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A review by blueberry31
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
3.0
Most reviews I've read about this book have talked about how funny it is, how hilarious it is... for some reason that is very strange to me, the focus has been on the book being a "comedy".
I really have to wonder why that would be.
This book, while it does have some witty comebacks and a few amusing parts, struck me mostly as a tragedy. I thought it was very sad, and very dark in many ways. My main takeaway was more despair than laughs, I felt the character's deep solitude and desperate cries for help much more than her comical remarks. That's why all the "lol hahah what a hoot" reviews on here are SO surprising to me - is that really all that people take away from this (overall) heartbreaking story?!
All this aside, this book was a bit too repetitive for me, it solely relied on the character's quirks (and depressive state) and the mysterious secret past that still haunts her as only plot elements. Yes, it kept me reading, but it got to a point where it was pretty much JUST to get to the revelation. Eleanor's sudden ability to make a friend and socialize comes a bit out of the blue and hardly feels credible, despite being pretty central to the book... which is a shame. I did role my eyes a few times at some of the "too easy fixes" that the author put in. I mean, a cat, flowers from colleagues... all very nice but isn't it more complex than that when you're a deeply traumatized and depressive individual prone to alcoholism...? I have my doubts.
I really have to wonder why that would be.
This book, while it does have some witty comebacks and a few amusing parts, struck me mostly as a tragedy. I thought it was very sad, and very dark in many ways. My main takeaway was more despair than laughs, I felt the character's deep solitude and desperate cries for help much more than her comical remarks. That's why all the "lol hahah what a hoot" reviews on here are SO surprising to me - is that really all that people take away from this (overall) heartbreaking story?!
All this aside, this book was a bit too repetitive for me, it solely relied on the character's quirks (and depressive state) and the mysterious secret past that still haunts her as only plot elements. Yes, it kept me reading, but it got to a point where it was pretty much JUST to get to the revelation. Eleanor's sudden ability to make a friend and socialize comes a bit out of the blue and hardly feels credible, despite being pretty central to the book... which is a shame. I did role my eyes a few times at some of the "too easy fixes" that the author put in. I mean, a cat, flowers from colleagues... all very nice but isn't it more complex than that when you're a deeply traumatized and depressive individual prone to alcoholism...? I have my doubts.