Reviews with content warning for Suicide attempt - Cleopatra und Frankenstein

This book does a brilliant job at capturing human emotions, and really shows that people really can be quite flawed. I loved how it flitted between different characters’ perspectives, even within one chapter. It meant i really got a strong feel about how each character is thinking and feeling throughout. Even though most of the characters were lowkey terrible, i felt attached to all of them in some way, which just made me want to keep reading.

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pameana's review against another edition

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emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.25

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laurathehobbit's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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anatoledo's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I was engaged throughout, so that's a good sign, and overall, it make me think a fair bit, which maybe is the goal of literary fiction, rather than just enjoyment?

I thought Cleo and Frank were intriguing, but a little infuriating. The side characters were intriguing, but some were well-explored despite the limited time (e.g. Eleanor, Santiago), and some were not (e.g. Zoe, Quentin, Aspen).

I think because I didn't quite relate to the struggles of the main characters, I felt a bit exasperated by Cleo and Franks, and found my self often rolling my eyes at their choices.

Some quotes:

“Cleo nodded and turned back to the water. The sirens flashed on, bathing the river in light. Red. Manhattan was stretched out before her like a handful of jewels. Blue. The city that never wanted you to leave. Red. So it offered you everything, anything. Blue. It was time to go.”

“And there it was, the feeling she had been trying to deny, the dark, oily jealousy rising in her that Frank would do for Eleanor what he would never do for her. Eleanor got this version of Frank, the sober, thoughtful man who took her suggestions, while Cleo had endured the drunken predecessor like a fool.”

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