A review by bhnmt61
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

4.0

I would not have made it through this book if it hadn't been our book club selection for this month. The first half of it just didn't work for me. Probably because I identified so much with Eleanor. In the first half of the book, she is often used almost as a placeholder so that Honeyman can make humorous observations about contemporary life. Eleanor's voice seemed inconsistent to me--sometimes she was OCD-ish and really smart, sometimes she was OCD-ish and really, really dumb, sometimes she was kind, sometimes she was rude and thoughtless to the point of mean-spirited. But I'm glad I had to persist, because I loved the second half. Somewhere about halfway through, Eleanor's voice starts to come through more consistently and less as a foil for social satire, and the unraveling of the pain of her childhood is really moving. I could cavil about the last minute plot twist, but I won't. Great book. Persist through the first half.