Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (2018)

A sweet story that was just what I needed right now. I have seen a few reviews that sneered at this Costa winner because it isn't "literary", but it is a book that made me feel good and I don't require something demanding from every book I read. There are lessons in this story about friendship and having worth as a human being that some people who read it need to learn, and for that reason alone it is well worth reading. ( )

this read is about Eleanor oliphant, a 29-year-old who had a traumatic childhood and lacks some social skills. she is witty and literal to the core (which makes for a quirky read, but a good one). people in her office and in public think she is strange, but that doesn’t bother her because she finds everyone else’s behaviors to be odd. she’s been blind to her emotional needs as her physical needs have been met & she hasn’t had any aspirations because she is “just fine”. vodka is her coping mechanism and she spends her days very structured, with some phone calls with Mummy thrown in there, and avoiding unnecessary contact with people. she finds herself to be “head over heels” for a musician and then along comes Raymond.⠀
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there was a lot of detail written to describe how things looked, which made the story feel slow at times at first, but i realize it made sense with how particular Eleanor views the world. Eleanor had such a beautiful perspective as everyone took moments for granted that someone like Eleanor would have cherished. Eleanor was clearly lonely and she was longing for someone to hold her & to touch her once she got a glimpse of what it felt like to have her emotional needs met too. the book seemed to foreshadow romance being the end goal & what lifts Eleanor out of her “fineness”, but I don’t think that was the case with this story. there is so much growth in her throughout the book in addressing her trauma, socializing, etc., and I felt so happy for her to finally be embracing who she was made to be with others embracing her too. we all need a Raymond! the only thing I wish, is that it would have talked about what happened in her childhood earlier because i found myself searching for those details for almost the whole book and I was getting slightly impatient haha, but again, I think I understand why it wasn’t revealed to us in the end since Eleanor herself wasn’t willing to address this trauma just yet.

overall, I’d recommend! It wasn’t an “on the edge of your seat” read, but it messed with your emotions in the best way.

Terrifying and sad events shaped the character and life of a 30-year-old lady. With other prejudices, bullying and no one faithful and reliable around, Eleanor wasn’t able to cope and closed that dark chapter of her life that made her susceptible to poor and abusive relationships.

I know that this is a fiction novel, but I believe this describes perfectly some people out there that silently are suffering on their own.

At the beginning, I found the novel a bit boring but with some funny comments here and there, I continue my reading until I could not stop because all I wanted to know if she was going to be fine. I knew at all times that something bad happened to her because of her behaviour. Sometimes is not necessary that something bad happens to anyone for behaviours like that. Some people really don´t make easy social interactions and fail to integrate others. ( )

This book was pitched to me like "female Sheldon" and I think that description is terribly misleading. This book definitely needs a TW for childhood abuse and all the trauma that comes from that. Eleanor, as a character, is completely endearing as you understand totally how she's thinking and why other people just don't get her. I was rooting for her the whole time and I loved the ending and how it didn't fall into cliche. ( )

I started reading this book because my book club chose it. I don't think that I would have picked it up based on the blurb. And at first I thought that I wouldn't like it at all. I found Eleanor irritating and annoying, and the way she was written didn't make me interested in finding out more about her. From the outset it is obvious that she has some traumatic background, but I just didn't care.
I stuck with it though, I usually like to finish books especially when they are for the book club, and within a few more chapters I was really enjoying it.

Yes it is a little on the predictable side, there are no great shocks when Eleanor's backstory is revealed although it is terribly sad. Especially when you think that that story probably isn't too far from the truth in some cases, and that horrible abuse happens far too often, and goes on for far too long before anyone ever does anything to stop it, if it ever does get stopped.

I really felt for Eleanor in the end, although I do hope that she remains friends only with Raymond rather that getting involved in a romance as seemed to be almost implied…
Apart from Eleanor herself all the other characters weren't really that well developed, but that completely fits the book as it is told from her POV and she never really allowed other people to develop, to become people. They always seemed to remain whatever her 10 second judgement had been. They may have judged her, but she certainly judged them right back as well. ( )