Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

I don't recall who recommended this book, but thank you, it was a very quick and enjoyable read, and I didn't know what to expect at all. The whole book is told from the point of view of Eleanor Oliphant, a very intelligent accountant at a graphics design firm who, we slowly come to realize, is not in fact completely fine. She exists - on a schedule predictable down to the minute - and has done so until the age of 30 where we first meet her. Her coworkers mock or ignore her, which doesn't particularly bother her, as she's long ago decided to simply be who she is and not pretend about anything.

Then two things disrupt her regularly scheduled life: winning a raffle ticket to a concert, where she's captivated by the handsome singer, causing her to start making some changes to her life to try and get to know him; and, being befriended by Raymond, the big-hearted IT guy at work.

What starts as a story of a regular woman at an everyday job slowly develops over the novel as we learn more and more tidbits about Eleanor's unusual circumstances and past. Why does she have a scar on one side of her face? Why are the conversations with her mother distinctly creepy? Why doesn't she remember much about her past? As she starts to break out of her old routine, we slowly learn more and more about Eleanor Oliphant, as she does also.

I really enjoyed slowly learning who Eleanor actually is, and why she is the way she is, all slowly and carefully revealed like layers peeling off an onion as the book progresses. An interesting look at an unusual person and the value of kindness, friendship, and humanity.

“If someone asks you how you are, you are meant to say FINE. You are not meant to say that you cried yourself to sleep last night because you hadn't spoken to another person for two consecutive days. FINE is what you say.”

This book really surprised me. I started off rolling my eyes at what I felt would be a run of the mill — if a man gives you attention it doesn't matter how depressed you are, a man's penis is the failsafe antidote for any trauma a woman might have lived through — kind of book. I was wrong. Gail Honeyman's writing and the plot is much deeper and more complicated than it first appears and I was genuinely surprised by the plot twist at the end. At first, I planned to write a "real" review, but I feel this is the kind of book that is better the less you know or expect going in, even the book blurb gives too much away or at least sets a tone or expectation.

This is a feel-good, from misery to happiness kind of book, but it's so much more than that.

My advice if you do decide to read it is, don't think you know what's going to happen. I thought I had this book figured out several times, I didn't. For plot-driven readers, I will say this is a very character-driven, introspective story, so if you're looking for an elaborate plot, this is probably not the book for you.