Eleanor Oliphant struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully time-tabled life. Then everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond – and it is Raymond that will help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged heart.
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is one of those books that brings out all your emotions. I felt happy, sad, angry, embarrassed and more when reading about Eleanor’s life. I thought this book would be quite difficult to read as we’re reading from Eleanors POV and she struggles in normal social interactions. But often these issues made me laugh or cry rather than feel frustration with the writing. Honeyman’s writing made me want to continue reading. It made me fascinated in what had happened and what will happen to Eleanor.
Eleanor’s development throughout the book is both heartbreaking and wonderful. I really loved that a romance aspect wasn’t brought in to make her recover miraculously. The main focus is on character development and looking at mental illness and trauma. I think Honeyman did both of this really well within the book.
Friendships also play an important part. I love that even though Eleanor struggles with social situations such as at work she manages to make friends. Not only with Raymond, but also with Sammy and his family. The friendships that develop were wonderful throughout. I also enjoyed how Eleanor’s co-workers understand her a lot better and treat her better after she is ill. Understanding and knowing about an illness is one step to being able to help people through it.
I received Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine* by Gail Honeyman from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an unbiased and honest review.