Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Clues to describe this book: Friendship, Resilience, Trauma, Moving Forward

Review:Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is Gail Honeyman’s debut novel. I initially heard of the novel from Book of the Month as it was one of their December selections. This sad, dark, and charming tale is about a unique individual named Eleanor Oliphant who thinks she’s completely fine, but actually isn’t. She believes that her physical needs in life are met and that she doesn’t require any emotional needs. Her mannerisms somewhat remind me of Sheldon from “The Big Bang Theory.” She’s a bit strange, socially awkward, quiet, and has a typical routine that she doesn’t stray from. She is also quite intelligent and views the world in a peculiar way. But everything changes once Eleanor befriends the new sweet, kind-hearted, and unhygienic IT guy at her workplace, Raymond. Raymond’s kindness and profound friendship ultimately tries to helps Eleanor rise above her difficult and tragic past. The author touches upon the importance of human connection and emotional needs. The character development in this novel is extremely well-drawn and the characters are portrayed as people that you could actually meet in everyday life. The first person narrative in this novel is insightful and it feels as if you were seeing life through Eleanor’s eyes. The struggles that Eleanor faces are very real and as you read the story, you can’t help but hope that she will be better than “fine” and will eventually heal. The story was a bit darker than I anticipated and was a bit slow at first, but ultimately it was a satisfying and heartfelt read. I really enjoyed reading this novel and would definitely recommend this to anyone to read because it gives you hope that there is still goodness and compassion in the world we live in.