Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

17 reviews

silver_lining_in_a_book's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

 

These days, loneliness is the new cancer—a shameful, embarrassing thing, brought upon yourself in some obscure way. A fearful, incurable thing, so horrifying that you dare not mention it; other people don’t want to hear the word spoken aloud for fear that they might too be afflicted, or that it might tempt fate into visiting a similar horror upon them.

This book has been a long-time coming. I was a little scared going into this because of all the high praise surrounding this book, but I shouldn't have been. I thought it was very well written, with an engaging plot and a lot of important messages to get across to the reader. I certainly had a couple of issues with how some things (the therapy, the SA, and the alcoholism to give just some examples) were handled and I found Eleanor's fatphobia (although in no way endorsed in the book) was somewhat difficult to read.

However, Eleanor was a very unique character and her charm really grew on me throughout the book. Despite the dark themes, Gail Honeyman's humour came across very well in my opinion and I loved the way she made me feel Eleanor's loneliness. If the trigger warnings do not look to overwhelming, I can definitely recommend this book to many of my close friends, it is one that is certainly worth the read! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Mental illness, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Drug abuse, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Death, Emotional abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence

Minor: Fatphobia and Body shaming

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.

---

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

klsreads's review against another edition

dark 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

4.5

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It was sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, often heartbreaking, and very tender. Eleanor felt like a real person to me. I loved seeing her grow in tandem with her relationships. The writing was gorgeous and accessible (minus some Big Words). Heartwarming, excellent, very sweet.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Medical content, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Child death, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Vomit, Confinement, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, and Sexual assault

Minor: Murder, Forced institutionalization, Terminal illness, and Cancer

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

Moderate: Bullying

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

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 😊

romyterhaar's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Child death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Death

Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Self harm, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

Raymond is the only good man

on a serious note, it was nice to see someone get better.

I took one of my hands in the other, tried to imagine what it would feel like if it was another person’s hand holding mine. There have been times when I felt that I might die of loneliness. People sometimes say they might die of boredom, that they’re dying for a cup of tea, but for me, dying of loneliness is not hyperbole. When I feel like that, my head drops and my shoulders slump and I ache, I physically ache, for human contact—I truly feel that I might tumble to the ground and pass away if someone doesn’t hold me, touch me.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Abandonment, Child abuse, Alcohol, Suicide, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Grief, Self harm, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Body shaming, Confinement, Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Bullying

zombiezami's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny sad medium-paced

4.5

I didn't want this to end!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Addiction, Death, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Grief, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, and Vomit

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Fatphobia, Medical content, Self harm, Murder, Stalking, and Gaslighting

Minor: Rape, Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual content

seedsofsunflowers's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Classism, Death, Fatphobia, Vomit, Ableism, Grief, and Body shaming

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Excrement, Sexual violence, Cancer, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Terminal illness, Child death, Stalking, and Physical abuse

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Gaslighting, and Grief

Moderate: Physical abuse, Rape, Cancer, Murder, Body shaming, Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Abandonment, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Fatphobia

Minor: Bullying, Excrement, Incest, Classism, and Animal cruelty

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.

taylorjadey's review against another edition

hopeful reflective slow-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? No

4.25

I really smiled a few times while listening to this book. The characters are so dynamic and I love the focus on friendship. I had really no idea what to expect when I checked out this book and I think that’s the way it should be. It’ll surprise you.

Noting that the fatphobia is pretty heavy even though there’s reason for it. After a few times I felt icky. I felt so validated when I came to read the reviews and saw others had similar observations and feelings.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Fatphobia, Alcohol, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Self harm

Minor: Child death, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, and Vomit