Name: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
Series: Stand Alone
Author: Gail Honeyman
Publisher: HarperCollins
Format: Kindle (through Kindle Unlimited)
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Literary Fiction
Spice Rating: None
Rating:
Synopsis: Goodreads
Eleanor Oliphant has learned how to survive – but not how to live.
Eleanor Oliphant leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink every weekend.Eleanor Oliphant is happy. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except, sometimes, everything.
One simple act of kindness is about to shatter the walls Eleanor has built around herself. Now she must learn how to navigate the world that everyone else seems to take for granted – while searching for the courage to face the dark corners she’s avoided all her life.
Change can be good. Change can be bad. But surely any change is better than… fine?
Review:
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (and is a very long title) was recommended to me by a friend with a warning, “this is not at all like what you normally read” (or words to that effect, don’t come for me Wendy). And sometimes, that is absolutely the book you need to have saved for a rainy day. I had been in a slump for almost the whole of April – and even when I thought I was out of it, fantasy was taking it out of me… I was really struggling to read any of my usual genres. So, I pulled out this ‘unlike my usual read’ and gave it a go.
Right off the bat, I thought there was something massively wrong with Eleanor. From the way she speaks, to the way she treats others, to the way she acts… Something was wrong, and I called out the fact that I felt like this title was in denile… If I had seen the cover of the book before I read it, then perhaps I would have clocked on to the situation sooner…
My dislike of Eleanor did make the start of this book a little slow, but I will say it didn’t remain that way for long. With Raymond’s help, I slowly came to like and feel sorry for Eleanor – and ultimately, I was cheering for her little wins, and sad at her losses. Gail somehow made this very (VERY) dislikeable character into a likeable one as the story behind Eleanor’s situation was slowly dripped onto the pages. This is very much a story of personal discovery for Eleanor, and I won’t lie, I shed tears for her.
This is not going to be one of those stories that everyone will love, nor would I recommend it to everyone… But if you, like me, are primarily a fantasy reader I would recommend you keep Eleanor Oliphant is Completley Fine in your back pocket for a day when you need a change of genres… I really enjoyed this one, and I’m grateful that Wendy suggested I read it.
Also, I hate company Christmas Parties – but sign me up to Eleanors. That’s all I’m saying on the matter.
“Time only blunts the pain of loss. It doesn’t erase it.”
Reading With Tyler 
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