Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors (review)

**Minor spoilers ahead**

 

In 2023, I read Cleopatra + Frankenstein by Coco Mellors, and I really enjoyed it. Mellors has a talent for writing deep, insightful and emotional prose, so when her second book, Blue Sisters, was announced, I knew I really wanted to read it. 

As an e-book reader, I rarely read new releases because they're just so expensive, and I'm also not massively fussed about being on trend anyway, so I tend to get to new releases once they're not so new anymore. This was a very anticipated read, and I enjoyed it overall, but it didn't quite live up to the hype.

I finished it a few days ago and wanted to sit with my thoughts for a little while. Like her first novel, Mellors has done a fantastic job of giving us insight into living with grief and mental illness. This is the story of three sisters - Avery, Bonnie, and Lucky - who are grieving the loss of their fourth sister, Nicky, who passed away about a year before the novel begins. 

I have a difficult relationship with my family, and always felt so alone with this. It wasn't until I grew up that I realised I wasn't alone (isn't that one of the most amazing things about reading?). The Blue sisters have a difficult relationship with their parents, their father with a history of alcoholism and a mother who buries her head in the sand and ignores it. There are lots of quotes from this book that really resonated with me. When you have an unhealthy family dynamic, there's a lot of grieving you do whilst they're still alive, and I think this book captured the contrast between grieving for the dead and for the living really well. 

My favourite is pictured below:

"She loved them, but they were not always good people. The admission brought her no comfort."

 

I think this book was a very ambitious idea, as it tells the story from three viewpoints, flipping back and forth between each surviving sister. Unfortunately, I think this is what let the book down. I don't feel like I truly got to know any of the sisters, and they felt a bit underdeveloped. I think I would have preferred it if it had been written from just one perspective, but still involving the other sisters. Avery was my favourite character, and I found myself wanting to hear more of the story from her perspective, but this might just be because her story was the most "fleshed out". I wanted to know more about Bonnie and Lucky, but their stories felt more repetitive. 

Most of the character development happens between the final chapter and the epilogue, and I wish more of it were on the page. The pacing was a little off - due to having three perspectives, it takes more than half the book to have everyone and everything introduced, and then suddenly the plot starts moving quite quickly. It feels like the "scene setting" stage took too long. 

I'd love to have learned more about how each sister moved forward with their lives, rather than just seeing how it all ended in the epilogue. We see Bonnie finally confess her feelings, and then suddenly we're flashing forward a decade and she's having a baby. Having said that, I did like the epilogue was realistic - the sisters are all different ages and affected in different ways by the loss of Nicky, so I liked that Lucky was still struggling with her addiction and mental health, rather than everyone having their stories neatly wrapped up with happily-ever-afters - it wouldn't have fit the tone of the book (although I like to think Lucky would've gotten there eventually!). 

The best parts of the book were the final few chapters. The three sisters are finally together and talking about their grief, and I think Mellors' writing talents really shone here. I think this is why I'd rather the book had been from just one perspective - the sisters don't spend much of the book together, so their stories feel a bit disconnected. This does work with the context and themes of the book, but it meant the book left me wishing there was more to read. 

I also think this book is really good for adding to awareness campaigns for endometriosis, a condition that affects at least 10% of women globally (although in reality, probably a lot higher due to the difficulty in getting a diagnosis). Throughout the book, we learn that Nicky suffered from the condition and relied on painkillers to manage her symptoms. Unfortunately, it would be the pain relief that eventually ended her life. I think this is a very harrowing reminder of what living with chronic pain is like, and what can sadly happen when they feel like they have no choice but to self-medicate. 

Overall, I gave the book 3 stars  ★ ★ ★. I would recommend this book to readers looking for a realistic exploration of grief and complex family dynamics, and those who like stories that focus more on characters and interpersonal relationships than detailed plots. Coco Mellors is still one of my "default buy" authors, and I can't wait to see what she writes next!