By: Gail Honeyman
ISBN: 978-0735220683
Publisher: Pamela Dorman
Publication Date: 5/9/2017 Format: Other
My Rating: 5 Stars Top Books of 2017 Soon to be a major motion picture produced by Reese Witherspoon."Warm and funny...plus Reese bought the rights to this one...You'll want to read it."—TheSkimm“ A charmer...satisfyingly quirky.”—Janet Maslin, The New York Times “Books to Breeze Through This Summer”
"This wacky, charming novel...draws you in with humor, then turns out to contain both a suspenseful subplot and a sweet romance….Hilarious and moving."—People No one’s ever told Eleanor that life should be better than fine.
Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. 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 kinds of friends who rescue one another 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.Smart, warm, uplifting, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is 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 your heart.
Praise
"Simultaneously hilarious and heartbreaking. . . Eleanor Oliphant may be completely fine, but this book is completely wonderful." --PureWow
"Eleanor Oliphant is a truly original literary creation: funny, touching, and unpredictable. Her journey out of dark shadows is expertly woven and absolutely gripping." --Jojo Moyes, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You
“I have read a few great novels recently, but the one that stuck with me the most over the last few months if Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and the entire time I beamed with joy at the beauty of this story. I fell in love with Eleanor and never wanted the book to end. I wanted so badly to keep following her story.” –Krysten Ritter, actress, producer, and author of Bonfire
"This wacky, charming novel...draws you in with humor, then turns out to contain both a suspenseful subplot and a sweet romance….Hilarious and moving." --People
“A charmer...satisfyingly quirky.” --Janet Maslin, The New York Times “Books to Breeze Through This Summer”
“Move over, Ove (in Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove)—there’s a new curmudgeon to love. . . Walking in Eleanor’s practical black Velcro shoes is delightfully amusing, her prudish observations leavened with a privately puckish humor. But readers will also be drawn in by her tragic backstory, which slowly reveals how she came to be so entirely Eleanor. Witty, charming, and heartwarming, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is a remarkable debut about a singular woman. Readers will cheer Eleanor as she confronts her dark past and turns to a brighter future. Feel good without feeling smarmy.” --Booklist (starred review)
"Deeply compelling" --Vox
"Astounding." --PopMatters
“Eleanor Oliphant is endearing, [a] whip-smart read. . . Perfectly paced, odd, shocking and hilarious, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is a fascinating story about loneliness, hope, tragedy and humanity. Honeyman’s delivery is wickedly good, and Eleanor won’t leave you anytime soon." --Associated Press
"Honeyman’s endearing debut is part comic novel, part emotional thriller, and part love story. . . hilarious, deadpan, and irresistible." --Kirkus Reviews
“[A] captivating debut. . . a feel-good story that will make readers laugh and cheer for Eleanor as she learns that the past doesn’t dictate the future, and that happiness can be hers. This is a must-read for those who love characters with quirks.” --BookPage
“If you thought Fredrik Backman’s Ove was a charming curmudgeon, you’ll instantly fall for Eleanor.” --Hello Giggles
"The book is wonderfully, quirkily funny. You both ache for Eleanor. . . and laugh with her." --Seattle Times
“That Eleanor's social awkwardness is extreme, sometimes painfully and often comically so, is far more apparent to the reader than it is to Eleanor herself — and that we get this through Eleanor's own narration is a credit to the author's cleverness and craft. . . A touching, funny novel." --Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Debut author Honeyman expertly captures a woman whose inner pain is excruciating and whose face and heart are scarred, but who still holds the capacity to love and be loved. Eleanor’s story will move readers." --Publishers Weekly
“[Eleanor Oliphant] happens to be among the most compelling and complex characters drawn in recent memory, one who is always peculiar, often infuriating, but funny and utterly endearing.” --The National (Scotland)
"Gail Honeyman’s wonderful debut novel hits the summer read sweet spot: an intelligent, complex, funny, heartbreaking book that you’ll want to read in a single sitting.” --The Irish Times
“The human need for connection, initially scorned by Eleanor, is this heart-rending novel’s central theme. Eleanor Oliphant is most definitely not completely fine, but she is one of the most unusual and thought-provoking heroines of recent contemporary fiction.” --The Irish Times
“Heart-wrenching yet humorous; dark yet full of life—the debut novel from this Glasgow-based author is nothing short of extraordinary. This is a story… that everyone will be talking about this summer.” --Hello Canada, June 2017
“Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is filled with laughter and hope, and has such faith in the power of love and friendship to rescue even the most damaged individuals.” --Georgia Costal Illustrated
“We are truly living in a golden age for new female writing. Among my favourite books of the year has been Gail Honeyman’s debut, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. Eleanor—30 going on 70, basically—is not a character you’ll forget in a hurry. And Honeyman has managed a brilliant weaving of light and shade; black humour and crushing tragedy. Reese Witherspoon has already snapped up the film rights.” --The Independent (Ireland) “Another fantastic book about someone outside the norm…. It’s misery memoir meets Adrian Mole with a bit of The Office thrown in. What’s not to like?” --The Mail on Sunday
"Like a contemporary Jane Eyre, Gail Honeyman's Eleanor Oliphant is a woman scarred by profound loneliness, and the shadow of a harrowing childhood she can't even bear to remember. Bit by bit, and with extraordinary courage, however, Eleanor begins peeling the layers of protective numbness, letting others near for the first time, and reaching for the life she hasn't believed she deserves. Deft, compassionate and deeply moving--Honeyman's debut will have you rooting for Eleanor with every turning page. I loved this story." --Paula McClain, New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife and Circling the Sun
"So powerful--I completely loved Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine." --Fiona Barton, New York Times bestselling author of The Widow
"Moving, hilarious, and intriguing, just like its unique, anti-social, anti-heroine. You will fall in love with Eleanor Oliphant." --J. Ryan Stradal, New York Times bestselling author of Kitchens of the Great Midwest
"Honeyman's debut is a stunner, as buoyant and charming as it is heartwrenching and emotionally sophisticated. Poor Eleanor Oliphant--often clueless, at times maddening, but always fascinating--walks right off the page and into the reader's heart. Not only is Eleanor Oliphant completely fine, she's a revelation." --Jonathan Evison, author of This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance
“Eleanor Oliphant endears herself to the reader with her cantankerous charm and her disarmingly inscrutable voice. A compulsive, irresistible narrative that arcs toward compassion and light.” --Mona Awad, author of 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl
“Heart-wrenching and wonderful!” --Nina Stibbe, bestselling author of Paradise Lodge
A Vogue Australia Book Club Pick, June 2017
My Review
Glasgow-based author, Gail Honeyman’s debut hits it "out-of-the-park" with her hilarious and emotional tale of a misfit with a secret past. A young eccentric (oddball) woman suffering from a mysterious childhood trauma— ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE.
The author cleverly takes us on a journey of self-discovery through the eyes of an often “naïve” (peculiar), troubled, and sheltered young woman. With a dysfunctional past, she makes her way through adulthood to "first time" new adventures, and possibly love.
Soon to be a major motion picture produced by Reese Witherspoon! (It will be dynamite)! Can't wait to see the cast lineup.
For fans of Elizabeth Berg, Elizabeth Strout, Fredrik Backman, Jo Jo Moyes, and Jennifer Weiner.
Eleanor Oliphant is single and twenty-nine years old. She lives a solitary life. She lives alone. She keeps to herself and uses her Vodka to keep her warm and safe from the cruel outside world.
She works Monday thru Friday and of course, on the weekends she has her Vodka, pizza, pills, and sleep.
And her . . . devastating weekly phone calls with her Mummy. She is cruel, evil, and hateful. (the narrator is "award-winning").
Eleanor thinks the outside world is foreign. She is clueless. Almost like someone with, Autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
As she rides the train she watches observes and criticizes. She has a routine. She does not go outside this arena.
Eleanor has a scar on her face, raised in foster care, and she is miserable. She is opinionated and highly intelligent. No social skills and awkward with interactions.
She does like to stockpile painkillers to keep on hand for emergencies. Weirdly obsessed with a local musician, whom she has not met.
After a mysterious event in her childhood (the author keeps that under her belt until the end; leaving readers glued to the pages), that left half her face badly scarred. While in college she was in a very abusive relationship. We can only assume she had an abusive childhood.
However, she thinks she is perfectly fine.
Eleanor has no social or people skills and is awkward in social settings. She dreads her phone calls with her nasty mummy.
Then one day at work she has some computer issues and meets IT guy, Raymond and they help an old man. They develop an unlikely friendship. They can relate to one another since he is a bit geeky as well.
Through Raymond, Eleanor slowly goes outside her comfort zone. She ventures to the mall. She is introduced to restaurants, shopping, shoes, clothes, hair, makeup, nails. The makeup Bobbi Brown counter was hilarious as was the restaurant! All this is foreign to her.
She has made fun of everyone; however, she never thought to look inside or beneath the surface to find the true meaning of people’s hearts and soul. Everyone has circumstances and baggage. Including her own self.
When she hits rock bottom, she is pulled out with the help of Raymond and is forced to seek the counsel of a therapist. The therapist helps her maneuver through her muddy dark past (this is when we learn the events of her tragic past) and the witch of a mummy.
Was dying for her to stand up to her dear mummy and cut her out of her life.
Through it all, Eleanor desires love, friendships, family, and acceptance.
However, there has never been any role models in her life; however, she still has the capacity to love and be loved when pointed in the right direction —with patience and understanding.
Razor sharp and clever writing, ELEANOR OLIPHANT is compelling, quirky, moving, romantic, endearing, heartbreaking, sad, complex, witty, charming, and comical. Almost like a coming-of-age with a bag full of emotions, mixed with thriller, and comedy. Loved it!
Fans of Fredrik Backman’s Britt-Marie Was Here and A Man Called Ove; Elizabeth Berg’s The Story of Arthur Truluv and Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge.
Highly recommend the audiobook, narrated by Cathleen McCarron for endless hours of entertainment! Looking forward to many more books by this talented new author.
JDCMustReadBooks
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About the Author
Gail Honeyman is a graduate of the universities of Glasgow and Oxford. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine was short-listed for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize as a work in progress and is Honeyman’s debut novel. She lives in Glasgow, Scotland. Follow on Twitter
