Waterstones Fiction Book of the Month for February 2023
For readers of Modern Lovers and Conversations with Friends,an addictive,humorous,and poignant debut novel about the shock waves caused by one couple's impulsive marriage.
New York is slipping from Cleo's grasp. Sure,she's at a different party every other night,but she barely knows anyone. Her student visa is running out,and she doesn't even have money for cigarettes. But then she meets Frank. Twenty years older,Frank's life is full of all the success and excess that Cleo's lacks. He offers her the chance to be happy,the freedom to paint,and the opportunity to apply for a green card. She offers him a life imbued with beauty and art-and,hopefully,a reason to cut back on his drinking. He is everything she needs right now.
Cleo and Frank run head-first into a romance that neither of them can quite keep up with. It reshapes their lives and the lives of those around them,whether that's Cleo's best friend struggling to embrace his gender identity in the wake of her marriage,or Frank's financially dependent sister arranging sugar daddy dates after being cut off. Ultimately,this chance meeting between two strangers outside of a New Year's Eve party changes everything,for better or worse.
Cleopatra and Frankenstein is an astounding and painfully relatable debut novel about the spontaneous decisions that shape our entire lives and those imperfect relationships born of unexpectedly perfect evenings.
Publisher: HarperCollins PublishersISBN: 9780008421793Number of pages: 384Weight: 330 gDimensions: 198 x 129 x 29 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'A tender,devastating and funny exploration of love and friendship and the yearning for self-evisceration. Coco Mellors is an elegant and exciting new voice'- Pandora Sykes
'The hottest book of the year.'- Stylist
'Positively inhalable. I was intensely consumed by the world of Cleopatra and Frankenstein for a few happy days'- The Evening Standard
'Friends who couldn't get enough of Sally Rooney's Conversations with Friends will fall head over heels for Coco Mellor's debut novel'- ES Magazine
'New York makes for a scintillating backdrop to pain,disenchantment and growth; if you find Sally Rooney a little dowdy,you'll enjoy this'-The Financial Times
'If Conversations With Friends has you yearning to read about more dysfunctional relationships,look no further than Cleopatra and Frankenstein....This is a perfect read who loves a story with finely drawn characters you'll grow to care about.'- Buzzfeed
'A clever debut novel... Cleo is a...self-possessed literary heroine.'- The New Yorker
'Cleo is a 24-year-old painter with an expiring student visa; Frank is 20 years older and financially stable (and then some). Their "impulsive marriage"sets off all sorts of reactions in their circle of friends and family-not to mention their individual reactions as they settle in as husband and wife. It's giving me early-season Girls vibes,which I'm very much here for.'- LitHub's Most Anticipated Books of 2022
'Tantalizing...cinematic...(Mellors) has written some extraordinary sentences and shows a great talent for dialogue.'- The Los Angeles Times
'An irresistible,un-put-downable,page-turner of a novel. A love letter to New York,a love letter to love,Cleopatra and Frankenstein is a complex,funny,deeply-felt,beautifully written debut.'- Nathan Englander
'Every sentence of Coco Mellors'debut novel Cleopatra and Frankenstein shimmers with wit and wisdom. Masterfully told through multiple voices,Cleopatra and Frankenstein offers an intimate glimpse of a marriage marred by alcoholism and mental illness... I will be pressing this book into all my friends'hands.'- Christie Tate
'Mellors dissects the tumultuous relationship between two magnetic and damaged people...an enticing aura glows at this work's heart.'- Publishers Weekly
'Mellors's prose is a compelling balance of beautiful phrasing and snappy dialogue that propels the story while allowing time for reflection...it's the fullness of their humanity that makes Cleopatra and Frankenstein a worthwhile read. The beauty lies in the broken bits,and Mellors captures both.'- Shelf Awareness'These New Yorkers are displayed in all their humanity,and spending time among their brightness,laughter and tears is delightful. Mellors is a sparkling,intelligent talent. - Spectator World
'Deeply engrossing and easily lovable,perfect for fans of Sally Rooney and Lauren Groff.'- Booklist
'Cleopatra and Frankenstein,the luminous debut novel from Coco Mellors,is a book about many things: It's a great,swooning love story; a shattering depiction of how addiction and mental illness warp our lives; and a perceptive,witty portrait of globalized New York. But most of all,Mellors has written a devastatingly human book,at turns sharp and tender,that marks her as the rare writer whose sentences are as beautiful as they are wise. An unforgettable read'- Sam Lansky,author of The Gilded Razor and Broken People
'A character driven epic thoroughly engrossing and entirely magnificent. It is thrilling to read a book that articles with nuance and compassion the way gender impacts every part of our lives. Sometimes you can just tell that a debut novel has been percolating and perfecting inside an author's mind until it is ready to leap into-and ultimately change-the world'- Adam Eli,author of The Queer Conscience
'Mellors'remarkably assured and sensitive debut... strongly evoke(s) Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life... At its core,it's a novel about how love and lovers are easily misinterpreted and how romantic troubles affect friends and family. A canny and engrossing rewiring of the big-city romance.'- Kirkus
'Insistent,stylish and utterly captivating,the prose just sings.'- Heidi James,author of The Sound Mirror
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