‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine’ Review

I have heard no end of hype about this novel, and in complete contrast to disappointments such as ‘The Girl on the Train’ I do think this book really did live up to it. Gail Honeyman has truly found a winner in her character Eleanor – in some ways she struck me as being slightly autistic, as she didn’t quite the knack of social interaction and picking up on social cues. I knew virtually as soon as I slipped into this novel that I would absolutely love it! Eleanor’s narrative was hilarious; though the comedy was equally mixed with sorrow, and this was expertly weaved together to create such a wonderful story.

There was something achingly familiar about Eleanor – Honeyman said that she felt inspired after reading an article talking about loneliness in younger people. The article included the story of a young woman in her twenties who often would go the whole weekend without speaking to someone. All through our younger lives and even university, everything is all laid out for us – and then suddenly you find yourself in the real world, where you’re not necessarily surrounded by people your own age in the workplace, and it becomes a lot harder to meet new people and make friends. Honeyman showed this so wonderfully with Eleanor’s story – Eleanor would buy two bottles of Glen vodka, and then sit in her flat all weekend working her way through them. Especially when Honeyman hinted at a traumatic backstory involving Eleanor’s mother, you couldn’t help but feel so sorry for how lonely she was. Even in the outside world she didn’t really connect with characters because of her lack of social skills, which was so sad! Though Honeyman does a fantastic job of lifting the heaviness this added to the narrative with her fantastic humour, which was also demonstrated through Eleanor’s lack of social understanding.

‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine’ is so wonderfully done! Eleanor’s character really makes this novel what it is. She was so easy to connect with, and you really felt for her when you learned more about her life and what had happened to her. Honeyman certainly has a gift for creating characters, as I really loved Raymond’s character too. I especially loved the connection that was shown between him and Eleanor, and it was expertly done as there was no solid confirmation of a romance between them. It was heartwarming to see Eleanor connect with someone, and to find a friend – I loved the lack of romance, as it did a wonderful job of busting that poisonous myth that you need a partner to be happy. As long as you have good friends, that’s all you need. This made a relationship between them seem so much more realistic, as it was done in such a positive way. I also liked the fact that Honeyman left this open to the interpretation of her readers rather than shove it in our faces.

Speaking of romance, I thought I was going to fall out with Honeyman’s book not long after I started reading it. Eleanor decides she loves a man she has never even met, and proceeds to plot about how their daily lives are going to progress together and blah blah blah. These passages were so uncomfortable to read, as I was literally sat crying nooooooo at the page. Though I shouldn’t have doubted Honeyman, as this was also handled so well! The sheer skill shown in this novel was astounding.

Eleanor’s backstory was so interesting, and Honeyman expertly weaved little details throughout the narrative to show how damaging her relationship with her mother was. There’s something so inherently wrong in a mother not having a maternal connection with her children, and treating them the way Eleanor was treated. There was one little niggle that didn’t quite fit with the rest of the plot, once we found out the full story behind the traumatic childhood event that happened to Eleanor, but because I so thoroughly enjoyed this novel I was willing to overlook that. I can’t say exactly what it was that bothered me, as that will spoil it for those who haven’t read it. Eleanor was hands down what made this novel so brilliant, as her unintentional dry humour really helped to lighten the narrative when it was at its darkest.

Overall, this novel gets a well deserved 5/5 – I will eagerly be looking out for any further novels that Honeyman will write in the future! She expertly shows us in this novel how crushing loneliness is for not just the elderly, and demonstrates such a wonderful talent for writing. I don’t normally get on with literary fiction, but this is definitely a novel that you need to read!