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neaky__'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.5
Things I liked:
• Eleanor’s character by the end was really charming and you can see some very clear very developed character building/development.
• The characters all feel real. You begin to miss them shortly after reading the book.
•The plot twist I wasn’t expecting at all, took me totally by surprise even when I was looking for a twist.
• The plot isn’t generic or unoriginal, it’s truly something I had never read before.
• The relationship between Eleanor and the potential love interest is left ambiguous at the end, allowing us to either imagine them as a working couple or perhaps as a symbiotic platonic love, which is very beautiful in my opinion.
Things I didn’t like:
• Eleanor’s character in the beginning was UNBEARABLE. I know it’s part of the story however, the sheer amount of secondhand anger I had while reading the first 10 chapters or so is immeasurable. It made it difficult to continue the book, but overall I’m glad I continued.
• Eleanor’s character by the end was really charming and you can see some very clear very developed character building/development.
• The characters all feel real. You begin to miss them shortly after reading the book.
•The plot twist I wasn’t expecting at all, took me totally by surprise even when I was looking for a twist.
• The plot isn’t generic or unoriginal, it’s truly something I had never read before.
• The relationship between Eleanor and the potential love interest is left ambiguous at the end, allowing us to either imagine them as a working couple or perhaps as a symbiotic platonic love, which is very beautiful in my opinion.
Things I didn’t like:
• Eleanor’s character in the beginning was UNBEARABLE. I know it’s part of the story however, the sheer amount of secondhand anger I had while reading the first 10 chapters or so is immeasurable. It made it difficult to continue the book, but overall I’m glad I continued.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Self harm, and Suicide
emmathebookhunter's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-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
I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this as much as I did, but found myself totally sucked in! Very, very emotional story with so many ups and downs. Not many books have made me laugh AND cry but this is one of them. Incredibly memorable
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, and Sexual assault
heliarocha's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault
troodiee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Suicide and Suicide attempt
jessbishai's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
Minor: Rape
dania_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
3.0
The first several chapters are hard. It might be to set up the unreliable narrator aspect of the book, but Eleanor is just really unlikable and snobby. There is a reason for it that you learn later, but it makes starting the book a little difficult. I ended up having to choose to push forward rather than getting naturally engrossed in the story.
The story is touching when it comes to emphasising the importance of human connection, and trying to heal. Eleanor's loneliness and her responses to genuine affection and care from the people around her do tug at the heartstrings.
Unfortunately it doesn't feel like there was a lot of research done with regards to autism (although the author denies it, Eleanor is at least heavily autistic-coded) trauma and healing, and foster and social care. I do wish the author had spoken to real people on the autism spectrum and/or living with trauma etc. The story would have felt more genuine. The comedic aspects come from laughing at Eleanor's lack of social skills, which feels sour.
The way Eleanor manages to heal and so quickly understand her trauma response felt really.. fanciful. It feels like it was written just to make you as the reader feel good that there's a happy ending. Trauma doesn't heal easy - I'm not saying the story has to be depressing all the way through and end sadly, but it doesn't quite represent mental illness and trauma in the most genuine way. For me this is a downside, but it may just be a personal opinion so take it with a grain of salt.
The story is touching when it comes to emphasising the importance of human connection, and trying to heal. Eleanor's loneliness and her responses to genuine affection and care from the people around her do tug at the heartstrings.
Unfortunately it doesn't feel like there was a lot of research done with regards to autism (although the author denies it, Eleanor is at least heavily autistic-coded) trauma and healing, and foster and social care. I do wish the author had spoken to real people on the autism spectrum and/or living with trauma etc. The story would have felt more genuine. The comedic aspects come from laughing at Eleanor's lack of social skills, which feels sour.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Alcoholism, and Child abuse
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Sexual assault
momo916's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It’s hard to review this book without giving anything away. I will say, after having listened to this on audio, that you do really need to pay attention to the narration because some of it is quite odd. All in all, it’s a generally feel-good book that takes you to Eleanor’s darkest places so that you can feel hopeful when she pulls herself out of them and towards a brighter future.
My main spoiler-free gripe with this book was that there were so many instances where Eleanor did or thought something absolutely buck wild and then 2 seconds later acted like it had never happened. I understand that part of her journey is her unlearning unhealthy behaviors, but throughout the book it kept feeling like it was happening at the flip of a switch. In general I really love the premise of this book and Eleanor’s characterization as strong and vocal, unbroken by her past, but there were so many times over the course of her healing process where the change felt unnaturally sudden.
My main spoiler-filled gripe is that the social commentary aspects of it were a little too in my face. I am glad there is such a well-written story out there that confronts these things, but it did take me out of the story as it was happening. I realized that "Mummy" was just a voice in Eleanor’s head after about their second interaction, so I spent the rest of the book interpreting everything she was saying as societal messaging towards women in general, intensified exaggerated for narrative effect. Also, as far as tragic backstories go, "product of rape, hated and abused by the mother who didn’t want me" verges on feeling exploitative of and hypercritical towards real women who experience rape and its repercussions. I can only assume that the author is making an argument as to why abortion should be legal, but that doesn’t even feel like a relevant argument given the basis of the pro-choice argument, at least these days.
My main spoiler-free gripe with this book was that there were so many instances where Eleanor did or thought something absolutely buck wild and then 2 seconds later acted like it had never happened. I understand that part of her journey is her unlearning unhealthy behaviors, but throughout the book it kept feeling like it was happening at the flip of a switch. In general I really love the premise of this book and Eleanor’s characterization as strong and vocal, unbroken by her past, but there were so many times over the course of her healing process where the change felt unnaturally sudden.
My main spoiler-filled gripe is that
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Minor: Fatphobia
tigerkind's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Vomit, and Violence
helenamichelle's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Child death, Gaslighting, Self harm, Alcohol, Mental illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
beccadougal's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
4.25
I didn’t quite know what I was in for when I started this book, but I guess it’s my fault for not checking too many reviews or synopses. It starts a little lighthearted, following a simple story of a truly unlikeable and quirky character, and then suddenly you turn a page and it’s trauma, trauma, trauma. Although I ultimately really enjoyed and appreciated this book, my main gripes came from the slow start and dialogue or situations that I found hard to believe. Setting aside the obvious that Eleanor has a tough time with social cues and suffers from PTSD (and although the author has outright said she doesn’t have autism, I think many readers and reviewers would identify her as such), some of the things she would say or situations she was in still seemed over-the-top or too unrealistic. At times she seemed more like a caricature of someone with mental illness rather than a real person.
Overall, this is one that I didn’t love until I finished it, which made the process of reading a bit tedious, but the end result rewarding. And, spoiler, Eleanor Oliphant really isn’t completely fine.
Overall, this is one that I didn’t love until I finished it, which made the process of reading a bit tedious, but the end result rewarding. And, spoiler, Eleanor Oliphant really isn’t completely fine.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicide attempt