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Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief
Minor: Dementia
Graphic: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness
Minor: Suicide, Transphobia, Dementia, Death of parent
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit
Moderate: Blood, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol
Moderate: Animal death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Blood
Minor: Vomit, Medical content
The novel follows Cleo, a young British artist, and Frank, an older American ad man, who impulsively marry after a whirlwind romance in New York. What follows is an intimate, messy, and often bleak exploration of their relationship—and the web of people around them—as they each try to find themselves (or lose themselves) in love, ambition, addiction, and identity.
Now, my feelings about this book are... complicated. I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it. It’s very character-driven, which I usually enjoy, and Mellors really knows how to write interiority. There were moments—especially during Cleo’s depressive episodes—that hit way too close to home. But what kept me from fully loving it was the lack of character growth. These people felt real, but also kind of stuck in their own cycles, like they never really learned or changed.
If you're looking for something plot-heavy, this might not be for you. But if you’re into messy, melancholic stories with poetic writing and emotionally distant characters spiraling through life, this might just scratch that itch. It didn’t become a favorite for me, but I can totally see why it resonates with a lot of readers.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Blood, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Dementia, Death of parent
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
Graphic: Drug use, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal death, Vomit
Minor: Drug abuse, Sexual content, Dementia, Death of parent
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol