Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine- A Novel by Gail Honeyman
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Web ID: 5596341Dear Avid Reader, Read me.
I've read thousands of books. It has always been my greatest pleasure. This book is different. It is completely outside the box; not the formula that you read time and time again. I felt every feeling, and went from laughing to crying. That is a good book.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
not at all what i expected or hoped for
This book was not at all what i expected or hoped for it to be. After reading the blurb - i instantly felt a warm in my heart that Miss Oliphant might be very much relatable to myself. After the first couple of chapters, i had quickly found my disappointment in the fact that she is nothing like me. We are socially awkward loners for completely different, circumstances. And we both have an entire house full of traumas, big and small to work though. But by the time that she got to “Better Days” i felt that I would truly love to be Eleanor’s friend.i think we’d have a right riot on days out and simple peaceful days at home. It would be lovely. Hell, Raymond can come along and be amused by whatever antics we decide to get up to in our trauma ridden minds! All in all, i absorbed this book into my soul and will now move forward with it as a constant companion. I’m impressed that she actually went to therapy and did the thing. That’s something I’ve always needed but always brushed off as an inconvenience. Maybe i should start taking that in and considering if it just might help. Little by little.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A book I Will Remember for a Long Time!
"Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" by Gail Honeyman is a book I will remember for a long time! Feeling lonely is normal and manageable. It's wanting to connect with someone when there is no one available at the time. Feeling alone is a deeper experience. Aloneness is when you abandon your body, where your feelings are, and live in your head. Eleanor is alone and living in her head! She eats alone, drinks copious amounts of vodka alone and, on occasion, a bottle of brandy alone! But, you know what? She says she's completely fine! "A self-contained entity." She's organized and methodical, timing her life perfectly to avoid those socially awkward moments. She says whatever she thinks, unfiltered of course, and has absolutely no clue that what comes out of her mouth is offensive to others! But, she's not unfiltered during her weekly calls with Mummy! On Wednesday evenings she wishes someone, anyone else would call so she could talk to them instead of Mummy! She secretly dreads these calls. Sadly, Eleanor remembers, "Mummy has always told me that I am ugly, freakish, vile. She's done so from my earliest years, even before I acquired my scars." Oh, my goodness! Working steadfastly at the same job since leaving university nine years ago, Eleanor takes pride in her office position, never missing a day. She avoids co-workers who make fun of her behind her back or even in front of her, they simply think she's mental. She thinks they're lazy. At a mid-week concert, Eleanor finally spots her perfect man singing on stage! She is over-the-moon for him and obsessed with plans of a total makeover in preparation of being swept off her feet by the Singer. She also decides to purchase a laptop so she can google his name and learn more about her beloved on the internet, Instagram and Twitter! She's found the love of her life, definite husband material, and Mummy is going to be thrilled! Eleanor also meets Raymond, the in-office IT guy. He's a bit unkempt, reeks of cigarettes and sometimes wears bits and pieces of his most recent meal on his winkled clothes. But, in a word, Raymond is 'nice'. He's friendly and chatty with Eleanor, something very foreign to her, so she's guarded and perhaps a little unfriendly towards him. However, with Raymond's persistence a friendship develops and ever so slowly Eleanor's life begins to change! This is hands down my favorite read this year. I loved it, listened to it slowly, spending 15 days with Eleanor and not wanting it to end. The narrator, Cathleen McCarron, gave life as the voice of this character and was, beyond a doubt, the embodiment of Eleanor. My heart ached for Eleanor's aloneness. I wanted to hug her, tell her I care and offer to help her. But, I also recognized her strength and resilience for withstanding all that life has dished out to her so unfairly! Raymond was Eleanor's greatest champion and whether it was with purpose or unknowingly, it was done selflessly. Everyone needs a Raymond in their life, a presence of support and showing human-kindness in its rawest form. I want to be a better person, too, because of Raymond! I do feel it necessary to add that this is not an "incredibly funny' book, as quoted on the cover. It has moments when you smile about something unfiltered from Eleanor's POV, but this book contains serious topics. It is an authentic piece of art by the author and the deep emotion I had from reading it will always be with me. 5⭐and I highly recommend this book.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Good
At first I wasn't sure about this book but the more I read, the more I was liking not only the story but the main character and her story arc. I found myself wanting to read the next chapter, then the next. Quite the emotional rollercoaster of a read.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Average
This is the last time I listen to any celebrity touting books! I did manage to finish it, though. It took me so much longer than it usually does to read a book this size. Dark, bleak, and depressing. I could not find any humor in this book. The verbosity was annoying, but I could see why the author made Eleanor this way. Even using my Kindle dictionary, I had trouble with the meaning of some of the words! I guess I needed a better education to really 'get' this book. With so many triggers, I don't know what to say. Everything was supposed to be okay when Eleanor helped save a man who died anyway, got a crush and, stalked someone she didn't know, then tried to commit suicide. She was an alcoholic. But she stopped drinking without getting help, got a cat, and that made everything better!!! Even in the end, with psychiatric help, Eleanor was NOT completely fine.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Unique storyline
I have never read a story like this before. Although it shows the ups and downs of Eleanor's life it was a great read. Sometimes sad, sometimes laugh out loud funny. This was a very interesting, entertaining read.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Confused by the hype
This book had a lot of hype so I finally picked it up. I didn't get it. I don't understand why there is such a big following for this novel. I didn't care for the plot, the main character, and the surprise at the end didn't move me. I guess I expected it to be funnier because that's what Reese Witherspoon said on the cover. But I found it to be depressing and a huge letdown. I suppose if you like what everyone else is reading, you'll enjoy it. But I found nothing noteworthy in it.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Colorful!
I enjoyed reading this book because I could relate to Eleanor in certain situations, for example, her mom degrades her very harshly and my mom and I have disagreements and say things we shouldn’t say to each other and nor do we mean it, at the time we act on the emotion present. I also relate to her how she likes to be by herself more than going out and socializing and I am the same way in a sense, and how she cares for the cat she wants to help the animal as would I. I think the book is intended for anyone who likes romance but also a book with someone who has addiction problems and/or other past trauma mysteries that’ll be uncovered as the book progresses that those situations do not forever define who you are, only you can make the choice to be better. I really enjoyed how the author was straightforward with her writing we weren’t really guessing at why Eleanor decided to do this or that, the only thing we were left to think about was what her mom did to her when she was a child. The author also kept the theme of denial. Throughout the book, Eleanor denies she is addicted to alcohol and a schedule when in reality she is because that is what she was comfortable with. Last I would classify this book as a romance mystery book which I enjoy a romance novel so that is partly why I liked reading this book. One warning I would say about the main character is don’t judge her until you know the reason behind it.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com