Cleopatra and Frankenstein
HarperCollins
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 SYKESFor 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
