Every once in a while, a book lands in your hands and rearranges your emotional landscape. That’s exactly what Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors did for me—and evidently, for thousands of readers who now swear it’s the best debut novel they’ve read in years.
Set in the vibrant chaos of New York City, this novel isn’t your average meet-cute turned romance. It’s electric, messy, painfully real—and heartbreakingly beautiful.
A Love Story That Defies Expectations
At its core, Cleopatra and Frankenstein tells the story of Cleo, a British painter in her twenties, and Frank, an older American ad executive. When they impulsively marry, what follows isn’t a fairytale—it’s a slow unraveling of identities, ambitions, and emotional baggage.
Unlike many modern romances that sanitize love into something light and digestible, Mellors offers a narrative that is raw, nuanced, and drenched in emotional complexity. That’s what makes this the best debut novel in its genre—it dares to show the shadow side of intimacy.
Coco Mellors: A Voice That Cuts Through the Noise
What makes Cleopatra and Frankenstein stand out as the best debut novel isn’t just the story—it’s Mellors’ voice. Her prose is elegant without being pretentious, cinematic without feeling forced. She writes with the insight of someone who has deeply felt both love and loss.
Mellors’ background in writing and her time spent in New York give her novel an authenticity that can’t be faked. She crafts characters that bleed on the page—imperfect, layered, and deeply human.
The Characters: Messy, Real, and Unforgettable
Cleo is the kind of protagonist you want to hug and shake at the same time. She’s haunted, ethereal, brilliant, and self-destructive. Frank is charming yet fractured, trying to bridge the gap between who he is and who he wants to be.
But it’s not just about Cleo and Frank. The supporting cast—Frank’s sister, Cleo’s best friend, various lovers and creatives—are all vividly drawn. Each subplot explores different dimensions of love, addiction, identity, and healing.
This ensemble storytelling is one of the reasons many readers consider it the best debut novel in recent memory—it doesn’t just focus on romance but paints a broader emotional canvas.
Themes That Hit Hard
Mental health: Cleo’s struggle with depression and disassociation is tenderly and truthfully explored.
Addiction and escapism: Several characters turn to substances and sex to numb what they can’t face.
Creativity and ambition: The novel also examines how creatives survive in a world that commodifies both art and emotion.
Age gaps and power dynamics: Frank and Cleo’s relationship unearths the complexities that arise when timing and maturity are misaligned.
These themes are handled with grace and grit—solidifying its place as the best debut novel for readers craving depth.
Aesthetic and Atmosphere
If you’re someone who’s visually driven, Cleopatra and Frankenstein will hit your senses like a Lana Del Rey track—dreamy, melancholic, and dangerous. Mellors builds an atmosphere where every streetlight feels like a spotlight on emotional decay, and every dinner party is a masquerade of internal crises.
This atmospheric pull is another reason readers describe it as the best debut novel they’ve read. It’s not just a book—it’s a whole vibe.
Why It Resonates with the Modern Reader
In a post-pandemic world where people are collectively re-evaluating relationships, careers, and personal identity, Cleopatra and Frankenstein lands with uncanny relevance. It doesn’t offer easy answers, only mirrors—and sometimes, that’s exactly what we need.
It also speaks to Millennials and Gen Z in particular—those navigating love in a landscape of therapy lingo, trauma bonding, and perpetual identity crises.
This cultural resonance only strengthens its claim to being the best debut novel of the 2020s.
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My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
But unlike some of these minimalist emotional reads, Cleopatra and Frankenstein leans into the drama, the art, the chaos—with a much richer aesthetic and character depth.
Feminine Energy and Literary Self-Exploration
As someone deeply aligned with the themes of emotional depth, self-healing, and feminine intuition (you can read my reflections on the feminine energy reset), this book felt like a literary embodiment of inner work. Cleo’s journey, in many ways, mirrors the softer, more introspective side of growth—the parts that hurt before they heal.
Final Thoughts: The Best Debut Novel You’ll Carry With You
Cleo and Frankenstein is not a light beach read. It’s the kind of book that sits with you, haunts you, makes you question your own relationships and desires. And that’s why, for me—and for a growing legion of readers—it’s undeniably the best debut novel to emerge in recent years.
If you’re ready to read something beautifully tragic, poetic yet piercing, then this book deserves a place on your nightstand. Just be prepared: it doesn’t promise comfort. It promises truth.