Title: Cleopatra and Frankenstein
Author: Coco Mellors
Genre: Fiction/ Romance/ Contemporary
Published: 2022
 
Description: Twenty-four-year old painter Cleo has escaped from England to new York and is still finding her place in the sleepless city when, a few months before her student visa ends, she meets Frank. Twenty years older and a self-made success, Frank’s life is full of all the excesses Clea’s lacks. He offers her the chance to be happy, the freedom to paint, and the opportunity to apply for a Green Card. But their impulsive marriage irreversibly changes both their lives, and the lives of those close to them, in ways they never could’ve predicted.
 
Review: Cleo is from England and does not have much money. She is an artist living in the U.S. and her visa is about to expire. She falls head over heals in love with Frank, director of a New York advertising agency and twenty years older then her. He falls for Cleo too and not long after they meet, they marry, which will change their lives and the lives of the people around them.
 
Cleo and Frank’s story is told from their perspective as well as that of their friends: Cleo’s best friend Quentin views her marriage with distress, as he might prefer to have married Cleo himself, were it not for the fact that her likes men. Anders, Frank’s friend, is handsome and has no desire to commit, and so more that one woman from Frank’s circle he has slept with. Then there is Zoe, Frank’s half-sister, perpetually broke and at first not happy about her brother’s marriage either. There is Eleanor, who works for Frank and has always been his support. And Santiago, a friend of Frank, who lost his wife.
 
Author Coco Mellors has managed to poignantly describe the vast, turbulent world that revolves around love. With each chapter, we see the perspective of a different character, about their life, their struggles. It is still, in core, about Cleo and Frank, but the other people we follow are the ones that shape their lives. And how their marriage shapes the lives of their friends and family members.
 
“Cleopatra and Frankenstein” is not a happy love story, it’s heartbreaking but beautiful. It has multiple layers and is a great character study. Very well written. Coco Mellors’ book “Blue Sisters” is on my TBR and I can’t wait to read this as well.
 
Rating: 4/ 5