A review by mayaism_01
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I'm putting this tentatively at 4 stars because I'm not 100% sure I enjoyed it but I've thought about it enough that it has to rank higher than books I outright didn't enjoy or didn't care for in any significant way. This was a thrilling and provocative story about the relationships between people and how the people that build you up can also be the ones that crush you, making peace with your trauma and other narrative strands that I don't think I fully gripped. I enjoyed the whirlwind of Cleo and Frank's story and enjoyed the smaller interjections of their other friends' perspectives, though some like Quentin and Zoe I think deserved more fleshing out. I think the further away I get from this novel the more I'll appreciate it, though something I definitely enjoyed was Mellor's writing style, punchy and lyrical (the same kind of vibe as Lana Del Rey lyrics), and the chaotic characters.
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