I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Wonderful writing, hard to put down. Loved all of the female characters!

A beautiful, eloquently-written book about what it means to be a woman in your 20s and feeling lost. While Cleo's experience is one of privilege (in fact, pretty much everyone in the book is in a position of privilege) it is a universal one - none of us know what we're doing, no matter how much we try to convince ourselves and others.

I do wish we had seen more of Cleo and Eleanor separately. I couldn't help but not care about the men in this story.

Would recommend for fans of Sally Rooney and Naoise Dolan.

One of those books that I can't believe I waited so long to read, but simultaneously happy it is finally a part of my life! CLEOPATRA AND FRANKENSTEIN is a perfect elevation of the sad NYC girl trope. Yes, it starts with one of those, but the book is full of characters that jump off the page including one, spoiler alert, that is maybe my favorite character of the year so far? And guess what - it's not Cleo OR Frank!

That doesn't mean that I wasn't inthralled by the love story and whirlwind marriage between our Cleopatra and Frankenstein. They have both an age gap and a green card working against them, as well as mental illness and alcoholism. You know they aren't right for each other, but you can't help but root for them. Until, about half way through, we are introduced to Eleanor and everything gets turned on its head. I adore Mellors' storytelling and what she does with these characters. It's not a love triangle and it's not straightforward, but the story is fantastic and unexpected and certainly one of my favorite novels of the year.

This book was amazing. I coudn't put it down. It was magical. Higly recommended! The characters, the plots, the writting: wonderful and perfect.

I wanted to enjoy this book, and I loved the first few chapters but this read a bit too much like Sally Rooney's books for me - pretentious and unnecessary. Maybe I would have better luck with the audiobook but it was just a slog to get through this one.

Since this was a low rated read for me, but I don't have any strong feelings about why anyone else should not read it, i will not be added a review to my goodreads account so that those who loved it can continue to share their thoughts without my low rating getting the way for no reason. Thank you for the opportunity to read this title!

I absolutely love this book. One of my new all-time favorites. I think if you like contemporary novels with a slight literary feel, and deep character work, you will probably enjoy this one. The characters in here are so fully realized it's hard not to completely into the story, even if you don't end up liking them a whole lot.

CLEOPATRA AND FRANKENSTEIN is the debut from Coco Mellors; a compelling, funny novel about marriage and friendship.

Mellors writing is clever, sharp, and lovely- earning comparisons to Emma Straub and Sally Rooney. Cleo and Frank - made all the more interesting by the diverse and wonderful set of characters orbiting them - are an unlikely pair; but the story of their coupling and whirlwind path to marriage, and what comes after, is enjoyable from start to finish.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC which I received in exchange for my honest review.

Sometimes it is not just about the want, but the optics of desire. Sometimes we let joy linger around the corner while we fret on the other side of the wall. We dump contentment on the curb and hope it doesn’t get soggy in the rain. We promise to come back for it later. We chase what looks right at the expense of what feels right. Maybe contentment lives in the soft belly of a kitten who has curled up for a nap. When the kitten awakens, what if we let it edge toward our shin and nuzzle us. What if we let it tell us exactly what it wants?
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Cleopatra and Frankenstein is about hierarchies of desire. It is not a sad book, in the sense that the characters don’t get what they want. Instead, it scrapes away the pillow-soft lining on our tongues and leaves us with a dry mouth of realization. Where does it ache when we realize that we wanted the wrong thing? Why did we worry the future threadbare when the good part was an unopened door along the path we had already taken?
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In this novel, fatal flaws are a riptide. It is cruel, the way the characters are thrown into paths of disillusion and resentment exactly when they meant to settle into their nesting grounds. I wondered how much of it was avoidable, and how much was simply the collateral of living?
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Our lives are built around a tessellation of humans; an entourage. What if we are born with all the right bricks but build our roof with holes in it? What if it’s not about the wrong people, but the wrong combinations of them? Cleo has beauty but no wealth, Frank has wealth but no decency, Eleanor is unceasingly brilliant but lacks initial charm, Zoey oozes sexuality but lacks passion, and on and on. There is a combination where the sun glares on the ocean, and one where the ocean shimmers blue.

For most of this novel, the characters are charmed by the eye of the storm. They mistake calm for tender, but luckily “too late” is eponymous to the clearing of the storm. It’s up to them to grab onto the rays of hope cutting through.

Published by Bloomsbury on February 8, 2022

Cleopatra and Frankenstein is a New York City domestic drama. Boy meets girl, girl shags boy’s best friend, boy marries girl, boy thinks about shagging someone new, girl shags boy’s best friend again, boy dyes his graying chest hair after losing girl, and so on. I won’t spoil the ending, not that it is difficult to predict. All of that happens in the context of a New York City novel — boy and girl rag about New York while living with the certainty that every other American city is worse — and an older man, younger woman relationship. So yes, you’ve read this book before. Fortunately, Coco Mellors crafts an enjoyable story, even if she can’t make it fresh.

Frank and Cleo have recently married. Frank is in his forties, Jewish on his father’s side and Catholic on his mother’s, a New Yorker who started his own advertising agency. Cleo is a British artist in her twenties. Her student visa was about to expire when she married Frank. The marriage was convenient for Cleo but they love each other, despite being less than perfectly matched. Cleo is bothered by Frank’s alpha-male competitiveness, by his drinking, by his desire to live for the purpose of accumulating stories about his life. Frank is bothered by Cleo’s unceasing demands for attention and by her efforts to change him. Both suffer from a constant need to prove to the world that they are interesting, worthy of notice, perhaps worthy of love.

Nineteen-year-old Zoe is Frank’s half-sister. Frank believes she was the product of “a last ditch effort to create a shared interest with [his mother’s] second husband.” Zoe is an actor. Strangers do not believe they are siblings because Frank looks like a “vaguely Jewish” white guy and Zoe is dark and breathtaking. Zoe is broke but financially dependent on Frank for rent and tuition, although she’d like to find a way to be self-sufficient without actually making an effort that would get in the way of nightly partying and random hookups.

Cleo’s father is Peter, a man so wrapped up in his new family that he barely recalls he has a daughter. Cleo lost her mother to suicide after her divorce from Peter. Cleo’s stepmother is Miriam, who teaches workshops on healing the inner child. During a lunch at Grand Central Station’s Oyster Bar, it becomes clear that Cleo’s relationship with Peter and Miriam needs healing. It’s easy to understand why Cleo is such a mess.

Frank’s best friends are Santiago (a Peruvian chef whose wife apparently died from a heroin overdose) and Anders (a Scandinavian former model who quit working for Frank to take over the art department of a women’s fashion magazine). Whether they are good friends or the sort of people who betray each other or both is a question that adds to the domestic drama. Cleo’s best friend (before meeting Frank) is Quentin, who broke up with Johnny and sporadically dates Alex. Every woman in a modern domestic drama needs a gay friend and confidant; Quentin fills that role.

After a third of the story has been told, Eleanor Rosenthal appears. Eleanor is in her late thirties. After getting fired as a screenwriter in LA, she moved to New York to live with her mother (her father is in a home for people with Alzheimer’s). Eleanor took a temp job as a copywriter in New York at Frank’s agency. She sits next to an editor named Myke, who tells her about Frank’s hot young British wife. Eleanor googles Cleo because Eleanor is insecure. Seeing Cleo’s picture doesn’t improve her confidence.

Coco Mellors takes her deepest dive into Eleanor. Or perhaps, not being obsessed with New Yorkiness, Eleanor’s personality is less superficial than the other characters. Her insecurity is almost endearing. Eleanor deals with feelings of loss, unfulfilled desires, and an inability to decide which desires she really wants to fulfill. A late chapter devoted to Eleanor provides the novel’s funniest moments. Her mother offers the book’s greatest insight: The space between the words “so what” holds the key to “a free and happy life.”

Cleo and Frank offer ordinary insights into why relationships fail. They blame each other for their faults. Frank uses Cleo as an excuse for his drinking. Cleo uses Frank as an excuse for her self-harm. Each blames the other for being self-pitying and in that regard, they each have a point. They are about equally self-centered. Ultimately, each wants the other to be someone else, although each knew exactly what they were getting when they chose to marry. Cleo resents that “the onus is on her to fix” Frank but it’s not. The onus is on her to accept Frank or to encourage his better tendencies, not to change him into the person she wants him to be. Just as the onus is on Frank to listen to Cleo rather than putting words in her mouth. The story offers typical insights into the inability of self-centered people to sustain relationships.

Cleopatra and Frankenstein checks all the boxes of a New York domestic drama, from Quentin’s desire to be a female to marital infidelity to alcohol and drug abuse to unresolved resentment of parents living and dead to unlovable characters moaning that no one loves them to friends who are collected as accessories. And, of course, New Yorkers making fun of LA. Like many New Yorkers, the characters seem to think that living in New York is enough to make them superior to other Americans. To her credit, however, Mellors makes it clear that leaving New York behind is the best thing that could happen to Cleo.

A chapter that recounts Frank and Eleanor’s “getting to know each other” period is filled with amusing sentences. I particularly enjoyed “We go to an Irish bar around the corner that smells of salted nuts and disappointment.” The characters trade the kind of witty dialog that is effortless to imaginary people.They are never inarticulate, never at a loss for words. In uglier times, Frank and Cleo scream at each other in scenes that might make a reader cringe. They left me feeling exhausted, as if I had been in the fight. It is a tribute to Mellors that her prose drew me so intimately into the story.

A reader’s reaction to a domestic drama may depend on whether the reader relates to, or at least cheers for, any of the significant characters. I liked Eleanor and eventually developed a reader’s fondness for Frank and Cleo, perhaps because they are both on the road to overcoming their selfish tendencies as the novel nears its end. Still, the characters are all walking clichés. A “talk it all out” chapter at the end is predictable, as is the ending. Mellors contributes nothing new to the stale genre of New York domestic drama. Fans of the genre will probably love Cleopatra and Frankenstein. Despite the familiar story. I’m recommending it for Mellors’ prose and her ability to make tiresome characters interesting.

RECOMMENDED

I knew from the very first page that Cleopatra and Frankenstein was going to be a special book. It looks like it's been pretty polarizing so far based on other reviews, but I absolutely loved it.

Cleopatra and Frankenstein centers on the titular characters, 20-something Cleo and 40-something Frank, who wed six months after a meet-cute on New Year's Eve in Manhattan. As each chapter unfolds in the months following their marriage, the story spreads out to encompass the lives of those closest to Cleo and Frank -- friends, family, a co-worker -- to create a complex portrait of modern life and love.

This is a book that relies entirely on its characters and their conversations, and it's incredibly well-done. Coco Mellors has created a core group of characters who are complex and raw, vulnerable and authentic, frustrating and contradictory and exhibiting the best and worst of what it means to be human. I was under the impression that I didn't really like most of these people, until I got to the end of the book and realized that I actually loved them, and was going to miss reading about their lives.

Mellors' writing is energetic, thoughtful, and keenly observant. She explores so much in the pages of this novel, in a narrative that is equal parts honest, hilarious, and heartbreaking: the darkest and most turbulent parts of marriage, sexuality and infidelity and gender, mental health, addiction, racism, wealth and class, and issues of art and identity. It's poignant and thought-provoking, while also never taking itself too seriously.

Cleopatra and Frankenstein is a messy, complex story about modern relationships of all kinds, a bittersweet and tender character study with pitch-perfect dialogue and characters that are going to stick with me for a long time. This is contemporary literary fiction at its finest and I can't wait to read whatever Mellors writes next.

This book felt like a car crash in slow motion and, although it had me wanting to yell and scream at some points, I truly loved all of it. I found Cleo and Frank's dynamic equal parts infuriating and enamoring and really enjoyed watching them grow and develop. I thought the addition of the other perspectives was a smart way to break up a very character-heavy story with subplots that were both informative to the main through line, but also added intrigue of their own as well.. Eleanor's perspective was by far my favorite, though I would really love to see an entire book focused on Zoe and her development as a young adult in NYC. I found the ending of this story incredibly refreshing, though I'll leave it at that to avoid spoiling anything for anyone.

Ultimately, this is a perfect read for fans of Sally Rooney, right person, wrong time narratives (though I wouldn't quite call this that), and someone who's listened to a bit too much boygenius to be healthy.

So excited to see what Coco Mellors does next.

Might you be tempted by a romance among high-living, media-employed New Yorkers, infused with drugs, creativity, psychological burdens and heartbreak? Would you be even more attracted if that mix were cut with Jewish comedy? If the answer is yes, then this novel – with its regal/gothic, or is it comedy duo? title – is for you.

Starting out as a meet cute love story, it swiftly introduces gorgeous, blonde, twenty-something British artist Cleo, with a mentally ill mother and some painting talent, who bumps into ad-agency star Frank, two decades older, also burdened by parental issues and in his case a dependency on alcohol. Flirtation is swiftly followed by love, co-habitation and marriage but, despite the couple’s beauty, talent, good taste and devoted friends, their demons cannot, for long, be kept at bay.

So far so enjoyable, as high octane modern love stories go. Mellors has an eye for fashion, and brittle connections, although her characters – see a grim lunch at the Grand Central Station Oyster Bar – can tend toward the one-dimensional. But this is easily-consumable contemporary fare, the couple at its core is compelling, and there are plenty of other beautiful people in their circle, like Frank’s sexually insatiable Scandinavian friend Anders; Frank’s black stepsister Zoe, an actress wannabe who takes too many risks; and Cleo’s gay best friend Quentin who the reader just knows is destined for worse things.

But who was expecting Eleanor, the LA comedy-writing transplant who arrives as a copy-writer in Frank’s agency and will soon offer a more frumpy balm to Cleo’s exquisite fragility? And even more surprising, yet rather to be relished, is Eleanor’s first-person account of returning to her Jewish mother’s New Jersey household, with all the one-line humor that might entail, in this painfully non-Manhattan, anti-hip setting – all suburbia, bird-feeders, public transport and bad food eaten on weary sofas in front of the TV.

Same book? Yes. The novel emerges as a kind of modern/traditional fusion blessed with soapy charm to offset some of the mawkishness of Cleo and Frank’s faltering relationship, which offers its own predictable arc but concludes with grace.

So there you have it – sushi and gefilte fish on the same plate. It’s an odd, yet still palatable combo, and Mellors’ debut confirms that she can deliver readable modernity with a comic twist. Mazel tov.

𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐎𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐑𝐀 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐈𝐍 by debut author Coco Mellors has the dangerous distinction of being compared to such books as 𝘔𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 by Emma Straub and 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 by Sally Rooney. Those are big shoes to fill, but for me Mellors has done it. So, let me say right at the top that I thought her writing was simply exquisite. A pure pleasure to read. Bravo!⁣
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Cleo and Frank meet while leaving a New Year’s Eve party in 2007. She’s 24 and on a student visa that’s expiring in six months. He’s the 45ish owner of a successful New York marketing firm. Theirs is a whirlwind romance that ends in a marriage that takes most everyone by surprise including themselves. That’s the basic setup for 𝘊𝘭𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯, but the story is really what happens after: how two people who barely knew each other can make a go of their marriage, or not. It’s also about how the people in their lives feel about the couple and how that impacts their relationship. ⁣
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This is a story that delves into how two people can truly love each other even when they don’t seem to be able to fit together. It’s a story steeped in excess and touched by mental illness. It’s a love story, but not a romance. It’s dark, but not crushingly so. It’s hopeful, but not overtly. It’s a book I highly recommend to fans of Sally Rooney or even to those who find Rooney just a little too dark. 𝘊𝘭𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯 will give you the same feel, but won't leave you crushed. I loved it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫⁣
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Thanks to @bloomsburypublishing for an electronic ARC of #cleopatraandfrankenstein.

i was drawn to this book by the title and its cover. cleopatra and frankenstein, what amazing historical and literary figures, so i had to request. however, even after reading the description i was let down by the book which is i don't think is a fault to the book but the marketing. i was expecting more gothic more dark but did not get that. unfortunately a miss for me.

[3 Stars]

I'm just going to list my thoughts on this book here:
1. All the characters kinda sucked a little. This didn't detract from my reading experience, but it certainly didn't add anything either
2. The ending left a lot to be desired. I felt like multiple plotlines (specifically Zoe's and Quentin's) were left unfinished
3. The writing was fine but I couldn't figure out why Eleanor's sections were written so differently than everyone else's
4. Mellors really knows how to write dialogue. That was definitely my favorite aspect of this story. I loved all the witty one-liners and clever back + forth, which added some joy into an otherwise very sad book

please check contact warnings for this one. Alcohol use + abuse, drug use + abuse, suicide ideation + suicide attempt, death of a parent, emotional + physical abuse, death of an animal, and probably a couple more I'm missing

If you like a good character study with little to no plot, and you can handle the content warnings, this might be one for you. But be braced to be sad basically the entire time

This was my first read of 2022 and it was a brilliant start to the year. Although the subject matter is different, Cleopatra and Frankenstein reminded me of A Little Life in that it follows the lives of a couple and their eclectic group of friends living in New York. Like A Little Life, the characters and their stories will stay with you long after reading. Glamorous, beautifully-written and poignant, I've been recommending this to all my friends!

COOL and SEXY contemporary fiction
Frank and Cleo meet at a New Years party and start a whirlwind romance that leads to a quick marriage with (expected) catastrophic results. This story was multi-layered and a lot of the characters, though unlikeable, were super cool and very now-it made me want to know them. They live the kinds of lives that make you wonder exactly how it works but oddly enough it does.
I enjoyed the writing style of this book and while it hasn't been my all-time favorite read I think the themes and plot of this book were very now.
READ THIS if you like Sally Rooney and shows like GIRLS.

PS there is a character in here that was named Zoe who I kept picturing as Zoe Kravitz,

Was happy to include this novel in February’s Novel Encounters, my regular column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction. (In Zoomer magazine’s Zed Book Club section.)

Cleo and the much older Frank married six months after they met- and this is the aftermath. She's an artist, he's in the advertising business. What brought them together doesn't keep them together as their interests diverge and as Frank begins to drink. A lot. This is, however, as much about their circle of friends, some of whom are more interesting than others (and some of whom are downright annoying), It's less plot or character driven than an ambitious effort to write an ensemble novel, I know I'm going to be the odd one out here but this didn't capture me as I had hoped. There are however some lovely turns of phrase that kept me reading. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of literary fiction.

In only a few pages, Mellers’ writing style completely enamored me. With zero expectations or ideas regarding where this book was going, I felt powerless to do anything but to follow Cleo and Frank on their journey. At first glance, this book may seem to be another story about life and relationships, but it is a unique story with a level of detail and uncanny accuracy that I have yet to encounter in a work of fiction.

Cleopatra and Frankenstein, at its core, explores the relationship of two strangers who meet by chance on the streets of NYC, and despite their complete lack of familiarity and obvious differences, Cleo and Frank form an instant connection that alters their fate. Frank is an older, successful CEO of an advertising agency, whereas Cleo is a struggling art student in need of a visa. Their marriage may be quick and untraditional, but in the moment, their love is seemingly timeless. However, both of them struggle to overcome the past and their current character flaws.

Even though the book is named after Cleo and Frank, I believe the supporting characters made this story memorable. This book is witty, dripping in satire, and made me laugh out loud over and over again. For me, it perfectly captured human hopes, turmoils, and inner thoughts to the point where it blew up my perspective on how I view my friends and family. Overall, the character depth is unmatched, and Mellers shocked me with her ability to get human relationships so right.

(Also Eleanor might be one of my favorite literary characters of all time.)