#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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With wit and heartwarming prose, Gail Honeyman introduces readers to Eleanor Oliphant. A more traumatized, female Ove (A Man Called Ove), Eleanor offers a unique perspective on the world from someone who grew up alone and who prefers to spend her adult life that way — because she doesn’t know anything else.
Eleanor experienced awful childhood trauma, and it shaped her relationships (or lack thereof) for the next two decades. Now, at 30, she realizes there might be more to life that the same lackluster weekly routine year in and year out. She inadvertently (and unwillingly) makes a new friend from work, Raymond, and he shows her what it means to make one’s own family.
With the help of Raymond and a few other new friends, Eleanor realizes that people are generally good, it’s okay to have fun, and problems don’t have to be faced alone.
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is a beautiful underdog story I’ll pick up again.
I adored this book. I loved the way Eleanor’s dysfunctional world creeps up on. Superb characterisation and great twists and turns.
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, too!
Deft, compassionate and deeply moving — Honeyman’s debut will have you rooting for Eleanor with every turning page. I loved this story.
Eleanor Olliphant is a heroine whose early life rivals that of Jane Eyre, Eleanor’s favorite book. She has read the novel so many times that it falls open to some of her favorite passages. Mr. Rochester is part of her fascination and probably fuels her head-long infatuation with a rock-star she’s seen only from afar. Eleanor, who mentions in an aside her scansions of the Aeneid, lives in a lonely world of eating, getting up, working a dead-end job, and getting blind-drunk on weekends. Oh, and her weekly Wednesday calls from Mummy add real tension to her life. Her loneliness is palpable and leaps off the page. She is socially awkward but keenly observant of fellow workers and Raymond, the man who literally saves her life. Because I read so many dark psychologically thrillers, I was immediately suspicious of Mummy. Eleanor’s amazing recovery from alcoholism and past horrors struck another note of incredulity. But … Eleanor Olliphant was an interesting character with whom to pass a couple of evenings. Time will tell if she surpasses Jane in popularity and longevity.
This is an example of the ideal novel. Gorgeous 3-dimensional characters with complexity.As strange as Eleanor seemed at moments, at others I found myself seeing my introverted self in her. Beautifully done.
A wonderful read. I fell in love with Eleanor, the realness of her inner struggles and how they manifested in her outward life. I really enjoyed seeing her relationship with Raymond unfold.
The haunting question that stayed with me throughout the reading of this novel and beyond is this: Is Eleanor Oliphant completely fine?
What niggles at me most is the word ‘completely’ in the title because it’s clear that she is not, and perhaps, never will be ‘completely’ fine. But I get it. Brilliantly, that word was added to the title to indicate a defensiveness people often feel when they’re in pain and someone asks, “How are you?” It also signals Eleanor’s desperate attempt to keep people at bay, something many of us do; over-emphasize in hopes of minimizing. Oh, but there’s an elephant in the room. And I suspect, in the title, too.
This captivating novel was a joy to read, filled with quirky asides, a truly heroic character (Raymond), and a protagonist and heroine (Eleanor) I won’t soon forget. A tragic tale evenly told with a plot that’s dished out in perfect, bite-sized morsels. Read it for the story, savor it for this author’s masterful control of “voice.”
I have been changed after reading this novel. There are so many layers to the word ‘fine’ and ‘completely’ is a shield, a mask, a facade. We need to keep better tabs on each other. Highly recommended.
Funny, poignant, difficult and brilliantly written, it’s little wonder this is a bestseller. I laughed, I cried, I loved it.
Dry humor and Brit wit makes Eleanor Oliphant the type of unforgettable over-the-top character readers adore. Working as a bookkeeper, is a thankless job, but Eleanor is determined to do it, as well as most aspects of her life, in a seamless manner. If you love Hyacinth Bucket of Keeping Up Appearance, this book has that same feel of a woman out of touch with reality, desperate for love, and clueless about social norms.
I thoroughly enjoyed the quirky but entirely believable characters in this book. Eleanor Oliphant sees the world almost, but not quite, as clearly as someone with a mild case of autism might – few social skills, very bright, brutally honest. The writing is clever, and Eleanor is a character I doubt I’ll forget. Her gradual progress inspires the reader to cheer along as she grows and blossoms. It’s not quite a “feel good” book as there are some tragic moments for Eleanor to face along the way, but I could have listened to this wonderful story all the way through in one sitting. The Audible narrator was absolutely perfect, too, adding to the enjoyment. Highly recommended!
Eleanor Oliphant is a one-of-a-kind person, for sure. I probably wouldn’t have chosen this book if it hadn’t been recommended by a friend at Book Club, but it’s a great read and I find myself laughing out loud at some of the thoughts that passed through her head. What a fun read! Loveable characters, realistic warmth, and a charming set of characters. Loved it.
As hard as it was at times to read about Eleanor and her isolated life, I couldn’t stop. I rooted for her, knowing she was doing her best to get by. I loved how the story unfolded, and how she found the right people when she most needed them. Most of all, I loved all the progress she made, and how she managed to pull her life together, how she learned to appreciate the simple things, and, above all, how she found her own kind of happiness.
In many ways, this book reminded me of a female version of A Man Called Ove.
Most of the story happens in her head as Eleanor navigates her everyday life. And what’s in her head is sad, disturbing, and humorously revealing. Even when you can predict where her love life (both the imaginary one and the real life one she’s unaware of) are going, you can’t predict how the story ends.
It stuck with me for weeks after I finished.
At first, I assumed this book was just a glimpse inside the life of a socially awkward woman. The first few chapters didn’t reveal very much about Eleanor’s background, so I was baffled and frustrated by her perceived inability to connect with others. It soon became apparent Eleanor’s past was fraught with abuse and abandonment. This explained her fragile, dysfunctional relationships as an adult. My empathy for Eleanor grew as I continued reading the book. By the end, I was rooting for this unexpected heroine. I really enjoyed “Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine” and I believe it captures the lasting effects of unspeakable trauma.
If you like books that dive deep into a character, this is for you! Eleanor the woman is intriguing, intelligent, haunted, flawed, funny, charming, and self-destructive. It’s utterly fascinating watching her learn to live in the world and connect with people, forcing her to also confront her past. It’s not a page-turner, but stick with it. Well worth the ride!
Eleanor Oliphant took me by surprise. I thought it was a romantic comedy for some reason, but it certainly was not.
Eleanor’s story unfolds in layer by gentle layer. At first you see her as an oddball, but then you learn more about her tragic past and her abusive mother, as you see her as something completely different. I wanted to help her. I wanted to explain things to her. Sometimes I found her annoying, and could see why people in the book distanced themselves from her, but I also felt so bad for Eleanor on so many levels.
I’m not giving any spoilers here, but the ending? Total shocker. At least it was for me. This is a rare and remarkable book. And – bonus – if you get it in audiobook, you get to hear it narrated by someone with a wonderful Scottish accent, since the story is set in Glasgow.
You’ll read it and weep, but you’ll laugh, too. And you’ll be thinking about it long after you finished the book.
This is one of my all-time favorites – I’ve read it twice. The writing is snappy and the humor so dark, yet hilarious … and Eleanor is one of the most unique characters I’ve encountered in a book. I really hope Eleanor is featured in another book … adored her!!
Set in Glasgow, Eleanor Oliphant is a likeable (if unlikely) heroine. The early descriptions of her office life are so ‘cringey’ I wondered if things would ever improve, but slowly the story of her past life and resulting present dysfunctions emerges. Raised in a series of benignly unsatisfactory foster homes, Eleanor creates a meager adult existence with the help of scavenged belongings and a weekend’s supply of vodka. Part mystery, part reflection on the human condition, this was a surprisingly good first novel.
Well written and keeps you wondering until the end. The characters “grow on you” as the story progresses until you love them truly for themselves.