This year, PADERBORN2READ—The English Book Club celebrates the twelve days of Christmas with twelve curated reading recommendations for the festive season and cozy winter days.
The seventh day of Christmas, featuring seven swans a-swimming—and also coinciding with New Year’s Eve:
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors
recommended by PADERBORN2READ member Delia
When the young, struggling artist Cleo leaves a New Year’s Eve party in Tribeca, NYC at 10:30 p.m., she meets Frank, a successful mid-forties man, in the elevator on her way down. He loves her beauty and her British accent, she is attracted by his status and suave demeanor, and thus their chance meeting initiates a whirlwind romance, culminating in a wedding that is both romantic and practical, as it allows Cleo to stay in the US and pursue her career as an artist. The novel follows Cleo and Frank’s relationship and dives into the couple’s social circle: the art scene of NYC and a clique of not-so-young-anymore entrepreneurs who are confronted with the reality that their lifestyle of sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll has worn off and are now wondering what comes next.
Coco Mellors’ characters made me laugh—my favorite was Marshall, who has a “gift for offering the most basic psychological insight possible into any situation” such as “One moment can change your life forever” or “Relationships are complicated”—, but I was just as interested in their emotional lives, their soul-searching and their grappling with the big questions of life. If you are looking for a book journey to NYC, I invite you to join Coco Mellor’s Cleo and Frank on their rollercoaster romance in Cleopatra and Frankenstein!
