Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

218 reviews

llipari1022's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

geerbeer's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

In het begin dacht ik dat ik Eleanor verschrikkelijk zou vinden om zo lang over te lezen, maar nu ik het uit heb ben ik van haar gaan houden en mis ik haar nu al 🥲

Ook dacht ik in het begin; wat saai, waarom lees ik dit eigenlijk, maar al snel werd ik toch nieuwsgierig naar waar het boek naartoe wilde gaan en echt al mijn hoop werd beantwoord! Wat een lekkere 'ride' om te nemen, het verhaal in dit boek. Heerlijk ♥️

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

All the content warning things are either used in a beautifull and thoughtfull way to tell an honest story ór they are redeemed at the end (like the fatphobia and bodyshaming)... to me it seems like the author is not a bad person / only using terrible things for shock value 😊

daniofthewood's review

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Rape, Vomit, and Death of parent

naestolgia_'s review

challenging 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

3.75

This was an interesting and surprisingly enjoyable read. Eleanor is a complex character with what seems like a simple outlook on life. There are tough chapters to get through though - her past is truly troubling to unfold page after page, but she's a character I was really rooting for. I wish there was more of a "happy" ending but, like life, that's not always the case. You are left with a small nugget of hope for Eleanor, the ending still fell short in my opinion.

Fun note: I really loved having to whip out the dictionary for this read. Lol. Eleanor's love for crosswords makes for very colorful and eloquent language.

**********

Update: After book club discussion, where most folks did not like Eleanor in the beginning ("weirdo", "mean"), I realized another theme of this book is Eleanor's introduction/indoctrination into society. I personally liked her from the start. She wasn't yet watered down and boxed into what is considered normal by the masses. 

It is fun to think of how each reader relates to Eleanor, good or bad.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Rape and Vomit

lizziaha's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

3.25

I found Eleanor to be intensely unlikable at the beginning of the story, which is sort of the point, but it was hard for me to get over it. She is a little (a lot) oblivious to how the world works, and while this is funny and endearing at times, it also involved a lot of second hand embarrassment for me. This gets a bit better, once Raymond begins to teach her how to be human. Her character growth is immense, but I don’t know if the payoff was quite worth it. I did really enjoy the writing style, so I might have to check out something else by this author. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Classism

tidals's review

emotional funny lighthearted 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

4.0

Lots of dry British humor. Guess I’ve been through a lot because I didn’t find her current state or her past particularly depressing; that’s life. If you’re quick to find things depressing don’t read this book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Stalking

w0rldofab00kw0rm's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Death, Rape, and Death of parent

thetearex's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

lily_29's review

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Child death

corinnelora95's review

sad medium-paced

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

3.0

"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." (Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, p 265)

This quote stuck out to me because the cover reviews for "Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine" are part of what led me to pick up and read this book. I found that it was not "beautifully written and incredibly funny," as Reese Witherspoon described it to be. It was not "hilarious and moving," as People claimed. And it certainly was not "completely wonderful," as Purewow said it would be.

For everyone who recommends this book because it's "light-hearted" or "funny," I have to wonder why. I found the majority of the book to be frustrating and depressing. Eleanor annoyed me for the entirety of the "Good Days" part of the book. She was slightly better in the "Bad Days" and "Better Days" parts, but I still found myself questioning why she was written to be so socially inept. It was maddening.

Overall, the book was easy to read, but it left me asking, "Why am I reading this?" over and over. I ultimately decided around the halfway point that I'd finish the book because I was too invested in Raymond and the other positive characters to quit. Raymond's care for Eleanor is what earned it the third star for me, but just barely.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty and Cursing