Book Review – Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Hello folks, and happy Friday! So, in case you were looking for a read to snuggle up with during this national polar vortex, have I got one for you?! You can cozy up in a warm blanket with some hot cocoa, and enjoy the company of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. The novel was published in 2017. This will work especially well if you are not much of a football fan. If you are, wait until next weekend to read it.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is an uplifting, and real life feel fiction novel, in the midst of a rather unexpected setting. It reminds you that a simple hello, or turning up for someone when they need you, can seem so small in magnitude to one person, while meaning everything to another.

The story takes place in Glasgow with the main character and first person narrator being Eleanor Oliphant. She works in an office as a finance clerk, and lives on her own. She has no real friends or family near her, and other than weekly conversations with her mummy, she lives a rather solitary life. Still, it would seem that for all purposes she is completely fine. She develops a friendship with an unlikely constituent, and the events that unfold after lead to an unraveling of Eleanor.

As I read the book, and connected with the main character, I found that there is a little bit of Eleanor in all of us. Her vocabulary is impeccable, (kudos to the author), she is a bit of a germaphobe, and vodka is her weekend buddy. For someone who does not have people surrounding her (or really anyone), it does not make her feel that she should settle on the company of anyone, or care about their opinions of her.

I found the novel to be a page-turner, and read it in four days, which is lightning speed for me.

Every good novel has an underlying theme. This one was around mental illness, and how a simple kind gesture can move mountains. It really brings to mind the quote by Wendy Mass “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.”

I give Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine five stars, and highly recommend you read it. At the time of this post, the paperback edition is on sale at amazon. Score!

If you have read this book, what did you think of it? Have you gone out of your way to be kind to someone today, whether you know them or not? What are you doing this super bowl weekend? Please share!

Have a wonderful weekend, friends!