I know, I know! I’m a few years late getting round to reading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. I was sent a proof well before publication, but never had chance to read it. Consequently, when the book appeared on a list of potential reads for the U3A book group to which I belong, I chose it along with another group member and it was this month’s read.

Published in paperback by Harper Collins in 2018, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is available for purchase through the links here.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

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

One simple act of kindness is about to shatter the walls Eleanor has built around herself. Now she must learn how to navigate the world that everyone else seems to take for granted – while searching for the courage to face the dark corners she’s avoided all her life.

Change can be good. Change can be bad. But surely any change is better than…. fine?

My Review of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Eleanor’s life is about to change.

I have been desperate to read Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine since its publication but somehow never quite managed it.

I confess that initially I was a little underwhelmed by Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, but the more I read, the more I was drawn into the narrative until I realised what a brilliant technique Gail Honeyman had employed. My response to Eleanor was exactly the response her co-workers have to her – that she’s somewhat unremarkable – and it isn’t until the story unfolds, the true Eleanor emerges and her past is uncovered, that the impressive impact is revealed. I thought this was such skilful writing.

The plot seems relatively simple as Eleanor describes her daily life, but gradually, as the narrative progresses, we discover Eleanor’s past is incredibly dramatic and is the reason for her life being as it is. And that’s one of the most important themes of the story for me – the demonstration that we never truly know what others have experienced or what they have dealt with. There’s a surprising depth to the story that I simply wasn’t expecting.

Eleanor’s first person voice is clear, intelligent and witty. As she learns more about social niceties, we learn more about her, so that she takes on a satisfying credence. Having felt rather indifferent to Eleanor to begin with, I ended the book absolutely invested in her and her potential for future happiness. 

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine tackles important themes in today’s society, with loneliness, mental health, friendship and the need for companionship resonant to the extent the reader begins to question their own attitudes to others similar to Eleanor. I found the book thought-provoking as well as entertaining. 

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine turned out not to be the book I was expecting to read and it took me a while to adjust my mindset. Once I had, I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it. 

About Gail Honeyman

Gail Honeyman’s debut novel, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, won the Costa First Novel Award 2017, the British Book Awards Book of the Year and the Specsavers National Book Awards Popular Fiction Book of the Year.

Since publication, translation rights have sold to over thirty territories worldwide, Reese Witherspoon has optioned it for film and it was chosen as one of the Observer’s Debuts of the Year for 2017. Gail was also awarded the Scottish Book Trust’s Next Chapter Award in 2014, and has been longlisted for BBC Radio 4’s Opening Lines and shortlisted for the Bridport Prize.

Gail lives in Glasgow.

For further information, visit Gail’s website or follow her on Twitter @GailHoneyman.