Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

519 reviews

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

4.5

I picked this up as a buddy read with a friend.
"Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" follows Eleanor, a young woman who is striving to have a very okay life. Eleanor really struggles in most social situations, and she follows a pretty rigid routine, even on the weekends. But her life is completely fine, until she meets a new character: Raymond. Raymond's presence causes Eleanor to begin to question her life and Eleanor begins to wonder if there could be more to living than her monotonous, mundane day-to-day.
Eleanor is such a plain, ordinary character, but she captivated me in a way I cannot describe. I felt a kinship to Eleanor and her desire to lead a simple life, and I really enjoyed her commitment to a predictable routine. Eleanor being socially awkward and not being able to read people super well is also highly relatable. I wanted more for her and wanted to see her truly live her life, not just survive. I loved the balance Raymond brought to her life, and how, without really trying, he brought her out of her shell and showed her that there is more to life than what she thought, and that it is okay to live a more fully.
Eleanor's relationship with her mother is clearly toxic from the first interaction, but I did not see the direction that relationship was going until it was revealed. Eleanor's complicated relationship made her all the more relatable and I had even more empathy for her.
The writing style of this book really reminded me of Fredrik Backman, and Eleanor specifically reminded me of the main character in "Britt-Marie Was Here". The writing is very approachable, but engaging, and has a plainness to it that should not be misconstrued as boring.
I really enjoyed this novel, and I will definitely be keeping Gail Honeyman on my radar in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Alcohol

Moderate: Death, Medical content, Death of parent, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

vagrantheather's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny 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

An easy 5 stars. I was captivated and couldn't put it down. Eleanor's self talk is so relatable. I know it's often referred to as autism-coded, but I didn't read it that way. It just as easily reads as someone who experienced a super tragic upbringing, opted out of social situations that were too challenging to confront, and has lived in a haze of depression and survival instincts until now. She isn't a very nice person, but she's capable of seeing that and willing to change when confronted with herself. 

I was glad to see where her social relationships ended up. I was afraid they would go one way and felt that would've cheapened it. 

I did struggle a little with the absurdity of a culture that allows a person to take extended medical leave without losing their job or going broke. The US is not ok. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Alcohol, and Child abuse

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Stalking, Self harm, Vomit, and Sexual violence

frran's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-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

Meraviglioso! Merita assolutamente tutto il successo che ha avuto! É una lettura talmente “semplice” e scorrevole  che man mano che ci si affaccia più a fondo nella vita di Eleanor si resta ancora più spiazzati dalla sua storia. Non mi aspettavo che lo avrei adorato così tanto. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Bullying

Moderate: Alcoholism and Suicidal thoughts

kathrynok's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Addiction, Child death, Medical content, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Death

peasandpancakes's review against another edition

emotional funny 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Grief, and Alcohol

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Child death, Death, Child abuse, and Vomit

Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Stalking

melli29_'s review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

didn't expect to enjoy this book so much

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Child death, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Vomit, Alcohol, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Grief

Minor: Cancer

bree_of_the_woods's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious reflective fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child death, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual assault and Physical abuse

Minor: Vomit

chelsea_shelves's review against another edition

This was initially too silly for me and then much too dark especially when the blurb describes it as “smart, warm and uplifting.” I found it bleak, traumatic and flat. I looked up the content warnings about 40% through and realized it was only spiraling to harrowing. Thought I could do it, but after reading the synopsis I am so glad I put it down. This book was not for me at this point in my life. I also didn’t find the writing beautiful enough to balance out the darkness. I think the subplot of pursuing the singer and having a makeover were supposed to add levity but I found it disjointed and ridiculous. The new friendships would have been enough instead. Overall though it was all a bit dull and uncomfortable and I found it a chore to read that always left me sad. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Rape

sandro_reads's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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

Eleanor Oliphant, as the title wrongly states, is most certainly not fine. But, her journey to getting fine is captivating.

When Eleanor and her coworker, Raymond, help an elderly man, Sammy, who collapsed, the three form a bond that propels Eleanor to examine her life and the childhood trauma she experienced.

Eleanor is downright funny at times, extremely touching at others and can also be quite difficult but, it beautifully illustrates how small acts of kindness can cause huge ripple effects in someone’s life. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Child death and Domestic abuse

mjenae's review against another edition

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

5.0

The title makes this book seem a little like comedy—touching, but lighthearted.

It's… quite heavy. If you want an easy read, this isn't for you. But if you want a spectacular survival story with anguish enough to empty you out and bravery enough to fill you to the top, you've come to the right place.

Something the potential reader needs to understand: Eleanor has gone through intense, repeated trauma—physical and emotional abuse, the latter of which is still happening throughout the book. And that's just part of it. I thought at first she might have autism—and I don't know, maybe she does—because of her inability to pick up on social cues or read humor. But now I think at least some of that was due to her chaotic and unhealthy upbringing. To be fair, I haven't read a lot of books dealing with trauma so upfront and firsthand like this, but this seemed very heavy on the sorrow.

There's healing, too, though. There has to be. Go travel down that path with Eleanor. She's a fascinating character, and she meets a lot of interesting people on the way, people who pop out of the page and shove new perspectives into your hands. I hope you come away with something you didn't have before—hope, at the very least. I have.

I'd give it more stars if I could. Possibly the best book I've read so far this year.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness

Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Child death, and Physical abuse