Review: 4 STARS
Would I recommend it to a friend? Yes, but skip to the middle
I don’t normally condone skipping any parts of a book, but let me just say that this was one bad ending away from being a 2.5-star read for me. It was a really slow start and it took me five months, two vacations and 13,480 ounces of will power to get past the half-way mark. But once I did, I was hooked.
Why was this book described by critics as ‘making waves’? Perhaps it is the plot-twist ending. Or perhaps it’s the deep, psychological dive into the world of loneliness, depression and low self-esteem all of which far too many people suffer from.
When you get past Eleanor’s day-to-day routine and the character introductions, (which are summed up on the back cover in case you are seriously considering my recommendation of skipping to the middle) you’ll start to uncover Eleanor’s deepest, darkest secrets. However, it’s not all bleek and serious. There are several funny moments that give the book just the right amount of comedic relief.
I also listened to this book on Audible while following along with my physical copy. I really enjoyed Cathleen McCarron’s narration. Her voice is fitting for the tone of the story and the character portrayals. I found that the British accent also helped set the mood. I would definitely recommend this one on audiobook if you can’t get your hands on a copy.
So, when all is said and done, does this debut novel deserve the five literary awards and Goodreads Choice Award nomination it got? I would say yes, but I’ll let you judge for yourself.
Recommendations
If you read this book and loved it, try this similar contemporary novel by a different author: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart.
If you like your reads accompanied by music, here is a mini-playlist that I believe pairs well with this book:
- “Without Me” Halsey
- “Breathe Me” Sia
- “Lose You to Love Me” Selena Gomez
Story Time
Now before you go, there is one more thing I’d like to share. The story of why my copy of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is in a disgraceful shape.The physical copy of my book has been through a lot. Keep scrolling to find out how it ended up looking like this. Fellow bookworms, I understand if this picture below makes you cringe. Please proceed with caution.
In the beginning of this review I mentioned that it took me two vacations to get through the first half of this book. The first one was a family trip to the beach where this book encountered a bit of a mishap. You might think you know where this is going, but no, I did not drop it in the water.
It was a bright and sunny summer morning on a lovely Floridian beach when I decided to relax and read my book while getting a nice bronze tan. Over the course of the day, the clouds started rolling in, and the rain drops started coming down. Although I was sitting under a beach tent, I quickly put my book away to protect it from the rain. My family and I, along with other beach goers, waited patiently for the rain to pass. We thought that surely this will go on for just a few more minutes and that we would all resume our activities as soon as the sun came back out. It did not. The rain kept getting worse and worse and the wind started picking up. Soon, tents and umbrellas were flying away, and everyone was scrambling to hold down their belongings in the pouring rain.
In the mass panic, I grabbed as many belongings as I could, including soaking towels and sandy flip flops which I was stuffing in my bag and draping on my shoulders all while trying to avoid being hit by flying objects (umbrellas, beach chairs, tables, etc.). The last thing I was thinking about was poor Eleanor. It wasn’t until my family and I all made it back safely to our hotel room that I started to take out my drenched belongings and assess the damage.
Surprisingly, my book had not gotten as much water and sand as some of my other things, but as you can see, it did not come out unscathed. Let this be a metaphor for anyone (I’m looking at you Eleanor Oliphant) who has been through tough times and survived. Yes, some of us go through much worse than a beach storm; so let us all try to be a Raymond in someone’s life. If you didn’t get this reference, go read the book. Now. Seriously.
