“When the darkest part of you meets the darkest part of me, it creates light.”
Cleo je dvadeset četverogodišnja britanska slikarica koja živi u New Yorku. Nekoliko mjeseci prije isteka studentske vize upoznaje Franka, dvadeset godina starijeg i uspješnog muškarca. Nakon impulzivnog vjenčanja njihovi se životi polako počinju mijenjati u smjeru koji nisu priželjkivali. Kroz cijelu lepezu likova koji ih okružuju upoznajemo Cleo i Franka i njihov život u New Yorku, život ispunjen umjetnošću, drogom, alkoholom i zabavama.
Proglašena “knjigom ljeta” 2022. i primjer sveprisutne “sad girl” literature, privukla mi je pažnju. “Sad girl” literatura nije ništa novo, odlični primjeri su djela Sylvije Plath i Jean Rhys , ali već neko vrijeme iznova osvajaju tržište i bestseller liste. Nekima je previše, a ja želim još. 😊
Uz predivan, poetičan stil pisanja zavoljela sam Franka unatoč svim njegovim manama. Međutim jednako tako Cleo mi je ostavila dojam iritantne i sebične osobe. Autorica je svojim pisanjem uspjela kod mene izazvati prilično snažne emocije i tako mi omogućila doživjeti ovu ljubavnu priču puno intenzivnije. Dvoje ljudi željnih ljubavi, ali sa problemima na puno razina koji su se zajedno doveli do samoga ruba. Mogla je ovo biti njihova lijepa ljubavna priča, a ispala je bolna i tužna.
Čim sam vidjela da uspoređuju Coco Mellors sa Sally Rooney znala sam da je ovaj roman nešto što moram pročitati. I činilo mi se da je uglavnom ispunio moja očekivanja. Zašto uglavnom? Pa mislim da upravo zbog te usporedbe jer sam čitajući razmišljala kako mi Rooneyjin stil pisanja mrvicu više odgovara i iz tog sam razloga ovu knjigu ocijenila četvorkom. Ali prošlo je točno mjesec dana od kada sam ju pročitala i u tih mjesec dana nekoliko puta sam pomislila na Cleo i Franka i njihovu ljubavnu priču i sada se zapravo pitam koliko je četvorka realna? Ako toliko razmišljam o nekoj knjizi, iako sam između pročitala nekoliko novih, nije li onda ipak bila savršena? Ako razmišljam o ponovnom čitanju nisam li možda bila suviše stroga? Mislim da jesam…
[english]
Cleopatra and Frankenstein – Coco Mellors
Cleo is a twenty-four-year-old British painter living in New York. A few months before her student visa expires, she meets Frank, a twenty years older and successful man. After an impulsive wedding, their lives slowly begin to change in a direction they did not wish for. Through the whole range of characters that surround them, we get to know Cleo and Frank and their life in New York, a life filled with art, drugs, alcohol and parties.
Declared the 2022 “book of the summer” and an example of the ubiquitous “sad girl” literature, it caught my attention. “Sad girl” literature is nothing new, excellent examples are the works of Sylvia Plath and Jean Rhys, but they have again been conquering the market and bestseller lists for some time. It’s too much for some, but I want more. 😊
With a wonderful, poetic writing style, I fell in love with Frank despite all his flaws. However, Cleo also gave me the impression of an irritating and selfish person. With her writing, the author managed to evoke quite strong emotions in me and thus enabled me to experience this love story much more intensely. Two people eager for love, but with problems on many levels that together brought them to the very edge. This could have been their beautiful love story, but it turned out to be painful and sad.
As soon as I saw that they were comparing Coco Mellors to Sally Rooney, I knew this novel was something I had to read. And it seemed to me that it mostly met my expectations. Why mostly? Well, I think it’s precisely because of that comparison, because while reading I thought that Rooney’s writing style suited me a little better, and for that reason I rated this book a four. But exactly one month has passed since I read it and in that month I thought several times about Cleo and Frank and their love story and now I’m actually wondering how fair my “four” is? If I think about a book so much, even though I’ve read several new ones in between, wasn’t it perfect? If I’m thinking about re-reading, maybe I was too strict? I think I was…
