Another book where maybe the protagonist has autism/Aspergers? Despite this trend being relatively well trodden in the past few years I found this an enjoyable and satisfying read. It might even by my favourite of the crop of novels that have been using this idea lately, as the protagonist is female. I liked the characters and the storyline, it was enjoyable, witty and irreverent. I particularly enjoyed the UK setting as I feel I have not read anything by a British author that I really enjoyed in a long time. I have to admit was reeled in by the title and the cover as it was intriguing but the content did not disappoint.

From the first few chapters, to the last sentence, this novel kept my interest. I thought it was extremely well written. I loved Eleanor and couldn't put the book down.

This is a great book, and I hated it.

Why am I giving it four stars if I hated it? I think the writing was great, so smooth and easy to keep you reading. It's such a thoughtful book and I think it resonates with a lot of people.

As for why I hated it - I really hated Eleanor's character, because she's every insecurity I have about myself. I see in her everything I'm terrified of being. It hit just a little too close to home how she's awkward with people, how she squirrels herself away, how she doesn't quite 'get it' - and it's also the reason this book is great.

I had incredibly conflicted feelings while reading “Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine”. It focuses on loneliness – a subject I come back to continuously on my blog which is, in part, a self-conscious exploration of that state. The beginning of this novel is prefaced by a quotation form “The Lonely City” by Olivia Laing, one of my favourite books from 2016 – so my expectations were incredibly high. Author Gail Honeyman has spoken about how her initial inspiration for the novel came from reading about an ordinary young adult who had an extremely solitary existence bouncing between work and home with no socializing in between. This is protagonist Eleanor’s routine life. She has a frosty relationship with her colleagues and no one to speak to outside of the office except for weekly phone calls with her belligerent and cruel mother. But, after watching a handsome singer at a gig, she’s inspired to change and camouflage herself “as a human woman” in order to make him fall for her. As she gradually emerges from her hermetic shell she’s forced to confront a painful past and all the emotions she’s suppressed for so long.

Although I’m really invested in the central subject and some sections were very moving, this novel ultimately didn’t come together for me because I couldn’t believe in Eleanor’s character. Even though she has no social contact and is a creature of habit, it doesn’t make sense to me that she’s entirely ignorant about many pop cultural references and aspects of society. It’s noted in the story how she’s someone who regularly reads the newspaper, listens to the radio and watches television, but she’s never heard of McDonalds, SpongeBob SquarePants or the dance YMCA. She’s completely at a loss as to how to conduct a transaction when ordering a takeaway pizza or buying a computer and when a beautician giving her a makeover asks if she’d like a smoky eye she replies she doesn’t like anything to do with smoking. Even for someone who lives in such an isolated way, it feels like she could glean a lot of this information and get an idea of how people interact from the media she consumes. But many times it feels like she’s literally an alien.

You could argue that she has some sort of developmental disability or personality disorder based on trauma or years spent in intense isolation. Or it could be she’s just really bad at social situation. She expresses at one point how she finds people unfathomable: “I often find that I don’t understand why they do and say things.” However, this doesn’t seem compatible with the fact that she’s highly intelligent and could deduce many things about how social situations work. Also, later on, she expresses how “by careful observation from the sidelines, I’d worked out that social success is often built on pretending just a little. Popular people sometimes have to laugh at things they don’t find very funny, do things they don’t particularly want to, with people whose company they don’t particularly enjoy. Not me. I had decided, years ago, that if the choice was between that or flying solo, then I’d fly solo. It was safer that way. Grief is the price we pay for love, so they say. The price is far too high.” So it’s not that she doesn’t understand social norms, but chooses to reject them. This seems inconsistent with her character’s actions and reactions throughout the novel where she literally doesn’t understand what people mean or why they act the way they do.

Also, the tone of the novel felt quite uneven where I wasn’t sure if the author or Eleanor were being intentionally funny or not. At a funeral she considers the various ways that a corpse can be disposed of and she thinks how when she dies she’d like to be fed to zoo animals. She plans to write to the WWF to find out if this would be possible. It felt very difficult to know if instances like this were supposed to be funny or not. Also, she expresses how much she loves reading and has a particular fondness for Jane Eyre, but later she remarks how she ends up reading dull manuals because she’s so entirely baffled as to how to find literature she’d like more and states “There are so many books in the world – how do you tell them all apart?” But someone who is as smart as she is and went to university surely would be able to guess that if she likes Jane Eyre so much she’d probably like to try reading some other classic fiction.

On the positive side, there were some sections I found effective. In particular, I found Eleanor’s relationship with money really powerful. She’s highly conscious of spending much money and is scrupulous about contributing anything to social occasions such as buying people drinks. She describes how “if I were to run out of funds, find myself indebted, there is no one, not a single soul, on whom I could call to bail me out. I’d be destitute.” So it’d make sense that she’d be particularly anxious about safeguarding her personal finances. I also appreciated the gentle way the author handles the way people react to Eleanor’s odd behaviour where some sneer/mock her and others approach her with more sensitivity. Her journey towards building somewhat stable friendships and accepting herself was well plotted. But Eleanor as a character didn’t feel wholly convincing to me. I also think the story would have been stronger if Eleanor’s hidden history wasn’t so melodramatic. It feels like it would have been more effective and relatable if she just happened to be an awkward introvert.

It’s interesting reading this novel now that it’s been out almost a year and gained some supporters as well as strong detractors. It was the winner in the debut fiction category of the Costa Awards and has been nominated for numerous other awards such as the Women’s Prize and the Desmond Elliott Prize. So it’s caused this book to come under a lot more scrutiny than a debut novel would usually get. I don’t think opinions could ever become as sharply divided as they were for the novel “A Little Life”, but this novel seems to be coming close.

People often use the term 'emotional rollercoaster' when describing books. I think that term can get over-used because this is the first book I have read in a while that has dealt with the emotional extremities so well. This is evidenced by the fact that I haven't found a book to be so funny yet so sad in a long time. I read this book whilst spending a few days in hospital (nothing serious) and it was great for getting my mind off of everything going on. It is extremely quirky yet also very real. 

The main character, Eleanor Oliphant, is a character that definitely grew on me as the story went on, which makes sense as it is about her own self-discovery and self-realisation. Her social reactions to other people were frustrating as she wants to shut herself off from the world. The great thing about this book is that I think as the reader is gaining more affection towards her, she is also gaining more affection for herself and, because of that, for the people around her. That is what makes the story so heart-warming, because you are truly going on the same journey as Eleanor. 

[SPOILER]: The book also handled the topic of mental illness very well. I hate when a book romanticises mental illness or, to the other extent, shies away from discussing the topic in too much detail. This book manages to give a very true insight into the brain of someone struggling to cope with a mental illness and how she manages to pull herself out of her darkest days, with the help of Raymond. I think it is a really important message to look out for the people that are struggling around you. The character of Raymond shows the importance of kindness and support. 

All in all, I really loved reading this book, and would definitely recommend it. There are some extremely sad parts of this book, but also some genuine laugh-out-loud moments, which together make it a really heart-warming read.

I had heard such a lot about 'Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine,' so much so that I was desperate to read it! I don't really know what I expected it to be; exciting, page turning? Who knew!
When I read the first few pages I must confess that I began to wonder what all the fuss was about. The main character, Eleanor, didn't appear to have any remotely likeable characteristics; her life is bland and her character is bland - in the beginning.
This was definitely a slow burner. You had to appreciate quite how bland Eleanor's life was, and then gradually, gradually it began to build. By part two, 'Bad Days,' I was hooked; by 'Part Three,' I had certainly reached that page-turning threshold.
Most importantly, for me, was the fact that long after the book was finished, it continued to make an impression. I remembered Eleanor, her story and her transformation long after the last page was turned.
I give this book four stars.

This is a book that will have you reading all day and night!! And you will laugh and cry in equal measure. The main character Eleanor gets under your skin and you just want her to be happy. Lots of issues dealt with around mental health and it has a strong message. Definitely read this, it will stay with you. Thank you for writing such a fab book and letting me review it. I loved it and recommended it to so many people.

A nice unexpected gem.
Couldn't put it down - doesn't happen often these days.
highly recommended.

I love this book. everyone I've told about it is either reading it, about to read it or has just read it! I couldn't stop thinking about Eleanor after I'd finished. Buy it, read it, and fall in love with it

You will laugh, cry and grow with Eleanor Oliphant.

Eleanor Oliphant manages her empty life by relying on ritual. She works in an office all week, eating solitary meal deal lunches. She listens to The Archers every night and phones her mother once a week. Every Friday night she goes home, heats up a supermarket pizza, drinks two bottles of vodka and speaks to nobody until Monday morning. She rarely speaks at week and her colleagues know little about her life.
The reasons for her isolation are uncovered as the story progresses. She is gradually drawn into connection with others when she wins tickets to a concert in a lottery and falls in love with the singer who she knows only through his Twitter feed, and when a new colleague arrives at work and they are both involved in helping an old man after an accident.
This book is truly original, perceptive, wise, touching, unpredictable and unexpectedly funny’’ It is also an outstanding portrayal of loneliness.
There is an emphasis on the importance of kindness which is reminiscent of Alexander McCall Smith’s work.
It is an unforgettable and life-affirming story with an extraordinary but totally convincing heroine.

Eleanor Oliphant is anything but "completely fine" - or certainly that is the case at the outset of this excellent novel. She plods away at her routine job in an advertising office and adheres to an utterly boring regime outwith office hours which involves consuming a great deal of vodka. All this is necessary to allow her to deal with her demons caused by a dreadful trauma as a child. Then her life changes. Firstly she sees Johnnie Lomond - a singer at her local pub - and instantly falls madly in love with him. Secondly her computer stops working in the office and, as a result she meets the office computer geek Raymond. How these two men gradually take over her life forms the backbone of this book but the twists and turns are endless and unpredictable. Eleanor's lack of social skills produce truly hilarious moments. Gradually, however, she begins to acquire the ability to interact with people and, as a result, her weekly phone call from her Mum loses its importance whereas previously it was the only verbal interaction she had with another human being. The journey Eleanor takes to climb out of the dark pit of her desperately lonely life is both hilarious and tragic but above all it is uplifting. I recommend this well crafted novel for the sensitivity with which it addresses isolation and mental trauma.

I just found this too uncomfortable to read. A totally personal thing.

It has been a while since I read this and I still think about Eleanor Oliphant most days. I know this book has been incredibly hyped and popular but I don't always go along with popular opinion. I cannot fault the majority of reviews though - This book was incredible. So thought provoking, I really felt there is a part of Eleanor in all of us. Some parts of this book were so funny - I laughed my head off about part where people are dancing to the YMCA aswell as when Starbucks write customer's names on cups. So cleverly observed.

I absolutely loved this book, Eleanor is such a complex character with such a lot going on in her head and not so much in her life at the beginning of the book but as the book develops, she does along with it and she almost finds herself during the course of the narrative.

I loved the relationship between Eleanor and Raymond - everyone needs a Raymond in their life. The thing I loved the most about this book though was it was refreshing to read as there was no formulaic plot, along with the very unique characters and wonderful writing. I would read another book by this author in a heartbeat.

Utterly amazing debut. Very different to anything I’ve read before. Really made me think about how we judge people superficially without ever knowing what and why they do what they do. I can’t tevomm this enough. Surely THE book of 2018?
Reviewed on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R1HOFFK9V976XX/ref=pe_1572281_66412651_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

This was a re-read of Eleanor Oliphant - and despite being a person who rarely re-reads, it was 100% worth it. I love Eleanor. I relate to her, I empathize with her, I cringe for her - I want nothing but the best for her. In some ways the optimism of the book's end didn't sit right, it's a little too happily ever after for such a complex individual, but this doesn't detract from a great read.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is a novel that is so beautiful and poignant, which explores the life-giving necessity of human contact. Eleanor is a young woman with physical and mental scars, who avoids others' attention and doesn't seek social connections. In her workplace she is a figure of ridicule but she doesn't care. Her mundane and rut-like week is broken only by a phone call from her mother who is a fearsome and monstrous woman, tormenting Eleanor with unceasing barbs. The turning point for Eleanor is the arrival of a new work colleague and an act of compassion that propels her into meeting new people, having new experiences and realising the importance of small kindnesses. Eleanor's transformation is so funny and heartbreaking. For each hilarious moment there is the realisation that this 30ish year old woman is experiencing relatively normal events like pizza delivery, new hairdos and lunch with friends for the first time because no one else cared enough to bring her out of her shell.
I loved this book as its a reminder to show compassion and care for others. People need other people, otherwise we wither, and Eleanor Oliphant is the perfect example of the restorative power of meaningful relationships. Thank you Netgalley for my copy, this is definitely a book I will recommend to others.

Wonderful - I always need a main character to identify with, and perhaps I identified with Eleanor a bit too much, but just loved how she overcame the world.