#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND THE PERFECT HOLIDAY GIFT A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick“Beautifully written and incredibly funny, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is about the importance of friendship and human connection. I fell in love with Eleanor, an eccentric and regimented loner whose life beautifully unfolds after a chance encounter with a stranger; I think you will fall in love, … stranger; I think you will fall in love, too!” —Reese Witherspoon
No one’s ever told Eleanor that life should be better than fine.
Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy.
But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen on the sidewalk, the three become the kinds of friends who rescue one another from the lives of isolation they have each been living. And it is Raymond’s big heart that will ultimately help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one.
Soon to be a major motion picture produced by Reese Witherspoon, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is the smart, warm, and uplifting story of an out-of-the-ordinary heroine whose deadpan weirdness and unconscious wit make for an irresistible journey as she realizes. . .
The only way to survive is to open your heart.
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Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is the story of one young woman’s journey through overcoming unimaginable loneliness & rediscovering herself. I learned a lot from this book–about depression, about the dangers of social media, about myself–and feel like I came out better for it. A very simple & moving read, I’m definitely looking out for whatever Gail Honeyman writes next!
I just couldn’t get into this book. The character was annoying.
LOVED this book and recommended it to my book club. Eleanor is quirky and such a great character in such a weird way. It reminded me of the humor of “A Man Called Ove”, that kind of dark humor that’s so strange that it’s hilarious. Have told all of my reading friends about this great book!
Eleanor’s voice is what draws the reader into this endearing book. Clever portrayal of a remarkable young woman whose inner resources for survival burn through trials and tribulations. Lots of humor and pathos, and rooting interest for the indomitable Eleanor throughout.
Best book I’ve read in years!
LOVED. THIS. BOOK. It quickly moved onto my Top 10 all-time favorite book list! While I (thankfully) can’t completely relate to her experiences, it resonated with me in so many ways, and I identified with her on a deep level. I didn’t want the story to end!
A treat to read!
Loved this book. Eleanor is a completely original and fascinating character.
Mixed reviews in my book club – some loved and compared to Ove, but did not meet my expectations.
I enjoyed this book much more than I expected to, it’s one of those that once you’re twenty pages in, it’s very hard to put down. Wonderful characters with a story that is both uplifting, emotional, funny and at times, tragic.
I just LOVED this book! The plot twist surprised me & I just really enjoyed how real the characters were. I hope you enjoy it too!
First let me admit that I have a problem reading books that are so hyped up. Everyone was raving about this book, how excellent it was. Unfortunately, I cannot agree. Was it a good book, yes. But I found it painfully slow reading for some reason. Am I glad I read it, yes. If not for my book club, I will say I wouldn’t have read it. I rate this a high 3.
I will say I loved the quirky Eleanor. Her story evolved slowly, but I loved her evolution from beginning to end. What a sad journey she endured her whole life. Heartbreaking. Raymond, I adored him! Unapologetically normal and a little rough around the edges. BUT, a heart as huge as a bear. His concern for his mother and Sammy brought tears to my eyes. I loved seeing the relationship between he and Eleanor develop.
The story itself was excellent and the ending was worth waiting for. I think if I would have had time to read this book in chunks, rather than spurts, I would have enjoyed it more.
I must be the only one who didn’t like this book. For me it was a slow read and hard for me to get interested in this book – I only continued to read because of the book club. Only the last 20% of the book finally grabbed my attention.
This was such a wonderful, uplifting read — laugh out loud funny at times, poignant at others. A self-described “nutter,” Eleanor states that she is “…happiest in the background being left to my own devices,” and that “Asking for help was anathema to me.” But then an unlikely and compassionate friendship changes everything. I came to love Eleanor and even started reading more slowly to forestall having to say goodbye. Honeyman is masterful in unraveling Eleanor’s past trauma in a way that is both reassuring and surprising right to the end. I know Eleanor will stay with me for a long time!
Funny and Tender.
Gail Honeyman immediately drew me into the novel with writing that is both witty and lyrical. The female protagonist’s quirky point of view brought her alive and made me read far into the night. I cared about Eleanor, I wanted to know what had happened to her and whether she would ever be “completely fine.” This is an unusual and amazing novel.
Incredible story. I simply love this book and the narrator of the audio version makes Eleanor seem real. I hope Susan Honeyman writes a sequel to tell us more about the life of Eleanor and Raymond.
This is one of my ‘God I wish I had written this’ books! It has a truly original storyline, wonderful characters – and an authentically Scottish feel. Love it!
Very depressing read
Absolutely loved this book. Hard to capture why it had me so completely hooked. Maybe because I love psychology and anything mental health related. Mystery, dark untold story of her history, which even though, you guessed before it was unveiled, you still were hooked to see how it played out. A bit unrealistic, but realistic at the same time.