"Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine" by Gail Honeyman

Synopsis:

A stunning debut about a girl who has learned how to survive – but not how to live.

Eleanor Oliphant leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink every weekend.

Eleanor Oliphant is fine. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except sometimes, everything.

No one’s ever told Eleanor life should be better than fine. But with a simple act of kindness she’s about to realize exactly how much better than fine life can be.

Review:

I was really excited to read this book when I heard about it on BookTube.  It's very different from anything I've read.  I found the first-person narrative startling because of the jarring, blunt way Eleanor revealed shocking tidbits as part of a general statement.  You never knew when she would surprise you with some piece of her dark past.  You never knew what she would say next and it takes the course of the novel for her to slowly reveal who she is.  And despite thinking you know what's coming at the end, there is a final twist I didn't see coming at all.

I enjoyed the cast of characters, with the exception of her mother.  I very much dislike reading books with horribly vile characters because I find it uncomfortable and upsetting.  However, this one was worth it.  It made me more grateful for the people I have in my own life.

It's a somewhat-slow paced novel that kept me wanting to know what was going to happen.  Some of the situations Eleanor recounts struck a little too close to home for me but it made me feel like I wasn't the only person to experience them.  

In the beginning, Eleanor speaks very much like an outsider, almost like an alien, but she does grow in her language while growing as a person.  I loved her personality and her turns of phrase.

Here are some of my favourite quotes:

Regarding "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte:

Pilot is there too, the handsome, soulful-eyed hound.  If the book has one failing, it's that there is insufficient mention of Pilot.  You can't have too much dog in a book.

Regarding the horrible use of improper grammar in texting:

I steeled myself as best I could, and, with teeth gritted, using only one finger I typed: C U there E.

 Regarding Spongebob Squarepants:

A semi-human bath sponge with protruding front teeth!  On sale as if it were something completely unremarkable!  For my entire life, people have said that I'm strange, but really, when I see things like this, I realize that I'm actually relatively normal.

Regarding having pets:

But love is love; animals, people.  It's unconditional, and it's both the easiest and the hardest thing in the world.

I am glad I read this book and will most likely reread it in the future just so I can absorb more of it.

Read on,
Paula

P.S. I received this book for free from the publisher for review consideration. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.