Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
Published by Ballantine Books
Publication date: May 23, 2024
Genres: Book Clubs, Fiction, Contemporary
Bookshop, Amazon
Often a dysfunctional marriage makes the bonds between siblings stronger than usual. This is the case for Avery, Bonnie, Nicky, and Lucky Blue, whose childhood was spent in one such household in Coco Mellors new novel, Blue Sisters. As adults, they embraced vastly different lifestyles, but had maintained their closeness until Nicky died. Her loss splinters the remaining sisters until circumstances force them all to return home a year later.
Three of the Blue sisters responded to their toxic upbringing with nontraditional life choices. Avery, the oldest, finished high school at 16 and graduated from Colombia in three years, but then decamped to a commune, turned to heroin, detoxed, before going to law school. She’s now a successful lawyer living in London with her wife who wants to have a baby. If Avery was a child of the mind, then Bonnie was all physicality. A gentle soul she still thrilled to the power of her body, becoming a championship boxer. The baby of the family, Lucky, was also physically blessed, but in a waiflike, perfectly symmetrical way that meant she left school at 15 and was earning more money modeling than the rest of them by the time she was 21.
Each of the sisters is struggling in the aftermath of Nicky’s death. Nicky, the only one of them to long for a ‘normal’ life of marriage and motherhood, neither of which materialized. The glue amongst them and conduit between them, her absence forces them each into, not just grief, but personal examinations of their part in her death and the realities of their own lives. Especially as their estranged mother has decided to sell the NYC apartment where they grew up. A place that has been untouched since Nicky died.
For Avery it’s the mantle of responsibility she’s always worn, finding it easier to tell her sisters what to do than confront her own demons. She believes Nicky’s death is something to be dealt with head on even as both Bonnie and Lucky prefer avoidance. For Bonnie, this tactic is as familiar as the duck and weave style of boxing and she uses it accordingly, leaving everything behind in NYC and only utilizing her talent as a bouncer at an L.A. club. As the youngest, Lucky is still allowed the grace of foolish mistakes and partying too much, but as a model heading towards 30 both are problematic as they’re impacting her looks and her reliability.
Three such distinctive siblings in one novel sounds more like the beginning of a bad joke (a lawyer, a boxer, and a model walk into a bar) than a thoughtful exploration of the bonds of sisterhood, but Mellors’ compassionate portrayals in Blue Sisters provide an intimate look at the individual response to childhood trauma and grief. If, at times, the novel dips into melodrama, the tone of her writing and observations always strikes deep, grounding her characters. Two of these have stayed with me. Bonnie’s explanation of a higher power:
It was a soothing and a smoothing, a drastic internal reconfiguration from chaos to harmony. When she heard it, nothing had to change for everything to be different.
And Avery’s factual take on the aphorism Everything happens for a reason:
“I believe that everything happens,” she said. “Period. Or full stop, as you would say. That’s it. Things happen and we have to learn to live with them…If we can find meaning in them, fine, but even if we can’t, we still have to live with them. The meaning is an afterthought, an anesthesia. Happens is the only word in that statement that’s empirical. The rest is whatever helps you sleep at night.”
These introspective forays meld with the realities of aging, life choices, and acceptance amidst the tender connection of sisters. A relationship unfamiliar to me, but whose intimacy I could feel on the page. Blue Sisters is a poignant reminder of the families we’re born into, their impact on who we become, and, for those of us who are lucky, their ongoing importance in our lives.
Looking for more literary fiction on the bond between sisters? I’d highly recommend Ann Napolitano’s Hello, Beautiful.
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*I received a free copy of this book from Ballantine Books in exchange for an honest review.*
Julie says
I just finished Blue Sisters last night and appreciate your review. I also did not grow up with a sister but raised two daughters. My older daughter died suddenly last year, and the effect it has had on our family, but especially her only sister has been devastating. Coco Mellors captures the relationship between sisters in a realistic way- families can be difficult!
Catherine says
I am so sorry. I can’t even fathom what the loss of a much loved sibling would be like.
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. I’m glad to know Mellors got it right.
Susan says
A stunning, beautifully written review. Even though this book is not for me at this time, I’m intrigued and impressed by the quotes.
Catherine says
Thank you! I felt the same way about the quotes which is why I included them. I’m STILL thinking about them as even if I didn’t ‘get’ the characters all the time, these thoughts made perfect sense and gave me a window into their natures. I always appreciate that in my reading.