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emmasmidnightlibrary 's review for:
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
by Gail Honeyman
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
Admittedly, the first third of this book wasn't working for me. As a survivor of abuse I found some descriptions cartoonishly evil, but then the book gently brought me to a place where I remembered just how ridiculous some of the things said to me were. The turning point for our main character was also the point where I started to root for her. I was so happy with the rest of the story from then on! She still had challenges and faults but worked through them, and I thought the ending left her in a hopeful place. I listened to the audiobook and thought the voice actor did a beautiful job balancing accents and emotion, and I highly recommend listening.
TW: tied to the influence of an abusive parent, Eleanor has quite a lot of harmful fat phobic rhetoric peppered throughout the story. The narrative is fairly self aware so you as the reader know it's an example of a skewed perspective. However, it's so prevalent that it prevented me from giving this book what otherwise would have been a five star rating.
TW: tied to the influence of an abusive parent, Eleanor has quite a lot of harmful fat phobic rhetoric peppered throughout the story. The narrative is fairly self aware so you as the reader know it's an example of a skewed perspective. However, it's so prevalent that it prevented me from giving this book what otherwise would have been a five star rating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Fatphobia, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury