No one’s ever told Eleanor that life should be better than fine.
Meet Eleanor Oliphant: she struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding unnecessary human contact, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy.
But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen, the three rescue one another from the lives of isolation that they had been living. Ultimately, it is Raymond’s big heart that will help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one. If she does, she'll learn that she, too, is capable of finding friendship—and even love—after all.
Smart, warm, uplifting, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is the story of an out-of-the-ordinary heroine whose deadpan weirdness and unconscious wit make for an irresistible journey as she realizes. . .
the only way to survive is to open your heart.
Blurb taken from Goodreads.
*
Over the past couple of years, I've heard so much about this book. I knew I'd have to read it at some point to see if it lived up to all the hype, but I always put it off. When I saw, a few weeks ago, that the ebook was on sale, I decided that I would finally get to it!
It's a very interesting book that focuses on trauma and mental instability, but in a very detached and lighthearted way. I'm glad that I was pre-warned that it was a slow burn, or I think I would have really struggled to stick with it. However, I really enjoyed learning more and more about Eleanor, and watching her cope with her demons.
I think this is a really powerful story that deserves the praise it has been given.
Rating: ✫✫✫✫
The Story
I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this book, and it certainly surprised me. The story follows Eleanor, who plods through her little life, adamant that she is absolutely fine. She doesn't have a close relationship with her mother, does not have any friends, and does the same job day after day. However, she turns to vodka to get through the weekends, and this allows her to pretend that everything about her life is okay.
It's a really interesting narrative, as it provides a commentary on the lasting consequences of mental and physical trauma. I read an article somewhere not very long ago about how Gail Honeyman denied that Eleanor has autism. I admit that that was my initial instinct too from reading about her life and her interactions with others. We learn that Eleanor's childhood and relationship with her family are not as straightforward as she likes them to appear. It's definitely a slow burn, but the more I read, the more information I was given about why Eleanor ended up in the position she did.
I struggled to get into the story, but I understand why it was written in this way. We need to understand Eleanor's life and routines before we can appreciate the impact her past has had on her life; the way this has created good and bad days for her. I think it's a really frank account of how mental health can be affected indefinitely, and how difficult it can be to overcome. It also teaches us that allowing people to break through our exteriors is okay, and that they tend to be able to make even the worst of times infinitely better, if only we let them.
The Verdict
I wasn't really sure at all what to expect from this book when I first picked it up. Although I had heard a lot about it, I hadn't really picked up on anything to do with the story. Nonetheless, I was still surprised by what I found.
I hesitate to call this book enjoyable, because I don't think that's really the word to use. However, it's definitely an interesting and thought-provoking read, and it has stayed with me since I finished reading it. The story is very carefully put together, and is a beautiful commentary on how people can overcome horrible trauma.
I think it's a really unique book that I would definitely recommend.
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