Review: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow! This book rocked me to the core! I got it as a Christmas present, and have been itching to read it since. I’m a member of an online book club, and everyone there was absolutely raving about it and they weren’t wrong!

Eleanor Oliphant is quirky (think Roy Cropper from Coronation Street). She lives alone, dresses in a dowdy fashion, has worked in the same job in a finance office for all of her life, and she has no social skills. She is one of life’s loners, and every Friday evening, on her way home from work, she buys enough vodka to see her through the weekend until Monday morning comes along. One day a set of events changes Eleanor, and the way she looks at life, and puts her on a different path.

To begin with, I wasn’t sure about her! I struggled with the first 40 pages and didn’t actually like Eleanor as a character. I took her brashness personally until I realised there is another person in there trying to get out.

As a result, after that revelation, I didn’t want to the book to end, I wanted to be part of Eleanor’s life forever, and when the end did come, I got a feeling similar to empty nest syndrome.
There were parts of the book that made me laugh out loud, others that made me want to cry and hold her, and other parts where I audibly gasped.

A wonderful read that will leave you reeling for days afterwards. This book certainly comes in as one of my top three ever books.

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