A review by versmonesprit
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

emotional funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

When Cleo and Frank meet, they give each other the very telling nicknames of Cleopatra and Frankenstein: to him, she’s a queen, a goddess — an affirmation she shares about herself deep down; to her, he’s a monster, and through her eyes he sees himself as such too — because of this, when with her he is. This is important, because as the book progresses, every character goes from likeable or unlikeable to utterly intolerable in their differently horrendous ways of being. I adored this book mightily, but then couldn’t stand it to the point it put me off reading entirely for a while. I had to force myself to continue reading. Most characters are at least, to a degree, self-aware, but the book’s titular Cleo is so full of herself, so self-victimising à la yt woman, and the book never makes her take any accountability in anything at all. Cleo’s dependence on men - when coupled with her ungrateful character and puerile lack of responsibility - made reading this book a pain for me in the second half. Cleo is emotionally manipulative and physically abusive, and all other characters by virtue of some sort of self-awareness are slightly better, but you’ll still be reading about privileged addicts playing victims. Don’t get me wrong, the writing is great, but half of the book made my blood boil. P.S. The graphic animal deaths felt needlessly reactionary.
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