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hanghuhn's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
second attempt: let's try the audio book. Again I was annoyed. But the narrator is so good that I gave it a second chance. Still, Eleanor was annoying, her character seemed not likeable. She was judgmental, thought poorly of, for example, fat people. Also, the way she expresses herself, speaks was very strange and yes, annoying.
But as I continued listening, she grew on me. Bit by bit she unsurfaced her past and that explained so much. It explained her behaviour, her thoughts, her opinion of others.
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is a surprising book. There is strong character development. She grows from a socially isolated woman who is traumatised by her childhood to a woman with friends, who goes to therapy to finally work on the things she carried for so long. But one thing that bothers me is that she doesn't discuss her problem with alcohol with her therapist. I think the author should have included that as well. Because in the book it seems as if you just need to stop drinking and that's it. Eleanor even had an alcoholic drink shortly after her breakdown. I don't know much about alcoholism and recovery. But the way it's described doesn't feel realistic. After her breakdown, she doesn't drink for, I don't know, a week? two? Then she has one drink after a very intense therapy session and than ... nothing? And Raymond has a drink when they met and she isn't affected by that?
All in all the book turned out to be good. But the alcoholism part felt, as I said, not right, and it should have been addressed more/better.
But I am glad to have given the book a second chance.
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Rape
melizto's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Murder, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Incest, Excrement, and Classism
The schizophrenia/psychosis warning is just in case, as a possible interpretation of a certain twist. I'm not entirely sure this is intentionally the case, and either way I don't think it's accurate.haleyisamess's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
max63815's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
There was a lot of fatphobia and body shaming which is eventually addressed but still quite excessive.
Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia
edgwareviabank's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Most of my issues were with the first third, which I found an absolutely miserable slog. The plot takes its time to get going, and while it later becomes clear that there's a good reason for it (it is important for readers to dive deep into how Eleanor's mind works first), there are so many hints at various tragic and sad events in Eleanor's life, I often wondered whether the author might be piling too much trauma onto one single character, for the backstory to sound entirely realistic. Yes, I get that not all fiction is, or has to be, entirely realistic. But, as a reader, that's what I tend to enjoy the most. The one bleak element of Eleanor's life that stood out as the most believable is how she's a vulnerable person who has been failed by various systems and people, at all points in her life. I appreciated reading a story that paints that sort of picture of a human life, because it's something way too many people have to endure without the rest of the world thinking twice.
The remaining two thirds of the book got a lot better and smoother to read, and within a few days, I could no longer put it down. The plot speeds up a little, and the uncertainty about where it's ultimately going becomes pleasant, because its meanderings provide plenty of opportunities to warm up to the people Eleanor begins to get close to in the same way as she's learning to warm up to them herself. If there's one thing this book has going for it, that would be quite a few lovely people helping Eleanor see the possibility of a life she never imagined. Glimmers of hope begin to appear, and as a character arc, Eleanor's is quite rewarding to follow in the end. I think that's the main point of the novel; a surprise unveiling of Eleanor's traumatic past definitely wasn't it for me, as the hints the author drops fairly often make it easy to piece together, and don't feel nearly as mysterious as her intention might have been.
To sum up, I'm glad I read on. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine won't get unconditional praise from me, and it won't make it on to any of my "favourites" lists (not even "favourite books I read in 2022"), but if you're on the fence, I say go for it. It may subvert some of your expectations, as it did for me, and I like when that happens.
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, and Child death
chris_reads's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child abuse and Suicide attempt
Minor: Body shaming and Vomit
sunny_not's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
checkmate's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Body shaming and Fatphobia
dorilyss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting