Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Eleanor Oliphant is nearly thirty years old. She lives on her own and has worked in the same office for over ten years. Eleanor leaves the office on a Friday afternoon and doesn’t speak with another human being until she comes back to the office on Monday morning. Her life is a perfectly organised and simplified version of most people’s lives.

Although at first unwilling, Eleanor makes friends with Raymond, the new IT recruit at work and through this unlikely friendship, we start learning more and more about Eleanor’s difficult situation. As the story unfolds, we find out about Eleanor’s desperately lonely existence almost devoid of all social interaction. We also learn about her troubled past and how she has ended up existing on the outskirts of society.

This is a tale about the unyielding nature of loneliness, about the power of kindness, no matter how small the gesture, and about friendship. It is a story of overcoming great adversity and of survival.

A highly recommended account of life, loneliness, kindness and friendship.

Themes:

Loneliness
Mental Health
Social norms
Kindness
Trauma
Friendship
Love

Favourite quote:

“The moment hung in time like a drop of honey from a spoon, heavy, golden.”

About the author:

Scottish author Gail Honeyman wrote her first fiction in her early 40s. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is her debut novel which was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize before it was even completed. It then went on to win the Costa First Novel Award in 2017 and was selected as one of the Observer’s Debuts of the Year in 2017.
She lives in Glasgow.

Where to buy:

Foyles
Waterstones
Wordery

LittleWordNerd rating: 4.5/5