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Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine (2018)

by Gail Honeyman

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
8,2335131,002 (4.13)365
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.… (more)
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» See also 365 mentions

English (500)  Italian (4)  German (2)  Dutch (2)  French (1)  Catalan (1)  Arabic (1)  Norwegian (1)  Latvian (1)  All languages (513)
Showing 1-5 of 500 (next | show all)
Very enjoyable. Quirky, funny, a mystery slowly unravelling. Ultimately kind and humane. This is another where it feels churlish to quibble, but I feel like the plot could have been a little more complex, but maybe that misses the point. Also slightly unsure of how realistic it is (depiction of mental illness, also many people seem just a little bit too nice), but ultimately it's very effective (and affecting) so I'm not holding it against it. I recommend. ( )
  thisisstephenbetts | Nov 25, 2023 |
A heavy read, but a great exploration of loneliness, trauma, and mental health. However, it can drag on a bit in the first act. ( )
  Danianise | Nov 17, 2023 |
Eleanor Oliphant wasn't always completely fine - she became so - and this story by Gail Honeyman tells us how Eleanor did it.

The genius of Honeyman's writing is that by the end of the book, the reader is in no doubt that "completely fine" perfectly describes Eleanor's mental state.

And, given the situations which Eleanor experiences to become "completely fine", you might even be tempted to go further: Eleanor Oliphant is alright! ( )
  SunnyJim | Nov 10, 2023 |
This is a truly wonderful book! I have to admit, at first I was fairly sceptical at the prospect of yet another socially-awkward character, but very soon Eleanor won me over completely.
As we follow Eleanor through her daily routine, it soon becomes apparent that her inability to relate to others in a social context is the result of emotional and psychological abuse as a child. This becomes particularly clear during Eleanor's weekly calls to "Mummy", which completely chilled me to the bone.

Everything in Eleanor's carefully planned life, however, is about to change as two extraordinary things happen: first, she falls in love with a musician while attending a concert; second, she meets Raymond, the bumbling new IT guy from her office, and Sammy, an elderly gentleman whom she and Raymond save after he falls on a sidewalk. Suddenly forced to amend her routine and looking to obtain a complete makeover to win over her man, Eleanor starts to realise that she can be loved and she deserves more than she had so far. But in order to do so, she will need to confront secrets she buried so deep, even she doesn't remember the truth anymore - and she'll need to do it before their weight crushes her. As she embarks on this journey of discovery of herself and the world around her, Eleanor has to come to terms with a past that is far too painful - and she has to accept that she doesn't have to do it alone.

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is a tiny jewel of a book. At times funny (Eleanor's first wax had me doubled over), at times heartbreaking, always tender, this book broke my heart and put it back together several times. I loved watching the world through Eleanor's eyes, and I felt like cheering her on at every small step she took towards regaining control over her own life. This is one character I am certain will stay with me for a really long time. I enjoyed the writing style very much, and found more than once that I did not want to stop reading. I could hardly believe this was the author's debut! I'll definitely look out for more of her books.

For this and more reviews, visit Book for Thought.

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way. ( )
1 vote bookforthought | Nov 7, 2023 |
What a great book. A friend suggested this one and I'm so glad she did! There was a reveal at the end that I actually didn't even guess! ( )
  ankhamun | Nov 2, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 500 (next | show all)
The human need for connection, initially scorned by Eleanor, is this heart-rending novel’s central theme. Eleanor Oliphant is most definitely not completely fine, but she is one of the most unusual and thought-provoking heroines of recent contemporary fiction.
 
From pop-star crushes to meals for one, the life of an outsider is vividly captured in this joyful debut, discovered through a writing competition and sold for huge sums worldwide...And what a joy it is. The central character of Eleanor feels instantly and insistently real...This is a narrative full of quiet warmth and deep and unspoken sadness. It makes you want to throw a party and invite everyone you know and give them a hug, even that person at work everyone thinks is a bit weird.
added by SimoneA | editThe Guardian, Jenny Colgan (May 4, 2017)
 

» Add other authors (3 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Honeyman, Gailprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Aguilar, Julia OsunaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Audio, LübbeVerlagsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Audio, PenguinPublishersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Azoulay-Pacvon, AlineTraductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Beretta, StefanoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Giorgio, ElisaNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Karhulahti, SariTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Limited, HarperCollins PublishersPublishersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mörk, Ylvasecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Maire, LauraErzählersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
McCarron, CathleenNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Montijn, HienTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
SalaniPublishersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Dedication
For my family
First words
When people ask me what I do - taxi drivers, hairdressers - I tell them I work in an office.
Quotations
Sport is a mystery to me. In primary school, sports day was the one day of the year when the less academically gifted students could triumph, winning prizes for jumping fastest in a sack, or running from point A to point B more quickly than their classmates. How they loved to wear those badges on their blazers the next day, as if a silver in the egg and spoon race was some sort of compensation for not understanding how to use an apostrophe.
I have always enjoyed reading, but I've never been sure how to select appropriate material. There are so many books in the world—how do you tell them all apart? How do you know which one will match your tastes and interests? That's why I just pick the first book I see. There's no point trying to choose. The covers are of very little help, because they always say only good things, and I've found out to my cost that they're rarely accurate. "Exhilarating" "Dazzling" "Hilarious." No.
She was shiny too, her skin, her hair, her shoes, her teeth. I hadn't even realized before; I am matte, dull, scuffed.
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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.

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Book description
Haiku summary
You laugh and you cry
as Eleanor learns how to
start living her life.
(passion4reading)

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