Book Review: Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

July 29, 2024

I feel like I flew through this book. I loved the characters, the multiple points of view, and the way that the time passed. I can picture this book being made into a series, and each chapter is a different episode.

I do want to start out with a warning about this book. While this review won’t touch on them, there are large themes of parental neglect, drug and alcohol abuse, self harm and suicide, death, cheating and disordered eating among other things. Please do your research prior to reading this book.

The last couple books that I read, the time moved in a very strange way, and I am not sure I loved it. This book, on the other hand, has a much more natural flow, that made it easier to follow. Maybe I just needed a less complex book, or maybe I just needed this book. I loved the characters and the fact that the whole book was pretty much just a large character study of six ( did I count right? I think so. ) characters.

We follow the relationship of a young woman named Cleo and an older man named Frank. We jump into the story the night that they meet and fall in love, and all the sudden we are at their wedding. Cleo’s visa was going to be up, and she had this great relationship with this guy, so they decided that, in order to make sure she is able to stay in the country, they would get married. Their dear friend, Santiago, who is a chef, takes the time and makes their wedding dinner. Cleos friend, Quinten, is unmistakably a little jealous that she didn’t ask him to marry her ( even though he is very much not interested in females romantically ) and is upset that he is no longer the center of her life. Franks friend, Anders, keeps the party going. Franks sister, Zoe, who is barely old enough to be there, is a little cranky about the arrangement overall due to the fact that she relies on her brother for so much.

This story is filled with complex characters that have so much thought put into them. While I didn’t always love what was happening, I loved the way we were able to see how each character grew and changed, for better or for worse, over the course of the 368 pages.

Overall, I would suggest the book, but I would suggest it with caution.