The Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
Book Club Recap: The Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors
Book club met this month to discuss The Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors. To be completely honest, it was hard for me to get into this book, and I wasn't the only one who felt that way. The opening chapters introduce you to four sisters navigating grief, trauma, and their wildly different lives, and it took some time to connect with them. But we soldiered on—and somewhere along the way, we actually did become invested.
Despite their unstable and emotionally fraught childhood, the Blue sisters each carved out a life for themselves. Of course, "moving on" doesn't mean "healed," and when their youngest sister's death brings them back under the same roof, years of pain, resentment, and love come crashing to the surface.
The book doesn't shy away from messy emotions or flawed decisions. While some of us found the pacing uneven or the characters frustrating at times, there was a general appreciation for Mellors' exploration of sisterhood, identity, and the long tail of grief.
One major theme we talked about during our discussion was how each sister responded differently to the loss, emotionally, physically, and relationally. For a story that deals so heavily with death and dysfunction, it still manages to end on a note of unexpected hope.
Overall, I was happy with how the book wrapped up. It wasn't a tidy ending, but it felt honest like the sisters finally started to see and accept one another, and maybe even themselves.
Want to dive deeper?
🗣 Book Club Discussion Questions
Which of the sisters did you relate to most, and why?
How did the sisters’ childhood experiences shape the adults they became?
Do you think the sisters truly forgave each other by the end of the book?
What role did grief play in the way the sisters interacted throughout the story?
How did you feel about the nonlinear structure of the narrative? Did it help or hinder your connection to the characters?
What do you think the author was trying to say about family dynamics and emotional inheritance?
Would you recommend this book to someone who has sisters or a complicated family history?
Resource:
Here's the discussion guide for The Blue Sisters.
