Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am absolutely in love with this book. Eleanor is such a complex character. She seems very one dimensional at the beginning, but slowly gains depth as more of her story comes to light. I'm still thinking about the ending and what it means in regards to what was going on in Eleanor's life throughout the novel. You know it's a great novel if you finish it and it leaves you just thinking about what happened for a while after.

At first, I was thinking Eleanor was like me, than quickly realized that is not the case. She has no sense of social norms and ends up in incredibly awkward situations almost 100% of the time. I always cheered for her when she actually understood what was going on and picked up on social cues. This changes when she meets Raymond, an IT guy at work who slowly breaks her out of the routine she has had for years.

I love the character development Eleanor has with Raymond. It is not sudden, but gradual. Since Eleanor is narrating, you get her thoughts on their first interaction, and everyone after, and you can see how her thoughts slowly change over time. She goes from total disgust to acceptance that he is not going to go away to liking the fact that he is there. He is basically her window into a completely new world that she is hesitant to enter.

I have to say, even as I write this, I'm thinking about the ending and more of it is clicking in my head. Anyway...I need to talk about Mummy, because that was a terrifying character, and she was only ever someone Eleanor talked to. She was never physically around, but she made a huge impression on Eleanor and myself. Mummy is of course Eleanor's mother, and the way she talks to Eleanor helps explain why Eleanor is the way she is. Let's just say, I'm glad the character is rarely heard from.

Of course, all in all, an absolutely lovely book. I've been struggling to find good books lately, and this one was so refreshing.

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