Book Review – Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

For my birthday in December, I got a six month subscription to Book of the Month from my in-laws. More than I love reading, I love reading really good books, and this feels like a sure way to make that happen. I was ecstatic as I chose the first of my six books, one I’d recently had my eye on, and boy, was it a good pick!

Book 3
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
by Gail Honeyman

Genre:
Psychological Fiction

Published:
May 2017

Synopsis According to Mandi:
Without spoilers, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is about a girl, Eleanor Oliphant, who is the definition of simplicity. She’s an odd duck, but she’s never cared. Growing up and paving her way through life on her own, she’s simply “fine” – nothing better, nothing worse. Her world is turned upside down when she and a co-worker help a stranger in need, bonding over the experience and leading her to deal with the happenings of her past relationships as she sorts out what relationships look like for her now.

Favorite Quote:

All you hear these days is that everything’s going to hell in a handcart, how everyone’s a pedophile or a crook, and it’s not true. You forget that the world is full of ordinary decent people like yourselves, Good Samaritans who’ll stop and help a soul in need.

― Gail Honeyman, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Awards (based upon my brief research):
Debut Bestseller
Costa First Novel Book Award winner 2017

Pages:
327

My Overall Rating:
4.5 – Ugh, I take my ratings so seriously, and this one was hard. I could not give this a 5 because the ending felt abrupt. However, in every other way, it was a 5 to me. Either Gail Honeyman has the most impressive vocabulary I’ve ever seen, or she put in a ton of work to make Eleanor Oliphant come off as such a unique person with a hilariously verbose way of thinking/talking. Even when the plot was slow, the content was fun. Plus, I think we all have a little Eleanor Oliphant in us, it’s just that Eleanor has a lot. I loved how Honeyman essentially intertwined two plots in one, using the same main character and bringing the plots together in the end. I highly recommend this book. 

P.S. I have to share my second favorite quote:

I have often noticed that the people who routinely wear sportswear are the least likely sort to participate in athletic activity.

― Gail Honeyman, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine