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Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
by Gail Honeyman
First reading the synopsis for [b:Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine|31434883|Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine|Gail Honeyman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1493724347i/31434883._SY75_.jpg|47327681], a story about three people who, “become the kinds of friends who rescue one another from the lives of isolation they have each been living,” I assumed that this novel would be similar to [b:The Elegance of the Hedgehog|2967752|The Elegance of the Hedgehog|Muriel Barbery|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347755370i/2967752._SY75_.jpg|1531887]. This was a very incorrect assumption.
Rather, this is a novel specifically about Eleanor Oliphant. I’ll admit with this shift from expectation it did take me a bit longer to get into it at first. That said, once I was able to better grasp the tone, I found Eleanor to be a truly entertaining and funny character. She has a quick wit and wonderfully dry humor, ultimately making for the perfect dark comedy protagonist. She’s great. Raymond and Sammy are (considerably) less fleshed-out as individuals, but make for solid supporting cast.
This book is also an excellent narrative about loneliness. Glimpses of these parts of Eleanor’s inner psyche are some of the most heart-wrenching, and ultimately lend to real moments of authenticity and good storytelling. On the other hand, this book is a truly terrible narrative about mental illness. There is very little I can write without going into spoiler specifics, and while I do believe mental illness can be smartly utilized to craft an interesting unreliable narrator, in this case it was used for a cheap plot twist. Not so great.
By the end, I really liked Eleanor, but I really did not care for the story she was stuck in—if that makes any sense? Overall, I do recommend it, and am curious to see how Reese Witherspoon will produce the source material in an on-screen adaptation, but I do so with a disclaimer.
Rather, this is a novel specifically about Eleanor Oliphant. I’ll admit with this shift from expectation it did take me a bit longer to get into it at first. That said, once I was able to better grasp the tone, I found Eleanor to be a truly entertaining and funny character. She has a quick wit and wonderfully dry humor, ultimately making for the perfect dark comedy protagonist. She’s great. Raymond and Sammy are (considerably) less fleshed-out as individuals, but make for solid supporting cast.
This book is also an excellent narrative about loneliness. Glimpses of these parts of Eleanor’s inner psyche are some of the most heart-wrenching, and ultimately lend to real moments of authenticity and good storytelling. On the other hand, this book is a truly terrible narrative about mental illness. There is very little I can write without going into spoiler specifics, and while I do believe mental illness can be smartly utilized to craft an interesting unreliable narrator, in this case it was used for a cheap plot twist. Not so great.
By the end, I really liked Eleanor, but I really did not care for the story she was stuck in—if that makes any sense? Overall, I do recommend it, and am curious to see how Reese Witherspoon will produce the source material in an on-screen adaptation, but I do so with a disclaimer.