was so uncomfortably reflective that I had to rush through it or else I’d stop and never come back.

Mellors writes in the modern style, I first encountered when I read “Girl. Woman. Other.” It’s pervasive, a book on my tbr list, “I’m a Fan” is also written in a similar style. Morally grey characters who make morally ambiguous decisions. Cheat on their partners, humiliate themselves in public and are never sober.

I can never read more than a couple of these books a year. They’re too modern. I prefer confronting my emotions through several layers of illusion. This one, was brilliant however.

The characters are well-crafted, written with such empathy that it’s easy to see yourself reflected back in them, even the bad bits. Frank’s story particularly resonated with me.

Theme exploration in this book felt like a caress. It felt like someone had dug deep underneath my defences and helped rearrange things. Finishing this felt like I’d shaken something out of a favourite coat. I understand myself better now.

Content Warnings

caia_in_wonderland's review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional 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

Haunting and beautiful.
Cleo and Frank have had a shit childhood and although they’ve 20 years difference their darkness pulls them together to try to make light. Green card or not Cleo loves Frank and a few months after they met they get married.
This is really a story about the group of people surrounding the recent couple and Cleo and Frank themselves, a story where the characters move the plot, which is a picture of addiction, pain, broken childhoods, depression and to be an adult filled with grief and confusion, to still be finding yourself, to realise sometimes it takes forever, the journey is it, sometimes it’s laugh, friends, finding a support system.
I did saw myself in the details of many of them and none.
It’s weird, it moved me but it didn’t fill me, maybe my own grief and depression made a barrier between me and this grief stricken story so I wouldn’t hurt - it’s been a rough year.
Still, loved it just not immensely.

Content Warnings

h3ymelissa's review against another edition

3.75

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

leilaekn's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

adamparrishlover's review against another edition

3.5

challenging emotional 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

it's kinda like gosspil girl for people that are currently debating wether or not they should get a sugar daddy to pay for their expenses. mostly questionable with some strong feminism sprinkled in here and there.

Ah and also everyone in New York does coke like EVERYONE

Content Warnings

jjb21's review against another edition

2.25

challenging dark reflective 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

Some good moments - e.g. the first chapter, Eleanor’s chapters - overwhelmed by a complete lack of plot (in favour of a growing list of broken addicts doing toxic things). Confused and unimpressive. Nothing like the Sally Rooney it was compared to. Putting graphic content in a book is no substitute for interesting content

Content Warnings

strawbberryhoney's review against another edition

3.0

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

this book had so much potential. i think it did best when it didn't take itself too seriously; however, it tried to take itself too seriously too often. it isn't quite sure what it wants to be: drama? rom-com? coming-of-age? adventure? character study?

there were aspects i liked: i thought the time jumps were handled very well, and i enjoyed the different perspectives (eleanor's sections in particular were *chef's kiss*). the last section is definitely the strongest, and the part that i enjoyed the most. it was nice to read a book where the characters end up happy.

however, there were also many issues. cleo veers dangerously into mary sue territory many times, and a lot of the conflict doesn't feel authentic - it feels like the author needed conflict but wasn't sure how to have it happen organically. some of the characters were little more than stereotypes and fetishisations and honestly made me feel icky to read. i also didn't enjoy the way mellors writes about sex, it just made me uncomfortable.

the way cleo's affair is handled also just grossed me out, and the text also completely glosses over it and tries to justify it as frank's fault

.

i think there's a 5 star story hiding in there somewhere, and honestly it makes me feel bad knowing that this book took 7 years to write because it does feel, more often than not, like someone crammed their essay the night before it was due.

3/5

Content Warnings