Group Fiction Read - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Feb 2018 - SPOILERS ALLOWED

[Paul]

Spoilers are allowed in this thread. Please unselect 'Add to my update feed' so other don't see your comments.

Things to consider:

1. Did you like the book?
2. Did you like or dislike the main characters?
3. Do the characters develop?
4. What did you think of the plot and the ending of the story?
5. Do you have any particular favourite quotes or scenes?
6. Would you read anything else by this author?

[Rebecca]

I thought this was charming, funny and moving.

I loved Eleanor and liked seeing her try to navigate the world around her. It made me laugh a number of times.

I really liked Raymond and thought the pacing of their relationship was good, the position they were in at the end seemed right.

I thought that the storyline was predictable and that I knew what was going on but I didn’t see the twist at the end.

4 stars

[Bam cooks the books]

I enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more from this new author.

From the beginning, the reader knows that Eleanor is anything BUT fine. The details of her tragic childhood are slowly revealed yet the author keeps a surprise for the ending--nicely done.

I don't know if I'd say Eleanor was entirely believable as a character but she was interesting and quirky. I felt she grew as a person, mostly through Raymond's friendship, but she did learn some hard lessons on her own and through professional help. Raymond was patient and big hearted, the very definition of a friend. The fact that he could see past her problems wins him high points as a person you'd like to know.

4 stars from me as well.

[Sylvie]

I found the characters and observations really interesting and funny. I couldn’t help liking Eleanor, I spite of her pendantry and expressions of disapproval. It just shows the skill of the writer. It is quite a page turner, with an unexpected ending.

The novel has attracted a lot of interest because of its main theme, loneliness. Gail Honeyman said the idea came to her when she read something in the paper about a young woman who did not speak to anyone from the Friday when she left her work, until Monday morning. What was her life like for this to happen? Now in GB we have a Minister for Loneliness. I don’t know what you think of this, but it’s probably not a question of making people aware of those who are lonely, though that is important, as much as of opening up people to one another, of having a more tolerant attitude towards others. Eleanor was chivvied into loosening up by easy-going Raymond and by small acts of kindness which he and she performed. GH also said that in Glasgow, where she lives, ten people would rush to help if someone fell in the street.

[Bkwmlee]

I read this one last year and loved it (rated it 5 stars)! It was actually one of my favorite reads of 2017 and the book I voted for in the Goodreads Choice awards. I think I was able to connect to this book so much because I actually know an “Eleanor” in my own life and also, to some extent, some of her experiences in the story paralleled my own.

Hope everyone who hasn’t read this one yet enjoys it and look forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts!

[Saffron]

For the first couple of chapters I wasn't sure, I actually know someone who behaves like she does at work and it was a bit odd reading the inner workings of this kind of personality. But then when the talks with Mummy started, I thought this could actually be interesting.

By the time Raymond came along I was into the story and couldn't put the book down. There are some parts that literally had me crying with laughter, the Death Metal gig and the dancing at the party was hilarious.

Yes there were some parts of her transformation that were a little odd, choosing a waxing as a first port of call for a start, amusing yes but reality, probably not, but then I guess Eleanor is not normal.

The growing friendship with Raymond was beautiful, he was such a lovely character. The fact he was interested in Eleanor as a friend whilst also dating the old mans daughter showed a good depth of character, he didn't just dump her when he got with a looker. The way the relationship was left at the end as a friendship with a possibility of a future was a nice touch, had it ended with them as a couple it would have been too cliche and trite.

I really enjoyed it, have recommended it to friends and will definitely read another by the author when she writes her follow up.

[Jo]

I agree with all the positive comments and also one of my favourite reads of 2017.

[Richard]

There's much I liked about the book. I did like Eleanor, probably because of rather than despite her individuality. I was rooting for her and glad she ended up in a much better place in her life.

The book has wit and heart and it obviously engaged me as I read it very quickly.

It's rare for a novel to feature so much kindness and I generally liked that. There are characters that reach out to Eleanor, and a true friend in Raymond. There was though part of me that wondered whether he was slightly too good to be true.

Like Bam though, I had a problem with believing entirely in Eleanor's character, and I think that is at the heart of my reservations about the novel.

To me it felt a little too constructed and contrived. Of course all fiction is some sort of contrivance, but great writers can make contrivance feel so real. I never felt Eleanor was more than a construct. I just can't imagine her existing in the real world, and I think that is a problem. She is a highly intelligent woman, yet seems hopelessly naive. Her transformation also appears a little too convenient and easy. She does have a crisis, but it's all too brief and overcome fairly easily.

This probably makes it a more palatable read than it might have been if it had been darker. But a braver book might have been prepared to take more risks.

Nevertheless, Gail Honeyman is a first-time author and there was a lot to like, and a lot for her to build on. It's clearly engaged a lot of readers.

But for me it was a three star book, probably 3.5 if we were allowed half stars.

[Jazzy]

Because my personal 5-star ratings are

1 - I HATE it.
2. I didn't like it.
3. Meh, it didn't strike a chord either way.
4. I like it.
5. I enjoyed it.

I have given this book 5 stars.

Eleanor works in an office where she's been for nearly a decade, how strange and foreign that is to me, but she thinks and acts differently than other people expect, and that is quite like me - but even more like my son, so I could very easily identify with her. But my heart sank when here's this girl who is single and right away she starts thinking about romantic entanglement. I'm single, though I have been with a partner a few times before. I have several single friends - There are four of us on my pub quiz - and we're all LONG TIME single. Two have never ever been married or had a partner and aren't interested. I hope she never actually gets romantically involved with Raymond and that they just stay friends.

Also, I found it very strange that Eleanor would get a ticket to a local gig and expect to sit at a table. I've been on tour with a few bands around the UK and to Glasgow and it's pretty much all standing room - if you expect to actually SEE the band.

And Eleanor got actual real help from a psychiatrist so soon? Nope. Wouldn’t happen. 8 bloody years i’ve been waiting for the talking therapies. Just last week I was told they will send me on to someone else for further assessment. Never mind all the horrors of the past 8 years. It’s no wonder people kill themselves waiting for treatment. Like my friend Simon, 4 years ago today.

Still, I enjoyed the book very much, and loved the way Eleanor talked to Sammy when he was unconscious.

[Pamela]

I enjoyed this book, the funny moments and the moving ones were well balanced, and I felt the author did a good job of taking us inside Eleanor's thoughts.

I agree wholeheartedly with Richard's point that this book is kept light, even when dealing with some quite horrific topics, and consequently has a slightly artificial feel. I was quite convinced by Eleanor's voice, but not by the way her story unfolded - her transformation was too slick. A darker book, or even a more subtle exploration of loneliness, might have been more satisfying, but probably wouldn't have won the popular acclaim.

I was surprised this won the Costa award, it's pleasant and enjoyable but not outstanding in my eyes.

[Ellen]

This book totally sucked me in and I found it moving and poignant. Like others, I had problems with the character of Eleanor. It seemed to me that the crusty, scolding Eleanor didn't go with the Eleanor who would decide a rock musician was the man for her and go about their "relationship" quite the way she did, starting with the wax job someone else mentioned.

I also did not buy the whole Mommy "relationship." It reminded me of the movie Psycho too much.

All that said, every scene felt believable and real as I was reading along. The book had a lovely, cinematic quality that I think would translate well into a movie. The characters of Raymond, the rock musician, Laura and the therapist were so real, I almost felt like I already knew them.

[Patricia]

I absolutely loved this. LOVED it! The mother-daughter relationship reminded me of how I felt when I read Sybil and Mommy Dearest, very dark, very heavy reads. I'm aware that, in real life, Eleanor's past wouldn't have been straightened out so quickly, but this is fiction--a light take on a heavy subject. I know people like Eleanor, and I could relate to her as well. I loved the writing style. So many laugh-out-loud moments; so many tears-welling-up moments. The last 100 or so pages were intense!

[Joy]

I’ve come to this very late but have enjoyed reading everyone’s views. I find myself in agreement with Richard’s comments.
At times Eleanor’s behaviour is completely unrealistic. She’s supposed to be a graduate and holding down an admin job effectively, yet doesn’t know about laptops, iPads etc - and then, hold on, the next minute she’s totally familiar with how to follow someone on Twitter. Despite these moments of being jolted out of the narrative, on the whole I was drawn in and read the book very quickly.
However when finished I felt cheated, as though my emotions had been manipulated. It didn’t feel real - Eleanor’s trauma was overcome too quickly and easily - one kind friend and an extremely rapid referral to a psychiatrist- and suddenly she is able to come to terms with years of childhood abuse and her sister’s death.