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Meike's Reviews > Cleopatra and Frankenstein
Cleopatra and Frankenstein
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I was here to celebrate this debut (great title! great cover!), but alas, I had to stop reading at 51 % percent because I just couldn't bear it anymore, and I hardly DNF books. On New Year’s Eve 2006, 24-year-old British artist Cleo meets Frank, a wealthy 40-something advertising executive in New York City. First romance, then turbulance ensues, as Cleo's artistic ambitions do not develop as expected and Frank drinks quite a lot. Both protagonists are largely unsympathetic, which wouldn't be a problem (when it comes to writers like Ottessa Moshfegh, it's the whole appeal) if they were interesting. Needless to say, they are not: Wayward Cleo flexes with the fact that her husband pays, Frank lives his life like he's collecting stories he can tell at drug-fuelled parties (which should also show that this is clearly not an effort in the vein of Sally Rooney, the politics are fundamentally different and here, feminism mainly features as a rhetorical gimmick).
The text jumped the shark for me when, apparently to illustrate peak quirkiness, Frank impulsively buys an animal from an obviously shady animal trader, he and Cleo think it's super funny to cluelessly purchase such a creature and to keep it in their apartment although it's forbidden in the whole city and they don't know how to provide for its needs, and then neglect it. These people are assholes (maybe assholes with a trauma, but that's no excuse), but the way these animal cruelty passages are written, it seems like the writer disagrees and thinks that Cleo and Frank are...bohemians?
And then there is a whole cast of family and friends that are broadly described, although they hardly add to the main storyline and remain equally cliched: The mean stepmom, the jealous sister, the gay best friend...*siiiigh*. It's a cast right out of a 90's sitcom. And the text is way, way too long, there is not enough plot or depth to support this many pages. The lives of all of these people, their feelings and the events they attend feel stale, like déjà-vus.
I wish I could have loved this more.
The text jumped the shark for me when, apparently to illustrate peak quirkiness, Frank impulsively buys an animal from an obviously shady animal trader, he and Cleo think it's super funny to cluelessly purchase such a creature and to keep it in their apartment although it's forbidden in the whole city and they don't know how to provide for its needs, and then neglect it. These people are assholes (maybe assholes with a trauma, but that's no excuse), but the way these animal cruelty passages are written, it seems like the writer disagrees and thinks that Cleo and Frank are...bohemians?
And then there is a whole cast of family and friends that are broadly described, although they hardly add to the main storyline and remain equally cliched: The mean stepmom, the jealous sister, the gay best friend...*siiiigh*. It's a cast right out of a 90's sitcom. And the text is way, way too long, there is not enough plot or depth to support this many pages. The lives of all of these people, their feelings and the events they attend feel stale, like déjà-vus.
I wish I could have loved this more.
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Chris
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Jan 31, 2022 09:07AM
Thanks for this review. One less book to read :-)
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Thanks for this, totally turned away from this now even though had high hopes (and I agree that the cover is very seducing!)
Oh no! I was going to say “thanks for reading this so we don’t have to� but I have an ARC 😂 so thanks for helping me to temper my expectations! And hope your next book is better.
Chris wrote: "Thanks for this review. One less book to read :-)"Thank you, Chris! It's of course possible that you'd like it better than I did, but I have a hunch you wouldn't! :-)
Elizabete wrote: "Thanks for this, totally turned away from this now even though had high hopes (and I agree that the cover is very seducing!)"I also had high hopes, Elizabete!! :-(
Sarah wrote: "Oh no! I was going to say “thanks for reading this so we don’t have to� but I have an ARC 😂 so thanks for helping me to temper my expectations! And hope your next book is better."Hahaha, I hope you'll like it better than I did!
@all of you: I am very sensitive to animal cruelty, which doesn't mean that I don't tolerate reading about it at all - as it is as a phenomenon that unfortunately exists in this world, it needs to be reflected in fiction. But when this text - already rather tedious at this point - portrayed impulsively and illegaly purchasing an exotic animal as a quirky, fun adventure, I've really had enough.
Linda wrote: "Great review! I'll skip this one."Thank you, Linda! I wish I could have loved this more.
Reading is so subjective - I completely disagree and loved C&P!
Matthew wrote: "Reading is so subjective - I completely disagree and loved C&P!"Discussing books is only possible when people provide arguments though.
You’re too kind. You still gave two stars. I only rated it one star 😂
Charlynn wrote: "You’re too kind. You still gave two stars. I only rated it one star 😂"I've only got through half of it, so...
I stopped reading at 26%... was feeling insane bc everyone I know loves it 🤣 thanks for this review
Lailah wrote: "I stopped reading at 26%... was feeling insane bc everyone I know loves it 🤣 thanks for this review"Haha, Lailah, you clearly know the wrong people! :-)
😂😂 Danke für die Warnung, wenn Du schon mal abbrichst, was wirklich selten ist, denn Du fräßt Dich ja wie ein nimmersatter Bücherwurm durch die Neuerscheinungen, dann muss es wirklich nicht auszuhalten sein, das Buch
Alexandra wrote: "😂😂 Danke für die Warnung, wenn Du schon mal abbrichst, was wirklich selten ist, denn Du fräßt Dich ja wie ein nimmersatter Bücherwurm durch die Neuerscheinungen, dann muss es wirklich nicht auszuha..."Hahaha, Danke! :-) Ich konnte es einfach nicht fassen, als Tierquälerei unter alternativem Bohème-Lifestyle subsumiert wurde, da dreh ich durch bei so was!
I do agree! The animal cruelty as plot device is gross. I put the book down at that point too, but I had already read so much I pushed through (not worth it)
Whitney wrote: "I do agree! The animal cruelty as plot device is gross. I put the book down at that point too, but I had already read so much I pushed through (not worth it)"Yes, Whitney! I mean, animal cruelty is a thing that exists in the world and thus can be a topic of literature, but here, the framing is the problem: Illegally purchasing an exotic animal is not a cute and quirky thing, and then mistreating it is not a bohemian lifestyle choice. I don't understand what this author was thinking.
I think (the animal stuff) it shows how immature and selfish they both are. Even despite the age difference. I did find it difficult to read though, to be sure. And very upsetting. Also I hope you didn’t give up before you got to Eleanor, cos she is a character you can really love and root for!
Rebecca wrote: "I think (the animal stuff) it shows how immature and selfish they both are. Even despite the age difference. I did find it difficult to read though, to be sure. And very upsetting. Also I hope you ..."The thing is that animal cruelty is, as you point out, used as a plot device to show their immaturity and quirkiness, but they are not quirky bohemians, they are rather stupid, cruel, and offensively boring wannabe edgelords, and the text seems fully unaware of that and takes the position that these are somehow relatable people adrift in the big city looking for love or some cliche nonsense. They don't need empathy (as the text suggests), they need a reality check, because they are horrible, irresponsible and pathetic (on which the text mysteriously disagrees, and that's the core issue). I'm not looking for relatable characters to root for in literature (in fact, I think that's not even a valid category for critiquing books), I'm looking for a well-written, interesting story, and this ain't it: If the book leaned into the overprivileged pretentiousness of these characters, it could in fact be great. As it is, this is nothing more than a 90's soap opera with politics that are hardly defensible in 2023.
Benji wrote: "Spot on"Thanks, Benji.
