My Thoughts

Cleo and Frank: what a debut. Coco Mellors delivers a raw, emotional, and beautifully tragic story of love, self-destruction, and the fragile mess that is growing into adulthood while trying to hold on to something, or someone, that feels safe.

Rating

4 stars

Reflection

I really did enjoy this book. The writing is smart, lyrical, and filled with nuanced psychological insight. Each character; not just Cleo and Frank, but the entire group around them; is broken in some way, flawed yet real. You get this full-spectrum view of how people carry trauma, cope (or don’t), and how those choices ripple out. One thing I particularly loved was the emotional weight and psychological depth. I enjoy books where characters aren’t just going through a plot, but through internal shifts; and this book gives that in spades. It explores the idea that some people will only change when someone else shakes the dynamic, and even then, the road to growth is messy. What kept this from being a 5-star read for me was the inclusion of Eleanor’s chapters. There are only two, but they were long; 20-30 pages each; and written entirely in stream-of-consciousness thought. Personally, that style didn’t work for me. I found myself pulled out of the story, and I prefer consistency in narrative tone, especially when it contrasts so sharply from the rest of the book. That said, it’s still a powerful, poetic, and deeply human debut. It doesn’t give you neat resolutions, but it gives you characters that feel, and stay with you after you close the book.