Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine: A Novel by Gail Honeyman (Epub)

Description

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 social interactions, 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 on the sidewalk, the three become the kinds of friends who rescue one another from the lives of isolation they have each been living. And it is Raymond’s big heart that will ultimately help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one.

Soon to be a major motion picture produced by Reese Witherspoon, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is the smart, warm, and uplifting 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.

User’s Reviews

Review “A charmer. . . satisfyingly quirky.”—Janet Maslin, The New York Times “This wacky, charming novel. . . draws you in with humor, then turns out to contain both a suspenseful subplot and a sweet romance. . . Hilarious and moving.” —People “Eleanor Oliphant is a quirky loner and a model of efficiency with her routine of frozen pizza, vodka and weekly phone calls with Mummy. [She’s] a woman beginning to heal from unimaginable tragedy, with a voice that is deadpan, heartbreaking and humorous all at once.” –NPR.org”Simultaneously hilarious and heartbreaking. . . Eleanor Oliphant may be completely fine, but this book is completely wonderful.” –PureWow”Warm and funny. . . You’ll want to read it.”—TheSkimm“Eleanor Oliphant [is] the kind of book you’ll want to devour in a single sitting.” –Vox“Warm and uplifting.” –POPSUGAR“Sweet and satisfying, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine will speak to introverts who have ever felt a little weird about their place in the world.” –Bustle”Eleanor Oliphant is a truly original literary creation: funny, touching, and unpredictable. Her journey out of dark shadows is expertly woven and absolutely gripping.” –Jojo Moyes, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You“[Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine] made me laugh, it made me cry, and the entire time I beamed with joy at the beauty of this story.” –Krysten Ritter, actress, producer, and author of Bonfire “Move over, Ove (in Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove)—there’s a new curmudgeon to love. . . Walking in Eleanor’s practical black Velcro shoes is delightfully amusing. But readers will also be drawn in by her tragic backstory, which slowly reveals how she came to be so entirely Eleanor. Witty, charming, and heartwarming, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is a remarkable debut about a singular woman. Readers will cheer.” –Booklist (starred review)”Astounding.” –PopMatters“Eleanor Oliphant is endearing, [a] whip-smart read. . . a fascinating story about loneliness, hope, tragedy and humanity. Honeyman’s delivery is wickedly good, and Eleanor won’t leave you anytime soon.” –Associated Press “Honeyman’s endearing debut is part comic novel, part emotional thriller, and part love story. . . hilarious, deadpan, and irresistible.” –Kirkus Reviews“[A] captivating debut. . . This is a must-read for those who love characters with quirks.” –BookPage“If you thought Fredrik Backman’s Ove was a charming curmudgeon, you’ll instantly fall for Eleanor.” –Hello Giggles”The book is wonderfully, quirkily funny. You both ache for Eleanor. . . and laugh with her.” –Seattle Times “A touching, funny novel.” –Minneapolis Star Tribune”Debut author Honeyman expertly captures a woman whose inner pain is excruciating and whose face and heart are scarred, but who still holds the capacity to love and be loved. Eleanor’s story will move readers.” –Publishers Weekly”Deft, compassionate and deeply moving–Honeyman’s debut will have you rooting for Eleanor with every turning page. I loved this story.” –Paula McLain, New York Times bestselling author of Love and Ruin From School Library Journal Office worker Eleanor adheres to a strict routine that has insulated her from the memories of her traumatic childhood but has not shielded her from loneliness. But after she meets Raymond, she attempts to rediscover her memories and in the process learns how relationships (including those with friends, lovers, and colleagues) operate and that other people can be a source of joy rather than destruction. Readers may find Eleanor odd at first but will feel compassion and root for her as she grapples with severe depression and her painful childhood. Though the novel deals with dark themes, quirky Eleanor’s firm bond with Raymond and their adventures lighten the tone. Teens will be spellbound as Eleanor unravels the mystery of her past and develops a sense of self. VERDICT For those seeking a dramatic page-turner combined with a whimsical love story.—April Sanders, Spring Hill College, Mobile, AL –This text refers to the kindle_edition_av edition.

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ At first I was interested by the idea of seeing the world through the perspective of someone on the Autism Spectrum, but then it becomes apparent that this is a human in excruciating psychological pain. How anyone could actually read this and refer to it as funny is beyond me. As the picture of the abuse and trauma that Eleanor suffered at the hands of a mentally ill mother unfolded, I felt emotionally assaulted by the author. Finally, we are supposed to believe that a few therapy sessions and a nice man will quickly undo all the damage and Eleanor will be healed, instantly stop drinking, and start living like a ‘normal’ person.I read it to the end for book club, but it left me feeling like crawling into the back of a dark closet and sitting there for a day or two. (I went outside and tried to recover with some therapeutic gardening instead)

⭐ This book was marketed as quirky and ‘wildly funny,’ but I had a hard time finding the humor in this book. The main character is socially awkward because of her extreme childhood abuse. I fail to find the humor in a person who has been forever mentally messed up because they were abused and neglected. It’s not funny. It’s terribly sad. I only finished the book because it was for book club.

⭐ First things first: this is a heart-wrenching novel that will make any empathetic person cry. I feel the need to point that out because of all those blurbs (like Reese Witherspoon’s) describing the book as so funny. Sure, you might get a laugh or too. But the genre of this story is solidly tragedy, not comedy, and it’s a little sick to mislead folks about that because Eleanor Oliphant is not fine, she is utterly crippled by horrific childhood abuse.Her character is interesting, though, and well written. One of the most refreshing things about this novel is that it is well-edited. One or two slips, but on the whole, adequately prepared for sale (as opposed to, say, The Girl With All the Gifts, the publishers of which owe us all an apology – which, I am positive that Eleanor Oliphant would demand).Nonetheless, the storyline is not altogether strong. The final 100 pages I was – as one review said – pushing to finish in a single sitting, but only because I had thoroughly lost interest and wanted to finish. It starts strong, with some nice surprises and lovely background details, but then the next steps become entirely predictable. Before reading the last 100 pages, I effectively had finished the story. The author seems to throw in the final surprise as a last ditch attempt to avoid this predictability, but it falls flat. The final surprise of the story contributes nothing to the tale, and feels like an amateur device intended to save the book, but in truth – if the author had left it out, I don’t think it would have made an ounce of difference.One the whole, this was a decent book, but not one I would pass along. Indeed, I accidentally ordered 2 copies and will be returning the second copy rather than gifting it, as I had originally thought I might. Chances are, if you are not excessively triggered by child abuse, you’ll enjoy this book. But I am astounded that the book has received more praise than a mild – “Interesting” here and there.

⭐ If this book was described as a look at a person with mental illness and her struggles, it might be a good read. However being described as a humorous book with a quirky main character is very misleading. This book may help people with mental illness relate to their own struggles, but it’s definitely not a book you want to sit down to read for a good laugh.

⭐ Eleanor Oliphant is one of the most interesting characters that I have read in a while. She is blunt. Very blunt. She lacks social skills and tends to spout off facts to people just having conversations. She likes her routine. Every Friday, stop and buy pizza and vodka. And every Wednesday, she talks to her mother. Those are never very good for Eleanor. Her mother is mean and angry and leaves her feeling less than. Something happened to Eleanor when she was a child. Something that left her with a scar on her face and moving from foster home to foster home. Does she remember it all or is it her coping mechanism? Things start to change in her life when her company’s IT guy, Raymond, and Eleanor help an old man who has passed out in the street. Family is the one thing that she has been missing.There is so much to Eleanor. In the beginning, I thought that I didn’t care too much for her but as time went on and she opened up, well, I fell in love with her. I would venture to say that she is on the autism spectrum. What a sad story she had lived and what a wonderful world opening up for her. Beautifully written and just a lovely story, you will fall in love with Eleanor too.

⭐ So this book sweeps you right into quirky but sad Eleanor’s life and for me, I was glad of it. I loved the way the book has just the right amount of detail and let’s Eleanor’s ways reveal moments of humor, sadness, strength, and vulnerability. I laughed and cried and cherished the journey with her to the end.

⭐ I really don’t understand the hype behind this book. The ending was predictable. The characters didn’t progress in a way that really drew me in. And the pseudo-intellectual internal dialogue was tiring at best. I thought I would form more of an attachment to this character (given her childhood, circumstances, and emotional issues) but it was just the opposite. I found myself reading it quickly, hoping that there would be a new twist that would draw me in… nope. By page 200, I stopped hoping for something to draw me and and started speed-reading just to get it over with. Disappointing.

⭐ I wish there were words for how much I loved this contemporary fiction/ chick-lit / Brit-lit novel.SUMMARYEleanor Oliphant is the definition of socially awkward.’ Think Sheldon from Big Bang Theory minus his little band of nerds and giant ego. Awkward!!! She is never sure if people are being sarcastic or serious. She gives a lot of unsolicited advice, thinking she is being helpful when she’s really being obnoxious, then she mentally (and occasionally orally) notes what she perceives as others poor manners or stupidity in said person. She’s hilarious without meaning to be.From the very beginning, the reader knows that things are not 100% right for Eleanor. She has serious “Mummy Issues” (love the British Speak, mummy issues sound so much more sophisticated than mommy issues!), her coworkers blatantly make fun of her, she has no friends, she relies on vodka to get her through the weekend and has these mysterious scars on her face which are significant enough to cause people to stare.On a very rare night out, she goes to a concert and completely falls for one of the musicians without even so much as exchanging a single word with him.Eleanor begins a journey of physical self improvement in order to prep herself to meet this musician. Her journey includes a hilarious visit to a waxing salon, a couple extremely uncomfortable “practice” social outings and a few lol worthy shopping trips.In addition to the outward improvements, Eleanor decides to open herself to new experiences so she will be ready when she meets her musician in person. Her newfound openness comes in handy when, after years of loneliness, she accidentally stumbles into two new unlikely friendships.Although there are many truly amusing parts in this story, it also has a very serious side, particularly when the reader learns of Eleanor’s past and the origins of her scars. Author, Gail Honeyman, slowly doles out the details of Eleanor’s heartbreaking backstory leaving the reader 100% on Team Eleanor. I, for one, was cheering her on and celebrating her growth as though she were my real life friend.WHAT I LOVEDSince I gave this book 5 Stars, and I rarely ever do, clearly I loved EVERYTHING about it. But here are just a few specific things which I loved:The whole thing with Bobbie Brown makeup. She was soooooo clueless that she had no idea who Bobbie Brown is and at one point she ‘questioned Ms Brown’s work ethic’ since Bobbie never seemed to be at her makeup counter.I LOVED Eleanor’s observations on other people and how she often missed the point so significantly and then she thought everyone but her was crazy. Super entertaining.I loved how Eleanor just spoke her mind without concern for social convention. That was funny enough, but reading others reactions to her comment was the icing on the cake. Some people laughed and found her refreshing, others thought she was crazy or rude.The story itself was just so darn good!!! In my opinion, a good book in this genre is one which makes the reader laugh, think deeply, feel significant empathy for the characters and stays with the reader long after completing the story. For me, this book did that, and more. I was so sad to see it end. I miss her already.WHAT I DIDN’T LOVEThis book got my 5 star rating which means that if there was something I didn’t love about the book, the good outweighed the bad so heavily that I forgot anything I didn’t like.OVERALLI LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!

⭐ Eleanor, Eleanor, oh darling Eleanor: a surprising, deeply affecting character. A character that is unlike any I’ve read in recent memory. She is an endearing misfit and a charming underdog that I feel if we are honest with ourselves, we all will relate to. A piercing character that made me sit up and think about the not so savory things about myself and my own life. I think many women of a certain age – post 20s before 50, will sharply relate to Eleanor in some way. Part of me getting the most out of this book and allowing its lessons to penetrate through, was in letting go of any pretentious thinking I had that Eleanor was a fictional character. Because no, she is not fictional. She is very real. Look out, not even far, and you’ll see her: at school, at the cubicle next to yours, at the supermarket, at church, at the gym, at the airport, down the street, two doors down from your bedroom, she’s there.Eleanor is the type of character that I perceive had she been written about a century or two ago, her fate would be different from what we read here. Even more tragic, which is saying a lot. In contemporary times when young women [and men] have access to all manner of comfort, countless entertainment options, myriad ways of communication, seemingly endless avenues of pleasures, Eleanor finds herself lost in the fray. She is barely visible, she is inaudible, heart-breakingly lonely and pining for the tiniest of human connection. Like a mustard seed floating in the Pacific, without compass, with only the rising and setting sun its company.Immediately on page 3, I was taken by Eleanor’s story. She is witty, she is smart. She is bitingly sassy, perceptive, wise beyond her years. Barely anything gets by her. Eleanor has a gift to see others as they likely are, yet she is unable to see herself for her own circumstances. Circumstances that are more serious than she herself knows. It has been a long time since a character could in one stream of their consciousness make me laugh, make me cry, and make me sit back and think about my own place in the world.In our current age of conceited Instagram posts, vacuous tweets, infantile snapchats, plus the vapid pop culture lifestyle that insipid faux celebs try to pass off to fans as enviable in order to seek validation – Eleanor, like many of us, is hurting and drowning amidst all the fakery. To cope, she has built a wall around herself, one which she thinks protects her, not knowing that the higher the wall, the further she alienates herself from the potential kindness of strangers. Eleanor’s tragic past as well as her sullen present are wrought with an underlying layer of sorrow. A sorrow that Gail Honeyman skillfully reveals at the methodical pace of someone peeling the fibrous layers of an acrid, soon to spoil onion. I say onion because once fully disclosed, the reader, like I was, will no doubt be on the verge of tears.I enjoyed Eleanor’s story immensely and I liked Honeyman’s writing of her. She is unlike any female character I’ve read in a long time. I do however wished the author had written a longer story, delving deeper into Eleanor’s past, and being more descriptive into Eleanor’s earlier years. Had she done so, it would have made this book 5-stars for me. Despite some room for improvement in the overall story, ‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine’ is a tragically beautiful, powerful read and I highly recommend it. I recommend for women between the age of 20 to 50. I especially recommend it to teen girls, girls who are still discovering themselves, the ones who think the smallest of inconvenience is the end of the world. I highly recommend this book to men of all ages: dads, boyfriends, sons, husbands, male bosses, so they get to know one example of what their daughters, their girlfriends, their mothers, their wives, their female associates may be going through internally.Lastly, there are two sentences on page 5, two of many that I highlighted during my reading and I’ve attached an image of – that I dare anyone to read and not truthfully admit that they themselves have not at least once felt this way in their life. These two sentences fully encapsulate who Eleanor is, and what her life is like in these wretched times. Pain and loneliness are universal, yet we each suffer as if we are a population of one.

⭐ Very disappointing- starts off clever and amusing, then descends into embarrassingly amateurish schlock. I typically decide whether to buy a book after reading the first few pages of the free sample. This book started off with so much promise. Fascinating protagonist, clever, witty writing, thought-provoking little observations. Then it increasingly falls apart halfway into the book. It becomes contrived, trite, unconvincing and reeks of amateurishness such as might be found in a middle school creative writing assignment. The author needlessly insists on a tidy wrapped up plot and pat answers. If you love Julia Roberts movies then you will probably like this book. The book becomes so bad that, in the future, I will definitely avoid anything from this author or anything else Reese Witherspoon recommends.

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