4.5 Stars from me
There were four Blue sisters, but now there are three. This loss, the guilt, the grief, and everything that remains unspoken fills every corner of the lives of the three remaining sisters. Drives them to seek oblivion, each in different yet equally as self destructive ways.
There are many plaudits for this book and it has been likened to a modern day ‘Little Women’. It has also attracted controversy, with claims that the character ‘Charlie’ was based on real person – do you think he was? https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/nov/04/london-poet-accuses-author-coco-mellors-of-basing-blue-sisters-character-on-him
Nicky, the sister who tragically died, became addicted to painkillers as a result of endometriosis.
The three Blue sisters are incredibly well defined, and so ‘real’ to read about. Lucky is a world famous model, typically half dressed and off her head on whatever she can find. Bonnie is a boxer, seeking pain to obliterate her feelings. Avery, the eldest, has been ‘mum’ to the younger siblings and carries that weight of seriousness and responsibility with her every moment of every day. Yet still, she is also a recovering addict.
This is a powerful depiction of grief and fractured family dynamics. The girls parents are distant and unemotional, hence Avery picking up mothering duties from such a young age. Easy to blame them, but the growth of understand that parents are just people who did their best is a strong message.
Blurb: The Blue sisters have always been exceptional – and exceptionally different.
Avery, a strait-laced lawyer living in London, is the typical eldest daughter, though she’s hiding a secret that could undo her perfect life forever.
Bonnie was a boxer but, following a devastating defeat, she’s been working as a bouncer in LA – until a reckless act one night threatens to drive her out of the city.
And Lucky, the rebellious youngest, is a model in Paris whose hard-partying ways are finally catching up with her.
Then there was Nicky, the beloved fourth sister, whose unexpected death left Avery, Bonnie and Lucky reeling.
When, a year later, the three of them must reunite in New York to stop the sale of their childhood home, they find that it’s only by returning to each other that they can navigate their grief, addiction and heartbreak and learn to fall in love with life again.
Read and Rated 