Book Review: A tour-de-force of the heart

EleanorOliphant Is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman (Penguin)

This marvelous debutnovel is mainstream, not genre, but with overtones of “domestic thriller” andsuperb handling of an unreliable narrator. The growth of the central characterskillfully parallels the gradual revelation of her past.

At first, EleanorOliphant seems to be a tediously bland, often annoying office worker. Hersocial skills leave a great deal to be desired, she’s compulsivelyroutine-bound, and she rebuffs every effort at friendship. Although she insiststo herself and to everyone else that she is completely fine, her weekly phonechats with her emotionally abusive Mummy result in weekly bouts of heavy drinking.Her doomed infatuation with a third-rate singer provides more fodder forMummy’s manipulations.

At first, I thoughtthat her problem was that she was a functional alcoholic, but the situation turnedout to be much more complex and nuanced. From the beginning, there are hints ofa deeper, darker story. When Eleanor and Raymond, a big-hearted if physicallyunattractive IT guy, rescue an elderly man who collapses on the street, Eleanorgets drawn into new social circles and relationships. The walls she has builtaround her profound emotional damage begin to crumble. Needless to say, inHoneyman’s capable hands, there is more than one surprise along the way.

Highly recommended.A tour-de-force of the heart.