I’ve always enjoyed the art of writing love letters to the books that come into my life and somehow burrow themselves into my heart. They’re more informal, a stream of consciousness.
But sometimes the love letters I pour my soul into aren’t long enough to warrant their own piece here. So I decided to combine three of my most recently read books into this one: Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors, Beartown by Fredrik Backman and A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf.
I hope these little love letters persuade you to pick these books up and love them too.
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors
“The hole is loneliness,' said Cleo quietly.
'Why's that?' said Audrey,
'You can't stand above someone and tell them to get out of it,' she said. 'Or teach or preach it out of them. You have to be in it with them.”
I have so much love and admiration for Cleopatra and Frankenstein, and the way it depicts a realistic snapshot of life — the ups and downs, the wins and the losses, the beauty and the ugliness — as well as the repercussions that our impulsive decisions can create. This book reminds us that as humans we can be deeply flawed and that finding ourselves isn’t a journey that just stops in adolescence or our early twenties. In fact, we are always in the process of rediscovering and redefining ourselves, and sometimes it’s to our success and sometimes, unfortunately, it’s to our detriment.
The book begins as our two complex protagonists, Cleo and Frank, meet in an elevator on New Year’s Eve. Cleo is a beautiful, twenty-four year old British artist whose student visa is ending. And Frank, who is twenty years older, is a self-made success in marketing and advertising. His life is full of lavish excess — money and freedom, but also alcohol and drugs. Their immediate attraction to one another soon leads to an impulsive marriage, which guarantees Cleo stays in the country, and upheaves both of their lives. However, I do think there was genuine love between Cleo and Frank, that it wasn’t just a marriage of convenience. Or, at least, I think they had a real desire to love one another — even though both of them struggled to show it in a healthy way since neither had seen good depictions of romantic relationships in their own lives.
But the true artistry of Cleopatra and Frankenstein isn’t just the way their marriage transforms them, it’s also in the way it deeply affects the lives of their inner circle of family and friends. For such a short book, the cast is quite extensive — and we get to sink our teeth into each character’s psyche, even for just a single chapter. We see the way Cleo and Frank’s marriage stirs up feelings of resentment, jealously and abandonment in some characters, while simultaneously inspiring others to discover their own romantic connections and inner strengths. Their relationship doesn’t happen in isolation. It becomes a catalyst that essentially reshapes the lives of everyone around them — positively and negatively. And I think that’s the beauty of this novel. It’s a painful reminder that what we do affects everyone.
And yet while there is a clear beginning to this story, the most surprising revelation is that the ending is not one all neatly tied up with a bow. We are instead left with a promise: that when something ends another chapter of our lives always opens up, and a new beginning is waiting to be found. In my opinion, this book truely couldn’t have a better ending or a better message to its readers.
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
“It doesn't take long to persuade each other to stop seeing a person as a person. And when enough people are quiet for long enough, a handful of voices can give the impression that everyone is screaming.”
I was no stranger to the deep love the book community had for Beartown when I began devouring its contents. But I felt disappointed as I read the first 180 pages. The beginning is mostly about hockey and how great it is and how it isn’t just a game but a way of life — which is something that I couldn’t resonate with at all. I don’t play sports and I don’t particularly like them either. So I was not falling deeply in love or finding myself declaring it to the heavens as the best book to ever have existed. I thought, “maybe this book just isn’t for me”. But then one particular moment happened, and not only was I hooked, but I was consuming the rest of the book at a ravenous speed. I was addicted. I wanted — no needed — to discover what happened next.
Beartown is an emotional and heartbreaking book about a small and secluded town whose foundations were built on its (next level) obsession with hockey. When the junior hockey team is slated to win the grand final, it not only means a chance of glory but a reclamation of Beartown itself. Yet a harrowing event shatters that dream — and this book wonderfully captures the way an entire small town and it’s inhabitants can be rocked and transformed.
I loved the social commentary, the deep-rooted anger and frustration dripping from the pages, and the beautifully written passages that have become quotes scribbled into the margins of my notebook. It also explores the good and bad of the interconnectedness of small towns, as well as sexual assault, the experiences of coming forward and the toxicity of sports culture. And it asks questions, softly whispered or screamed from the rooftops, that made me never want to put this book down: How far would you go for your family and friends? What responsibilities do we have to other human beings existing on this planet with us? What happens when nobody believes you?
But it was the well-developed, life-like characters who burrowed themselves inside of me that makes this book a favourite. I found myself connecting with Peter and Kira, two hard-working and loving parents, who would walk to the ends of the earth for their children. I loved the friendship between best friends Maya and Ana — it’s true, you don’t have the kind of friends you have at fifteen — as well as the more complicated and growing friendship between Amat and Bobo. And I loved Benji, who was a character that I think is so easy for us readers to like — his morals are inspiring, but it’s this sadness in him that makes him so intriguing, like you just want to reach inside the book and pull him in for the biggest hug. These are characters that will never leave you.
I really didn’t expect to love this book as much as I did — to feel like I was a resident of Beartown too. But it’s found a special place in my heart and I can’t help but think about it all the time.
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
“Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.”
For the past two years I’ve been reading more broadly and have challenged myself to explore new authors and genres outside my comfort zone, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to read A Room of One’s Own when I finally found it while skimming the shelves at my local bookstore. And I’m so grateful to have lost myself in its pages because this book is brimming with beautiful reminders and intelligent insights about women and literature — both as writers and also as fictional characters — throughout the centuries. I had to stop myself from underlining almost every sentence because everything Virginia Woolf wrote here felt so relevant, inspiring and thought-provoking.
A Room of One’s Own is a short non-fiction piece, and was originally a series of lectures on women and literature. But despite this, Woolf still weaves a compelling tale that reads just like a fiction novel, her prose is truely beautiful and she paints a picture as vibrant as any artist. And I firmly believe that the inclusion of fictional stories to argue that women need a room of their own to write and create something of value is a fascinating choice.
I honestly think this book came to me at the most perfect moment. Woolf speaks so eloquently about a woman needing to have a room of their own, without a barrage of constant and casual interruptions, to write and be creative freely — and I felt this need as I consumed this book deep within my marrow. I don’t have a space in my home where I can write or read uninterrupted, and I’m the mother of two very young children who I obviously prioritise over my creative work. Sometimes I can’t help but feel frustrated with always being interrupted or having little time to myself, especially when I experience the pull of wanting to write all the way down to my core. And although I’ve accepted this as part of the phase of life I’m currently in, it was nice to have Woolf recognise the hardships of being a writer who cannot write all the time due to her current circumstances. There’s nothing better than knowing your frustrations and sentiments aren’t unwarranted, there’s a real reason for them.
I really wish I could have attended Woolf’s lecture in person — to have been alive and breathing and sitting in that lecture hall as she addressed a room of excited and creative young women. I can only imagine that the stream of consciousness she employs in this piece would hit even harder, burrow even deeper into your soul, when heard verbally.
I can’t wait to get my hands on some of her fictional pieces.
Do you love any of these books as much as me? Or have I persuaded you to pick up a copy of each? I’d love to hear your thoughts on these books and see if we have similar reading tastes.
Until next time,
- Madeline
Yes to everything you said about A Room of One's Own! The book that shaped my taste as a reader and interest for exploring literature by women. 💪🏻 Virginia Woolf is one of my favourite authors and this is one of my top books of all time! I'm glad you loved it! 😎🩷
All on my TBR! hoping to read all these three soon.