Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Locations
Call Number: Fiction / Honeyman, Gail, Adult Book / Fiction / General / Honeyman, Gail
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch, Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Honeyman, Gail	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Honeyman, Gail	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Honeyman, Gail	4-week checkout	Due 05-24-2024
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Honeyman, Gail	4-week checkout	Due 05-03-2024
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Honeyman, Gail	4-week checkout	Due 04-30-2024
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Honeyman, Gail	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Honeyman, Gail	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Honeyman, Gail	4-week checkout	Due 05-19-2024
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Honeyman, Gail	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Honeyman, Gail	4-week checkout	Due 05-09-2024
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Honeyman, Gail	4-week checkout	Due 05-08-2024
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Honeyman, Gail	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Honeyman, Gail	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Honeyman, Gail	4-week checkout	Due 05-05-2024
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Honeyman, Gail	4-week checkout	Due 05-02-2024

"Smart, warm, uplifting, the 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 her heart. Meet Eleanor Oliphant: she struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she's thinking. That, combined with her unusual appearance (scarred cheek, tendency to wear the same clothes year in, year out), means that Eleanor has become a creature of habit (to say the least) and a bit of a loner. 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 kind of friends who rescue each other 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"-- Provided by publisher.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Library Journal Review
School Library Journal Review
Booklist Review
Publishers Weekly Review
Summary / Annotation
Fiction Profile
Excerpt
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Dysfunction & Isolation in the UK submitted by sdunav on June 18, 2017, 2:10pm This is an interesting novel set in Great Britain, featuring an awkward woman who is disconnected from those around her. She is gradually drawn into relationships by the IT guy (of all people!) and an older man who collapses on the street near her workplace, and the reader learns more and more about her family history as the story progresses. It reminded me of "A Man Called Ove" in some ways, but with a much a darker backstory. Not sure I liked the ending but it was a good read overall.

Promising story submitted by dicencal on June 26, 2017, 8:58am This is an absorbing story about a lonely woman who had a very difficult childhood. The best part of the book is the narrator's voice, which feels very real. The author sets up some unrealistic scenarios (including the ending) that I think take away from the powerful story about loneliness that she is telling, but it is overall a good read.

Could not get into this book submitted by bookher on June 28, 2018, 1:13pm I have tried twice now to read this book because I normally love oddball romance stories but I think it's because I can't stand this woman who is the protagonist. She annoyed me so much that I really didn't care if she found love. I realize this isn't a good reason to say a book is bad but I just couldn't waste any more time being annoyed with her.

Great Book submitted by Lucy S on July 2, 2018, 11:51am Gail Honeymoon has created in Eleanor Oliphant one of the most endearing, strange, heartfelt, humorous and lonely characters I can recall meeting in recent literature.
I was amazed by how effectively Honeymoon was able to convey a story both funny and terrifyingly dark at the same time. Stunning.

Grim topic, but excellent writing and a story full of beauty and hope submitted by 21621031390949 on July 19, 2018, 11:26pm Really good book about an adult who survived a vicious childhood, her constricted life resulting from the trauma, and her ultimate redemption. It sounds like a grim book, but it's not; there is much beauty, grace,and hope to be found in its pages. The writing is top notch, the characterizations deep and real. Highly recommend.

You will fall in love with Eleanor Oliphant! submitted by lemmer on July 20, 2018, 10:12am This book was amazing! The characters are really well developed and you can't help but feel sorry for Eleanor and root for her, at the same time. She literally made me laugh out loud, many times. I love that her past is revealed to you, slowly, in bits and pieces. It is definitely a page-turner, with a big reveal in the last two pages of the book! Can't stop recommending this book to my friends.

That's a lot of fun. submitted by lisa on June 28, 2019, 2:42pm She's a great weirdo. And the plot just hums along.

Book submitted by Clown81 on August 31, 2019, 4:50pm She'll be ok.

Similarities submitted by vangozh on November 5, 2019, 12:31pm I found the Eleanor character very relatable. So much so that I think I am going to be ok after all.

Quirky Protagonist submitted by Blue Owl on June 12, 2020, 11:53am Supremely sad, while at the same time warm and endearing. A most original story.

Slow start, but it gets there submitted by duckmeister on June 13, 2020, 2:04pm It took me a really long time to get into this book - like, more than halfway probably. I tried several times to stop reading, but I kept hearing good things about it so I kept coming back to it. I'm glad I did. Such a redemptive story.

Kind of boring but came around submitted by onpaper24 on July 11, 2020, 7:07pm In the end, this book made my heart smile

Fireee submitted by Anthany on July 14, 2020, 9:25am Completely

**SPOILERS** submitted by sushai on August 8, 2020, 10:47am I loved this book. The character of Eleanor was so well drawn, with her foibles and things that make you cringe but also with a charm and biting humor--that was so well pulled off. And seeing her character be vulnerable and open to others was warming and kept my faith in the story going. I was concerned that the author was going to try an ugly-duckling-to-beautiful-swan conversion and was glad to see that didn't happen.

I could do without the "surprise" twists. I'm wondering if all editors are requiring this now as so many books I'm reading have them. Maybe it makes for a better movie adaptation. I just could have done without the Norman Bates-ish "mother" conversations and the other big "reveal" that is not surprising at all if you've been paying attention.

All-in-all, an awesome read. I'm looking forward for more from this author.

Not a typical romance, and that's good! submitted by ginarae3 on August 14, 2020, 9:24am The characters, the story, and the original "romance" make this novel great and I look forward to reading more from Gail Honeyman. Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen, something slightly different did. It wasn't sappy or preachy. It was easy to read, despite being about hard topics.

Eleanor Oliphant is Fine- is a fine book. Not great, not bad. submitted by carissadiane on June 14, 2021, 9:32am Eleanor Oliphant is an amazing character. She's unique, smart, well spoken and well mannered- to a fault. She judges people to an unobtainable standard. But she is still so loveable and strong. She's had quite the journey in life and we read as she finally comes into her own. It certainly is not an easy journey for her and the material is heavy. Despite this it's not hard to read- the author does a great job of balancing the light and the dark. I wouldn't list it in my top ten but it was an enjoyable read.

Fun, silly, sad, and absurd submitted by asrecker on June 17, 2021, 10:37pm I really enjoyed this book. It made me feel frustrated at times and made me laugh out loud at others.

Charming submitted by kath on July 20, 2021, 11:15pm This book really grows on you. The main character is charming, quirky, and very, very funny. There is a darkness behind the scene, but all is well. Love the IT guy.

Zero stars submitted by SurfGrape on August 10, 2021, 4:06pm Worst ending of a book I've ever read. The "plot twist" was not only completely unnecessary, but it undermined everything that came before. Zero stars. Would not recommend.

Quirky easy read submitted by Bethybeth07 on July 28, 2022, 9:09pm Not a game changer but you definitely root for the main character

Go Eleanor! submitted by pamhockey25 on August 8, 2022, 4:56pm Eleanor is loveable and hilarious, and you can't help but root for her as she begins to grow and learn.

On all the lists submitted by leah karr on August 19, 2022, 6:19pm This book was on all the "must read" lists I saw, so I read it. It was good, quirky, bizarre, creepy, all of the things...but it wasn't great, just good.

5/5, highly recommended submitted by Susan4Pax -prev. sueij- on June 13, 2023, 8:36pm This is a fantastic book, and I’m slightly stumped as to how I want to review it.

On the day that Roe v Wade was overturned in Jackson v Dobbs, I just couldn’t pick up my current read (the horror history that is the brilliantly written _The 1619 Project_), so looked to my book pile for something lighter, and found _Eleanor Oliphant_. Was this better? I’m not sure. It’s hard, hopeful, funny, inspiring, complex, tender, relational, infuriating, and I couldn’t put it down. I think I read it in 24 hours, and a day later, can’t stop thinking about it.

The story comes to us from Eleanor’s first-person perspective, which is a brilliant storytelling device for what Honeyman wants to convey. We hear Eleanor’s struggles to understand social and conversational rules, to learn about the musician, to make and execute plans (especially as they intersect with Raymond), and to decide whether and how to help Sammy from within her own reasoning. This shapes everything about the story. I read once that “a story is when something happens, and so something changes,” and this book captures that moment in Eleanor’s life perfectly. She has been doing the same thing for years and years, but we are here with her to observe the moment something happens, and we are along for the ride as she changes. However, change does not come easily to her, and it ends up flipping her world upside down. This is one of the most brilliant “something changes” books I may have ever read.

Working in social services, I have one question about the visit by the UK social service worker to Eleanor’s apartment. Eleanor has been out of foster care since 17, when the government then paid for her to go to university and set her up in a flat. But she has been an adult and stable in this job for 7 years (she is now 31). She has no mental health diagnosis she is receiving treatment for. Why on earth is she still being visited every six months? I admit that I don’t know the UK social service system, but this makes no sense to me (beyond as a storytelling device). How long are adults treated like children? Ugh. It’s small in the story but irks me as a provider.

I also want to address autism. I understand (based on an internet search) that Honeywell has said she did not write Eleanor to be Autistic. Her intent was to write about someone who experienced trauma. Here’s the perspective I come from: I am a US-based LMSW who works with Autistic clients though I am not Autistic. I spend a lot of time reading women who are ActuallyAutistic to understand their particular worldview and experiences. My work is trauma informed. I am not an expert, but I consider myself well-informed in these areas. And I write between 50-100 book reviews a year, hence this review (my opinion on this particular book). So… I think that Honeywell wrote an Autistic character. I absolutely know that trauma can create all the behaviors we see in Eleanor, but we also have insight into her thoughts and struggles, and they are highly in alignment with how *women* experience Autism (which looks very different than the traditional understanding of how white boys demonstrate Autism, which is where the DSM criteria comes from). What to do with my opinion? Feel free to ignore it and just read the book. But I wish if Honeyman truly wished to write a character who had trauma and not Autism, that she did more work to make that be true for the character. Otherwise, own that Eleanor is Autistic, because representation matters.

Ultimately, though, a review is about what I thought of a book and whether I recommend it. I loved the journey of this book. It’s hard to read in several ways… Eleanor struggles in her life and experienced childhood trauma… but is written in a way that brings us on the journey with her as she changes and grows. She *does* have supports, and we can see them even when she can’t. Plus the book doesn’t end with some perfect, pie-in-the-sky happily ever after, and I love that, too. But there is growth, and isn’t that what life is about? 5/5, highly recommended.