Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

*spoiler-free*

Cleopatra and Frankenstein tells the story of 24-year-old Cleo (who is desperate for a green card to continue her life in New York) when she meets Frank, a successful, older man, who is happy to help her. The two rush into marriage as they appear to have what each other needs, but their chance meeting changes their lives and those around them forever.

I was initially drawn to this book in Waterstones because of its beautiful cover and title. At the time I hadn’t heard much about it, but it appeared to be a popular book as many people were carrying it around. I also grabbed a signed copy which was a lovely touch to the book. Mellor’s writing reminded me a lot of Sally Rooney’s books, especially Normal People, in the sense that it focuses a lot on the day-to-day events of the characters and complicated relationships, rather than being plot focused. I do find reading about miscommunication can become quite frustrating. Whilst it can be relatable initially, it’s disappointing when the characters constantly go around in circles without ever making progress, when this goes on for the duration of the whole book.

Unfortunately, I am not the biggest fan of these types of books as I struggle to stay interested in unlikeable characters when the entirety of the book is focused on them. Cleopatra and Frankenstein is definitely more of a slow burner and so I found the second half of the book more enjoyable. The characters’ behaviour became unpredictable, and whilst I originally found this off-putting as I didn’t feel the characters had been explored enough to display this type of behaviour, it did make the book more interesting.

I did really enjoyed Zoe (Frank’s sister) and her story in this book. Zoe was a perfect display of an unlikeable character but had good character development as the book went on. She became more interesting, and her character arc made sense as she grew into herself, and we understood her more. It was a shame that I didn’t feel this way about all the characters, but I felt that so many characters, especially Cleo and Frank, lacked depth. I think this is why I also found the ending of the book quite abrupt. Without a big plot twist or event, I often find the ending of books to be underwhelming, which was true in this case.

Overall, this book wasn’t for me, but it was still an enjoyable read. Whilst it took me a while to get through this book, that is not a criticism of Mellor’s writing, but my preference when it comes to fiction. Cleopatra and Frankenstein is a book of characters and so if you enjoy reading more about people and their day-to-day routines and conversations, you will like this read more.

3/5 stars