Sisterhood and Grief

It’s my birthday week! Happy birthday to me! I have preordered myself a book to collect which comes out this week - a rare treat to buy a book. Any guesses which one it might be?

This week we take a look at one of those books that has been all over the internet Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors. Sometimes with popular books, it is easy to decide to not like them in advance because of the hype, but I will continue to add to it because it is hypeworthy! I thought it was fantastic. It may well be my favourite book of 2024. If you liked Cleopatra and Frankenstein, this one is even better. If you liked Hello Beautiful, then this book is for you!

Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors is a beautifully crafted novel that delves deep into the intricate web of sisterhood, loss, and the myriad of ways we cope with grief. Mellors has a remarkable talent for capturing the nuances of what it means to be human, and this novel is a testament to her ability to weave together a story that is both heart-wrenching and hopeful.

At the heart of the story are four sisters—Avery, Bonnie, Lucky and Nicky —each bound by blood but separated by the vastly different paths their lives have taken. The sisters, each with their own unique personality and perspective, have drifted apart over the years, their relationships strained by old wounds, unspoken resentments, and the inevitable distance that comes with time. But when a family tragedy strikes, they are all forced to confront not only their shared grief but also the unresolved issues that have kept them apart.

Mellors’ writing is lyrical and evocative, painting vivid pictures of both the external landscapes the sisters inhabit and their internal emotional worlds. The novel moves seamlessly between the past and present, gradually revealing the deep scars and hidden truths that have shaped the lives of the Blue sisters. Through these flashbacks, we see moments of joy, conflict, and heartache that have defined their relationships with one another. The dialogue is sharp and realistic, capturing the complex dynamics of sibling interactions, while the characters are so well-drawn that they feel like people you know—or perhaps, people you once were.

The portrayal of grief in Blue Sisters is particularly striking; it’s messy, unpredictable, and deeply personal, yet Mellors handles it with a delicate touch that never feels overwrought. Each sister deals with their pain in her own way, and the novel explores how their individual coping mechanisms both isolate them and bring them together. The raw, honest depiction of mourning is one of the novel’s most powerful elements, showing that grief is not something to be neatly resolved but a process to be lived through.

What sets Blue Sisters apart is its exploration of the bond between sisters—a relationship that is often fraught with both love and rivalry, support and resentment. She paints a vivid picture of how sisterhood can be a source of both comfort and conflict, a delicate balance that shifts as the sisters navigate their grief and attempt to find common ground once again.

The novel also touches on themes of forgiveness, self-discovery, and the different ways people find to move forward after a loss. Each sister’s journey is unique, yet they all lead back to the same question: can they find it within themselves to forgive each other, and themselves, for the past? As the story unfolds, you’ll find yourself deeply invested in the Blue sisters’ journey, rooting for them to find healing and reconciliation.

This book has something for all of us, but if you are a fan of books about complex of family relationships and the pain of loss, this one is for you, because life is too short to read bad books.