This was a recommendation from our book club, I would have otherwise not read this book and I would have done myself a disservice. Let’s begin at the title of this book,
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine”.
Doesn’t that sound a bit off to you? It surely sounded off to me, because guess what? She isn’t, Eleanor Oliphant is [not] Completely Fine, Gail. Eleanor, lives a very routine life, she goes to her job, is never late, never misses a day and drinks the same two bottles of vodka, and talks to her mother every Wednesday. Sounds right about fine hey? I think not.
This book ultimately looks at how one event, one person can change your whole life and perspective and at how life can change in a matter of seconds unknowingly. It addresses loneliness, identity, acceptance, depression, trauma, abuse and the issue of mental health in essence. Before Eleanor met Raymond, she believed she was completely fine, she did what she needed to do whilst she was alive. Eleanor was not living, she was merely surviving and taking each day as it came. It required external forces to tremble her reality and force her to get better.
A beautiful read on dealing with grief, and humanity in general.
Rating: 8/10