Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

266 reviews

shayna14's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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maddyhavranek's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I liked this book! I really liked how easy of a read it was, and I found the characters lovable and interesting, and I found myself rooting for the friendships and relationships developing throughout the book. Honestly, this book sort of gave me A Man Called Ove vibes, but with a super dark twist, which did make it more enticing to me.

I think that the writing was well-done, and Eleanor’s character certainly read the way the author intended, but I can’t lie that I did get a little bit annoyed of being inside her head at times. Mainly just because she seemed so poorly adjusted that so many of the situations presented to her were handled differently than I would have, but I think this was in part the author’s intent. I really loved Raymond, but he did feel a little flat — I wish we got more of his backstory and a bigger peek into his life, rather than just how he fit into Eleanor’s.

I also will say I did not guess the twist, which is both good and bad — I definitely thought that Eleanor had set the fire or that her mom was hiding out and pretending to be dead. TBH that may have been more interesting, but her being dead and Eleanor coming to terms with that was a necessary for the overall catharsis of the book.

Overall, a 4 star read because the story propelled me through it, but the characters outside of Eleanor fell a little flat.

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megan96smith's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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jennswan's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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m4rtt4's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I think this book should be primarily marketed as a trauma story, as it was quite dark rather than funny in my opinion. It made me smile as well, and those darker parts gave the story the depth it needed, but that's just because I do not have ptsd myself — please consider the trigger warnings carefully.

Since the story was such a slow-burning one, I wouldn't have minded had it been a bit longer as the ending felt a bit abrupt. And Eleanor really grew on me, it pains me to let her go :( <3

The English audiobook narrator did an excellent job portraying the characters, I'd highly recommend the audio version over the text!

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mallywally's review against another edition

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dark funny sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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charlottefaye's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I remember seeing this everywhere when it first came out, but only being 16 when it released it wasn’t of interest to me, as was definitely in my fantasy era/coming out of my reading habit due to starting college.

My main issue with this book was how it was marketed, being described as a “warm, smart and uplifting story”. I was expecting a light hearted read based around a bit of a “messy” but relatable character trying to navigate life. This was not the experience! The actual book was a lot heavier and darker than what it was marketed as, which completely took me by surprise!

The story deals with a lot of different topics and situations and was one I was interested to hear about but not always desperate to return to. Again, I think a lot of this is due to my expectations of the book and the subject matter being so different to what I expected.

I also found a few aspects predictable including on of the main “twists/mysteries” which was revealed at the end, and a few of the plot points did not capture my interest compared to others.

However, I still enjoyed listening to this audiobook and think it has some important things to say and is something I definitely don’t regret listening to. I would definitely recommend a read if you want a book that deals with past experiences and how these can influence yourself, but you do not have to let them define you and can grow/move on! But just be aware it is not as a light hearted read as it may be made out to be!

Apparently it’s being turned into a film and I will definitely go see that!

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