From the Bookshelf of Diversity in All Forms!…

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

Gail Honeyman

Start date: February 1, 2019

Finish date: January 28, 2019

Discussion: Monthly Group Reads

Why we're reading this: Our diversity topic should we cover in February is Mental Health.

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by G…more
[close] Our diversity topic should we cover in February is Mental Health.

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

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What Members Thought

Mar 09, 2018 Martha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, mental-health, read-2018, read-women-18, unreadshelf2018

I was delighted to get this for Christmas last year as it feels like EVERYONE has been raving about this book! Which obviously creates very high expectations, but I'm glad to say the book pretty much delivered on them.

The story was not at all what I expected. I'd heard that it was about loneliness, and the title gave the impression that this was obviously a character who was struggling behind a façade, so I expected to meet a character who I sympathised with straight away. That is NOT what I di I was delighted to get this for Christmas last year as it feels like EVERYONE has been raving about this book! Which obviously creates very high expectations, but I'm glad to say the book pretty much delivered on them.

The story was not at all what I expected. I'd heard that it was about loneliness, and the title gave the impression that this was obviously a character who was struggling behind a façade, so I expected to meet a character who I sympathised with straight away. That is NOT what I discovered!

Eleanor is a character that takes a little while to warm up to, and to be honest I was concerned that I wasn't going to be able to connect with her at all. Sometimes I found her obsession with 'proper' language a bit wearing, which I think is why I couldn't quite give it five stars. However, I'm glad to say that I eventually did warm up to her and I enjoyed the second half of the book a lot more, I just wanted to give her a hug! There were a lot of very lovely supporting characters who also gave me the warm and fuzzies, and there were a few moments where I laughed out loud.

Another thing I didn't expect was how DARK this book actually is! It didn't feel out of place, it just wasn't what I expected. The trigger warnings that would be needed for this would definitely be abuse (psychological and physical, not sexual) and for depression and suicide ideation. The conversations between Eleanor and Mummy felt very graphic - not in the way that we would usually describe a scene of physical violence as graphic, but in the sense that it really brought the horror of their relationship to life in a way that I think could be quite difficult for anyone who has experienced psychological abuse. I thought the author tackled it very well, the conversations were dark enough to make an impact without being overwhelming or in poor taste.

I thought the way in which the author wrote about loneliness was very powerful. It's been said that there is a hidden 'epidemic' of loneliness in the UK, and I appreciated this being tackled in a younger character as many young people of all genders are choosing to settle down later (if at all) and so can find themselves living alone without a lot of social contact. The friendship between Eleanor and Raymond that slowly developed was one of my favourite friendships I've read, I think precisely because it did develop slowly and so didn't feel disingenuous. It was just a lovely thing to read.

Overall, this book is unique and thoroughly deserving of the praise it has received. Perhaps it was because of the sheer amount of praise that I didn't quite love it as much as I expected to (thought it would be a five-star read for SURE), but I would highly recommend it to all. ...more

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Aug 04, 2019 Catherine James rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019-popsugar-reading-challenge

Read as part of the PopSugar 2019 Reading Challenge, prompt 28; a book recommended by a celebrity you admire.

I couldn't really think of a celebrity I could say I admired, so instead went with a recommendation from an author of a book I enjoyed (A J Flynn, The Woman in the Window).

I really liked EOiCF. I know she's an oddity, but I found myself relating to a lot of what she said. Does that make me a weirdo? Probably, but like Eleanor, it doesn't worry me too much.

The book is both hilarious in ...more

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