Cleopatra and Frankenstein

By: Coco Mellors

Narrated by: Kit Griffiths

Length: 14 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Bloomsbury presents Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors, read by Kit Griffiths.

For fans 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.

Twenty-four-year-old British 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 Cleo’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.

Each thoroughly enjoyable chapter explores the lives of Cleo, Frank and an unforgettable cast of their closest friends and family as they grow up and grow older. Whether it’s Cleo’s best friend struggling to embrace his gender queerness in the wake of Cleo’s marriage, or Frank’s financially dependent sister arranging sugar daddy dates to support herself after being cut off, or Cleo and Frank themselves as they discover the trials of marriage and mental illness, each character is as absorbing, and painfully relatable, as the last.

As hilarious as it is heart-breaking, entertaining as it is deeply moving, Cleopatra and Frankenstein marks the entry of a brilliant and bold new talent.

©2022 Coco Mellors (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"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, author of What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank and Kadish.com)

"Mellors dissects the tumultuous relationship between two magnetic and damaged people...an enticing aura glows at this work’s heart." (Publishers Weekly)

a train wreck you can't look away from

some of the best written characters ever. worst people I have ever known, but marvelously written. I was so glad when it was over.

Favorite book of 2022 so far

The narration was phenomenal!


I loved this book. The type of book that I didn’t want to finish. The type of book I took my time with because I knew I would miss the characters. The highly relatable, highly dysfunctional, openly human characters.

This is a book about relating, in all aspects. A book about relationships and the secret innuendos, the nuances that come with relating - the secret lives, that two people live together when no one else is watching. The intimacies, the disappointments, the violences, the betrayals, the joint vices, the affections, the sex. The painful things we endure together, as units + the growth we endure. Painted with vivid imagery. Coco Mellors is an inspiration.

I held this book close to my heart. The act of relating is the most human thing we’ve got and so is making art about it, so this is quickly how I fell in love Cleopatra and Frankenstein

Good not great

I enjoyed the narration very much. The story did loop me in after a while but I thought there was a bit too many sensational bits. I don’t consider my self prudish around descriptions of sex and drugs but there were times here where I thought “enough already.” But, when it ended I wished I could know more about how the characters’ lives went from there. To me, that is an important mark of a good story.

Beautiful and bittersweet

Such a beautiful story. It made me laugh, cry, and think about my own life and relationships I’ve had. Exceeded expectations. This book will definitely stick with me long after I finished it. 10000% worth a credit!

Not bad

The author is talented but the story was a bit overwrought. Most of the characters were unlikeable and self-centered, which doesn't bother me at all. I found Cleo--a beautiful, tormented artist/man magnet (of course)--particularly annoying. Her attempted suicide was very oddly plotted (a pun but not a pun) and not believable. The only redeeming characters are Eleanor and her mom.

I agree with the other reviewer about the narrator's performance. The various, uneven, and affected accents were distracting and didn't do a thing to present the story in the best light.

I almost loved this

Im binging books about toxic relationships…probably bc I find them so relatable. This started out promising but a few things ruined it for me.
The narrator kept throwing me off with her inconsistent accents. There’s the born and raised New Yorker, an English woman, a Dutchman, a woman from Jersey, a Peruvian chef, etc. Lots of characters who in my mind would have unique accents and for a few sentences they do, then she just randomly loses the accents. I’d forget who’s talking as it goes back and forth between multiple characters throughout. Something like that usually isn’t that big of a deal to me but it got distracting here.
There were also alot of jabs at white people for some reason. It’s like Mellors was jumping for any excuse to throw in a ‘white people bad’, ‘white men bad’, ‘white women bad’, ‘old dead white men bad’… Okay White as Snow Author we get it, you don’t like white people. Got it. Does that have anything to do with the story? Nope. Frank and Cleo are both white, but they could’ve been brown or black. Their race isn’t impactful to the story. I’m not one of those people who believe authors aren’t supposed to write with their political or ideological opinions on display in fiction. It just serves no point here. There’s no moment where a list of grievances is made about white people or any indication of why the author believes white people to be bad. ‘White people bad’ is trendy in current social discourse now and it feels like Mellors just wanted to be ‘cool girl writer’ and sprinkle that throughout the book. ‘Look at me being a cool woke white woman calling out my fellow whites but offering nothing to the discourse other than my popular opinion’.
I mean if you wanna be blatantly racist then gives us the tea. Don’t chicken out. Mellors definitely did on this one.

I got so bored towards the end I’ve had to go back three times to make sure I actually know where it ended. All in all, it could’ve sucked less.

Aggravating but it gets better

All the ups and downs experienced in a dysfunctional relationship. We’ve all been there and it’s not easy to relive. I’ve wanted to put this down and even fast forwarded during what I thought were tangents. The redeemed what annoyed me in the middle

So good!

Quite literally amazing. If you liked “normal people,” “everything I know about love,” and the like- this is a must read!

Very now New York

I like the young vibe of this book and a deeper understanding for me of the younger generation which I thought was very authentic.

Beautiful story, characters, and ending!

I knew I would like this book, and I ended up loving it. It’s funny, sad, sexy, and beautifully written. What else could you want in a book? It makes you laugh and think about being a human, with all our beautiful and ugly flaws. Can’t wait for another book by Coco!