Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

My rating: * * * *

Goodreads Description

Meet Eleanor Oliphant. She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully time-tabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. Then 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.

My Review

Oh Eleanor, what an absolutely classic character you are! I'm going to miss you now that I've finished your story.

I was definitely slow on the uptake with this one. I'm sure many of you have already read this book, and I know that it got massive praise earlier this year when it was first released. I had been sent the book by the publisher but hadn't felt the desire to read it. Having heard so much about the book, I was concerned that I wouldn't enjoy it as it had been subject to such good reviews and thus potentially over hyped. Well let me tell you something...I loved it!

Eleanor is just such an interesting, funny and likable character, although I didn't find her all that likable in the beginning. For the first quarter of this book, Eleanor really irritated me. I did find her funny, but I also found her social ineptitude pretty irritating...and I'm not quite sure what happened but as the book progressed my feelings about her changed. By the time I reached the midway point, I totally loved Eleanor. She had had me in fits of giggles many times. I must tell you, the scene where Eleanor goes to a beauty parlor for a bikini wax was just so flipping entertaining and funny. I loved that scene, and there were a number more like that.

The book, although primarily lighthearted and funny, does have a darker side, and this comes through in tiny snippets throughout the story. Clues are given about Eleanor's past, the fact that her mother is "locked away", the fact that Eleanor has scars, both physical and psychological, all lead us to wonder what could have happened to her. It was this element that I found the most intriguing. While reading about Eleanor's life and experiencing her awkward character, I was always also wondering about her past, about what secrets are going to be revealed. I couldn't wait to find out the full story.

This really is a great read Bookworms. There is a lot to like about this one and it's pretty uplifting. You'll definitely have a few chuckles along the way, and you'll be entertained.

My Rating: * * * *

Publication Date: June 2017 (South Africa)

Genre: Fiction

Format: Trade Paperback

Source: Review copy received from the publisher. Many thanks to author, Gail Honeyman and Jonathan Ball for my copy. It was my pleasure to read and review this title.