True sisterhood, the kind where you grew fingernails in the same womb, were pushed screaming through identical birth canals, is not the same as friendship. You don’t choose each other, and there’s no furtive period of getting to know the other. You’re part of each other, right from the start. Look at an umbilical cord–tough, sinuous, unlovely, yet essential–and compare it to a friendship bracelet of brightly woven thread.
Prologue, Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
Table of Contents
Preamble
I think I first heard about Blue Sisters sometime last year from a cari can read video. At the time it didn’t seem like something that was up my alley so I didn’t end up putting it on my to-be-read pile. However, a couple months ago I saw the book on sale for a couple dollars on the Kobo ebook store and picked it. For a couple dollars, sure I’ll give this book I heard generally good things about a shot.
This genre of book–contemporary literary fiction is generally out of my wheelhouse. When it comes to fiction, I have been mostly a fantasy and science fiction reader. However this year, I wanted to read a greater variety of books–meaning fiction genres I don’t usually read and more more non-fiction–I do want to explore the world of literary fiction more and this book seems to be a good start in that direction.
Let’s get into it.
The Book
Reading the book’s description on Storygraph gave me a feeling that the quality of this book was going to be dependent on the ability of the author to write complex characters with complex social dynamics. To that end I think the book succeeds to a great degree. In fact I’d go so far to say that this book is as much a character study as much as it is about the main plot about the New York apartment.
The book spends a lot of time fleshing out the three main characters of the book–the titular Blue sisters–Avery, Bonnie, and Lucky. The story is told from their three different POVs; the book switching between the three of them in every chapter. Interspersed with the events happening in the present timeline of the book are short vignettes, memories of one of the sisters from their childhood that adds meaningful emotional complexity to their character.
Thematically, this book deals with some heavy subject matter, namely – grief, addiction, bad parental dynamics. I can’t speak much to how the book handled the topic of addiction but I can say that the topic of grief was dealt with in a very nuanced and well thought out way. I also generally found that book got the vibes of dealing with familial conflict very very well. Some bits of the book felt similar to situations I have dealt with in my own life. For example, Bonnie mediating a argument between Avery and Lucky reminded me of similar situation that I have had to deal with in the past. Gave me some of that “oof that’s some real shit” feeling.
While I was in the middle of this book, I was beginning to think that the plot had barely progressed and I was already past the 50% mark and all I had was setup and character building. After I finished the book, I no longer think that this book has pacing issues. In fact, I think the large amount focus on building up the characters was necessary for the second half of the book to really have impact. The catharsis from the characters figuring out and trying to solve the issues with themselves and each other was greatly enhanced by actually getting to know these characters well.
I also found that the author’s writing style struck the right balance between show and tell. I felt generally felt immersed in the environments she was describing and could picture the various situations our characters found themselves in without finding myself drowning in overly detailed descriptions.
I’ll end this section of the review with another quote that gives an example of the author’s descriptive style.
The long hallway with the threadbare Moroccan runner, the far wall that was covered in pegs of various heights for all their coats. In the winter that wall would be so laden with puffers, peacoats, and vintage furs it was impossible to pass by without knocking at least one off, a fact that irritated their mother endlessly.
Chapter Five: Bonnie, Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
Conclusion
I think this book was a good start to my journey of reading more literary fiction. The book’s heavy focus on characters was ideal to me as a person who enjoys complex characters and their interactions. I would love to read more books along this vein though perhaps not in the immediate future as the subject matter of this book was rather heavy and are not topics I am willing to read about often.
I am already considering the author’s other book Cleopatra and Frankenstein to my TBR pile but this is a genre of fiction where I am not familiar with so I would love other recommendations along the lines of “if you liked this you should read $X author/book”.
I’ll end this review with a quote from near the end of the book that I loved.
Squeezed beside Bonnie and Lucky now, it was superfluous to describe what she felt for them as love. They *were* love, beautiful and unbearable and hers.
Chapter Twelve: Avery, Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
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