Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

5/5 Stars

Publish Date: January 25th 2018

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 390 pages

"If someone asks you how you are, you are meant to say FINE. You are not meant to say that you cried yourself to sleep last night because you hadn't spoken to another person for two consecutive days. FINE is what you say."

- Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

This isn't a book I would normally read but wow was this amazing. I feel like it very accurately describes the feeling of loneliness. While reading this book it is so hard not to feel overwhelmingly sad for her.

The book is broken down into three sections:

- Good Days

- Bad Days

- Better Days

At first glance you might perceive Eleanor as a social misfit with an air of quirk, no friends, no social life, but there is so much more to her. Who she is and most importantly we learn about her past.

Eleanor is the embodiment of socially awkward, completely oblivious to the social norms and social cues that surround her. She lives by her self-imposed daily routine, goes to work, the same place she has been for years, has the same lunch routine, the same dinner routine and the same weekly treat. Her weekends generally consist of an excessive amounts of vodka to help her though the long and lonesome weekends. Yet she is still completely fine, right?

One day she meets Raymond, the IT guy, together they help an old man, Sammy who had taken a fall on the street. Their individual isolated lives come together to show us how valuable friendship is. Don't worry this book is not I repeat is not about romance, there is a potential but the sole focus is Eleanor.

I don't know how Gail does it but she definitely balances the very heavy issues surrounding this book with elements of humour and glitters of hope.

If you are thinking about reading this I highly recommend it and I advise you to be ready for the whirlwind journey, that Eleanor faces as she finds out what life is truely about and what it means to live.

I can honestly say that this is a book that will stay with me forever.

Where to buy:

• https://www.amazon.com.au/Eleanor-Oliphant-Completely-Fine-Bestseller-ebook/dp/B01MAYG70K

• https://www.amazon.com/Eleanor-Oliphant-Completely-Fine-Novel/dp/0735220689

• https://www.dymocks.com.au/book/eleanor-oliphant-is-completely-fine-by-gail-honeyman-9780008172145/#.XCMcQ88zaRs

• https://www.bookdepository.com/Eleanor-Oliphant-is-Completely-Fine/9780008172145

• https://www.booktopia.com.au/eleanor-oliphant-is-completely-fine-gail-honeyman/prod9780008172145.html