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A review by katiescho741
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
4.0
It took me a while but I finally figured out what genre this book falls under...Eleanor Oliphant is a psychological thriller: the aftermath.
From the start, we are told that Eleanor has had a strange and eventful childhood but the details are not forthcoming throughout most of the book. Even when we are given some information later on, it is not detailed. This is the story of how Eleanor deals with, and is affected by, her horrific past. It is not the grisly details of that past.
Mummy is a menacing presence throughout due to Eleanor's feelings about her. She sounds like the worst of the worst and it would have been very easy to make more of her in this book, but the author keeps it to just Eleanor, which I think makes a better book.
Eleanor is an interesting woman...My feelings about her were changeable and mixed during the first section of the novel. Her voice is unique- it is dry, well spoken and unintentionally funny. I found myself chuckling and empathizing several times with her. Once we see her interact with other people though, she comes across as rude, snooty, anti-social, and plain unpleasant! Not someone you would enjoy working with or spending time with!
Her crush on the musician is both funny and sad. I think we can all empathize with her a little on that. Her developing friendship with Raymond is touching, and the book is generally a journey for Eleanor of self discovery and freedom. But it's not sappy or cliche at all.
This was a random discovery in a charity shop and I am very glad I found it!
From the start, we are told that Eleanor has had a strange and eventful childhood but the details are not forthcoming throughout most of the book. Even when we are given some information later on, it is not detailed. This is the story of how Eleanor deals with, and is affected by, her horrific past. It is not the grisly details of that past.
Mummy is a menacing presence throughout due to Eleanor's feelings about her. She sounds like the worst of the worst and it would have been very easy to make more of her in this book, but the author keeps it to just Eleanor, which I think makes a better book.
Eleanor is an interesting woman...My feelings about her were changeable and mixed during the first section of the novel. Her voice is unique- it is dry, well spoken and unintentionally funny. I found myself chuckling and empathizing several times with her. Once we see her interact with other people though, she comes across as rude, snooty, anti-social, and plain unpleasant! Not someone you would enjoy working with or spending time with!
Her crush on the musician is both funny and sad. I think we can all empathize with her a little on that. Her developing friendship with Raymond is touching, and the book is generally a journey for Eleanor of self discovery and freedom. But it's not sappy or cliche at all.
This was a random discovery in a charity shop and I am very glad I found it!