Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors: book review
Overview: The Blue sisters are wandering through a landmine of grief one year after their beloved middle sister died. It's now been long enough that the side effects of their more unfortunate coping mechanisms are manifesting into full-on life disasters. Sorting through their individual grief responses and life challenges forces the Blue sisters back together as they return to New York City to pack up Nicky's belongings before their parents sell their childhood apartment in the city. Lucky, the youngest, comes from Paris where her hard partying is interfering with her career. Bonnie, the second oldest, returns from a stint in Los Angeles where she abandoned her boxing career to become a bouncer at a club. And Avery, perfect, oldest Avery, returns to New York from London with her carefully constructed life fully unwound. The Blue sisters have to find a way to come back together to begin healing. Overall: 4.5
Characters: 5 This is a big cast of characters that all have distinct voices despite contending with similar problems. Avery is the oldest and played the "mom" role in her sisters' lives since their own mother was pretty checked out. She's always felt a pressure to be perfect after a drug addiction derailed her life for a year in her early twenties. She became a fancy lawyer in London, got married, and seemed to have everything together until Nicky's death forced her to reckon with the parts of her story that didn't feel right anymore. Bonnie became a professional boxer but lost her first fight days after Nicky's death and quit boxing and New York. She's harboring a secret that's kept her from returning to the city. Despite Bonnie having a steady hand in most of her life, she has to realize that not everything in life can be gritted through. Lucky is the baby of the family and started modeling around the world as a teenager. She fleas Paris through the rubble of her modeling career to face her substance abuse issues. The sisters unite around their sense of loss for Nicky who died in her late twenties and contended with extreme pain from endometriosis during her life. She's brought to life vividly through the sisters' memories. And I did really like seeing representation for just how debilitating endometriosis can be, as it's a condition I live with as well and isn't given enough attention.
Even though it's a big cast, it's well rounded with everyone getting ample time. Because there are so many main characters with four sisters to cover, there aren't very many side characters. We get a glimpse at their dynamic with their mother, and it does evolve, especially for Avery, though the mother mainly exists to explain why the sisters are the way they are. Avery's wife, Chiti, is featured pretty heavily as she's close to Avery's family and their marriage becomes a central thread in the story. Bonnie's relationship with her boxing trainer, Pavel, also takes on importance. But, mainly, this is a book about sisters navigating grief and growing up together even as adults. The characters don't have a linear journey by any means, but there is a satisfying path of evolution for each character.
Plot: 4 I struggle to figure out if the pacing lagged in the second half or if I just had less time to read it continuously and therefore it felt slower. There is a fair amount of repetition in the plot points. Avery waffles with her marriage and her destructive habits, Bonnie debates a return to her sport, and Lucky comes to terms with the reality she has an addiction all in the background of processing the last year of grief. There are stumbles and steps forward and back, but these are the problems the book opens and closes with pretty squarely. If you're into emotional, character driven books, especially if you're looking for stories on sisterhood, this is worth the read.
Writing: 5 I was so pleasantly surprised by this book because I seriously did not get the hype with Cleopatra and Frankenstein. I did not enjoy that book, and I was hesitant to try her sophomore novel. I'm so glad I gave it a chance, though. I loved the idea of these four sisters that represent four cities and their journey together, so I decided to give it a chance. This novel is so much stronger. I really enjoyed the writing, the character growth, and the distinct worlds that each sister comes from in these individual cities. I will definitely pick up whatever Mellors writes next after this one. So if you were like me and hesitant to dive in, this is a well constructed, unique story.
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Cleopatra and Frankenstein review
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