Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

105 reviews

giraffefries's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

I will say it’s quite slow pace which I’m not used to but I appreciated bc I love to see the character development throughout 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Minor: Fatphobia

greta_o's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Alcoholism, Suicide, Child abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Fatphobia

arukeni's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Rape, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Self harm, Grief, and Death

hello_lovely13's review against another edition

dark 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

3.5

This was so much weirder than I was expecting it to be (you have no idea what you're getting into just from the blurb). However, the ending really turned it around for me (it was an absolutely fantastic ending, and anyone that is thinking of DNFing while in the first half of the book should endure to the end because it is so worth it). This has interesting things to say about loneliness, which is what my first impression was, then it got...weird. During the first half of the book, I found Eleanor relatable at times, but mostly extremely judgmental and amoral to the point where I wasn't really rooting for her. However, from the midpoint of the book onwards, as she became less isolated and more ingrained into a social life, she became more and more understanding. Then, at the 75% mark, she finally snaps out of what really made me uncomfortable about her behavior (

her literally stalking a musician she became obsessed with

) and then really addressed all the things I didn't like about her and showed her change and willingness to continue to work on changing for the better (therapy and all). In the last ten minutes of the audiobook, the twist that was revealed was one I did not see coming at all (I guessed most of her backstory, but not about

the fact that her mother was dead the whole time and that she died in the fire!

I was so shocked that I had to take a brief pause before finishing the book). I liked that the ending was a bit open (even though I usually hate open endings) because that last moment could be taken in one of two ways, and I definitely have a strong preference between the two (

the entire time I was dreading that they would try to make Raymond and Eleanor be romantic, and I am adamantly against it! It is unnecessary and doesn't make any sense. That is why I am so glad that the final kiss on the cheek could be taken as either a purely platonic, affectionate gesture or a hesitant romantic beginning. In my head, it is the former.

). I wasn't too connected to Sammy, as we didn't see too much of him and we didn't see Eleanor and him form that strong of a connection, and they only really interacted about 3 times in the entire book. Raymond and Eleanor's friendship was a bit more developed, though I honestly wasn't overly attached to Raymond as a character or their relationship. It is done well, and they have an ease, understanding, and support to their friendship that enriches the novel. However, the way that Eleanor spoke of him for most of the first half of the novel slightly lessened it's effect for me (I know it was addressed why she thought and acted the way she did, and that was done well, but it still put that distance for me in the relationship, so I couldn't fully be invested; perhaps upon a reread (though I don't know when or if I ever will reread this), with the knowledge of how the book ends I can have more appreciation for their relationship). The true relationship that Eleanor interacts with in this book is with herself and her mental health and trauma, and the payoff is well-done (there could have been a more cathartic end to a certain source of negativity (

her weekly calls with her mother, though the twist really took care of that

), but it was nonetheless satisfactory and satisfying in a slightly more realistic way). Overall, much weirder than expected, but one that I will recommend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Child death, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Rape, Vomit, and Fatphobia

fancyjess_party's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Murder, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Grief, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Death of parent, Violence, Addiction, Child death, Sexual assault, Suicide, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Ableism

m4rtt4's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Medical content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm

dogdaisy's review against another edition

dark funny 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

This book shook me. It contains dark humour about very challenging topics. It was quite moving however and had unexpected twists. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Alcoholism

greenvelvetreads's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Mental illness, Child death, Death, Alcohol, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, and Addiction

Minor: Fatphobia, Sexual assault, and Rape

knikchevich's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Child death, Vomit, Child abuse, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, and Fatphobia

tas_takes_down_the_man's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense 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

4.5

What a pageturner! I was taken aback by Eleanor’s harshness and it was a little annoying in the beginning, but I slowly started to warm up to her.
I DNF’ed this book 2 years ago but I’m glad I did because the audiobook really brought the characters to life. 
This book also motivated me to look into therapy so take that as you will.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fatphobia