The Archduchy of Mimas

Book Review for Mimas Book Club by HRH Christoph II
Book: Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors

Cleopatra and Frankenstein is a novel that walks that thin line between raw realism and well-trodden cliché. At its heart it follows Cleo and Frank – two deeply flawed individuals whose relationship often feels more like a slow unraveling than a love story. And maybe that’s the point. Mellors doesn’t offer a romanticized version of love; instead, we get codependence, emotional distance, and the painful consequences of impulsive choices. The book is bold in that way, but also hard to fully connect with it – especially when the main characters aren’t particularly likeable. That’s both the book’s strength and its weakness: the mess feels real, but so does the emotional detachment it creates in me – and maybe that’s on me?

What really did keep me engaged were the side characters. They often felt more interesting and emotionally accessible than Cleo and Frank themselves. Through them, Mellors explores themes of identity, addiction, queerness, and belonging with more warmth. These glimpses into the lives orbiting the central couple were, to me, the most compelling parts of the book- moments where the novel breathed a little easier and where I felt more invested. I personally wish we got more of those characters and it’s a bit of a shame that Cleo and Frank, around whom everything revolves, never quite inspired the same connection for me.

The prose is sharp and stylish, with some moments of real emotional insight. Mellors has a good eye for detail and dialogue, and even when the plot treads into some familiar territory – the troubled muse, broken creatives, toxic masculinity – it does so with enough depth to avoid becoming flat. That said, there’s definitely something a little too polished, a little too fictional about some of the character dynamics, especially early on. But to the book’s credit, it picks up steam as it goes, and the last few chapters hit with a clarity and emotional payoff that I hadn’t expected in the earlier chapters. It’s a slow burn that somewhat rewards patience, even if it doesn’t quite stick the landing for me.

Not a must-read for me, but not a waste of time either. If you enjoy messy, imperfect characters stumbling through modern love, you might find something worthwhile here – even if you end up liking the supporting cast more than the stars of the show.