I really enjoyed the book, Eleanor's personality and social behaviors reminded me of Sheldon from the big bang theory, I thought the book would be more of a beach read, but Im delighted it wasnt.

Eleanor Oliphant isn't fine really. She lives in her own bubble; is lonely, socially awkward, lacking in self esteem and without a filter. Eleanor has been in and out of care since she was ten, after an abusive and neglectful childhood. She graduated university almost ten years ago, and since then has been working in the accounts department of a graphic design company. She has no friends. Her co workers view her as odd and make snidey remarks and laugh at her. Her life revolves around work, and then on a Friday night she treats herself to a frozen pizza from Tesco and a bottle or two of cheap vodka. Her social life is a Wednesday phone call with Mummy.

However, things seem to be on the up for Eleanor when she wins a ticket to a gig and decides the lead singer is the man for her. She decides she needs to reinvent herself - and there are some hilarious scenes where Eleanor goes for a wax and has her nails done. She accidentally leaves work one evening at the same time as Raymond, who has just started working in the I.T department. While they are walking along an older gentleman collapses on the street and the two call an ambulance. A lovely blossoming friendship ensues between Eleanor, Raymond and Sammy, with Eleanor being brought out of her monotonous life devoid of human contact and beginning to understand what friendship and kindness means.

This is a book that will stay with me for a long time. With extremely hyped books I tend to be disappointed; this is so not the case with this book. The quirky character of Eleanor just makes you want to reach out to her and show her that she is worthy of friendship, kindness and love. She's so vulnerable and socially inept because of her solitary life. The book takes you through a rainbow of emotions. From laughter, to anger at how she's treated, and then to joy and back to sadness and tears. Eleanor is such an original character, in some ways reminded me of Sheldon from the Big Bang - the lack of filter and the inappropriate inner and outer voice. The chapter where Eleanor went to the hairdressers and exclaimed "you have made me shiny", was so beautifully heartwarming.

This is probably a book that is quite telling of our times. We are surrounded by people and connected more than ever through social media, yet there are unknown numbers of people quietly going about their lives without any meaningful connections and living in almost isolation. Everyone is so caught up in their phones we tend not to notice much about the people who feature, however briefly, in our everyday interactions. There could be someone like Eleanor in your workplace, a neighbour, someone who you see walking their dog in the local park everyday..... Just a few friendly words, being kind or reaching out could make all the difference to someone's life. We tend to think of loneliness as something affecting elderly people. Yet younger generations are also greatly affected. Particularly those living in large cities where people tend to be more suspicious and wary of strangers. There are countless numbers of people who will just go from home to workplace to the shops and then home again. Then spend entire weekends without speaking to another soul. Their deepest connection and longest conversation may be with a check out assistant or a call centre worker.

Hopefully readers of this book will take heed of its message and be kind to people you meet, however briefly, and possibly be more willing to make more of an effort with people.
This is a book I will return to time and time again - to enjoy the laughs, the moving and emotive writing, the way Eleanor evolves and changes, and above all the utterly amazing characters. Gail Honeymoon has written an absolute blinder of a book and it's difficult to believe it's her debut. The story is incredibly touching and uplifting; Eleanor is an inspirational, original and loveable character everyone will take into their hearts and not be able to forget.

With many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, Harper Fiction and Gail Honeymoon for the opportunity to read this ARC in return for an honest and unbiased review.

This book had me hooked. Eleanor is an anti-hero who finds it difficult to fit in with society. She has an intriguing past history and I wanted to find out more about mummy. Eleanor makes friends with Raymond after helping an old man, Sammy. This book has lots of observations about the human psyche and is very funny. I have recommended this book to my friends. Loved it.

Eleanor Oliphant has been added to my list of characters who have made their mark on me. She is amazing, but very misunderstood. At the beginning of the book she is a creature of habit who is an extreme introvert, lets nobody in and is very judgmental of how others conduct themselves. She has a regular job as a finance clerk in a graphic design office but rarely mixes with her colleagues outside work. She knows what she likes and rarely deviates from it. The cryptic crossword in the daily paper is her biggest challenge and she enjoys a tot of vodka in the privacy of her own home. But while we are presented with this rather eccentric, extremely private individual we can tell there is far more to Eleanor than she is letting on. Things begin to change when she and Raymond the IT tech guy from her office come to the aid of and elderly man who has fallen in the street and requires medical help. She is forced into situations she would normally steer away from, both emotionally and socially, and eventually finds that she rather likes the idea of having Raymond as a friend.
Life takes a disturbing turn for Eleanor however when she decides that she needs to become more "normal" in order to catch the attention of a rather attractive singer. After a promising start her plan goes awry in rather spectacular fashion and she ends up having to confront her demons.
Little by little Eleanor opens up and begins to understand a lot more about herself which she had buried in the depths of her mind in order to protect herself throughout her adolescent years, and as a reader we discover what has made her who she is. There is a fairly small cast of characters but each of them has an important role in the telling of our leading lady's life, whether she realises it or not.
I loved Eleanor and her quirks from the first page to the last and would love to read more about her life. Please let there be a sequel!!

I loved this book. So much of Eleanor resounded with me, I was rooting for her all the way. The ending isn't a simple happy one but reaches into the future. Still, you know that Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, and that's all right for me.

Buy this book. Read it at your leisure! It’s just such a charming read!

Eleanor is more than a little bit quirky; she’s the oddball in the office. There’s a lot more to Eleanor though, and a lot of it even she can’t recall.

This gorgeously well-written book is just filled with superb words. That’s it in a nut-shell, really. There’s a little bit of everything in it and nothing felt put there for the sake of it. The characters – all of them – are so easy to love and relate to. Their relationships just show how kind (most) of us really are and how sometimes, the most unlikeliest of friendships and relationships form. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it an absolute 10 out of 10, actually. I couldn’t fault it.

There are not many books I have read this year that make me want to write a review and gush about how great they are minutes after finishing them. This book is one of them. Gail Honeyman has created a wonderful character in Eleanor who is a survivor although a very damaged individual. She has been bounced around the foster system ever since an incident involving her mother who it is implied was incarcerated when Eleanor was ten years old and she only has very sketchy memories of her childhood.

Eleanor is highly intelligent and she seems to enjoy her accounts job and is in many ways a model employee but after work she has her vodka, which suppresses any feelings she has. But she is not a normal young woman, she seems to be incredibly old fashioned, prim and proper and reminded me hugely of a teacher that I had at school (Miss Stothard if you are reading this, its you) who everybody assumed was around 50 but was half that age. She has no interest in cloths or her appearance apart from keeping herself clean and has no social graces at all, and all that is completely fine. All until she develops a crush on an attractive singer and it all starts crumbling.
This book is often hilarious, mainly in the ways that Eleanor's mind works and the things that she doesn't understand.
Eleanor is lonely, she comments that her kitchen table is a place where nobody else other than her has ever sat there. This changes when she encounters Raymond the office IT guy who becomes a friend.
Raymond, is such and unlikely hero, he smokes, is not particularly attractive, but he is friendly and unassuming and he loves his mum. He and Eleanor become pals and he is probably the only true friend that she has ever had. I think it is because he is so non-threatening that she lets him in.
The book is sectioned up into three parts, the first Good Days, the Second Bad days and the final section Better days.
The good days are when Eleanor is coping, managing work and maintaining the status quo, the Bad days are when she hits rock bottom and then a description of her recovery and Better days are the epilogue.
I noticed part way in that some of the characters names where taken straight out of Jane Eyre there is a Mr Brocklehurst, and Mr and Mrs Reed and a Miss Scratcherd and I wondered, especially at the time as it revealed that Eleanor is a frequent reader of that book if that had some deeper meaning.
I love the fact that this book is told in the first person and we discover what happened to Eleanor at the same time that she does more or less.
I am sure we have all met people like Eleanor, people with few social graces. Not all of them have dramatic histories but there is so much in this book that anybody can relate to. It is bittersweet, very funny and in the end life affirming and uplifting. If you like well developed and believable characters especially of people with huge flaws and history then this is a book you should read. You will love it.

I don't normally read books like this but it was offered to me as a 'read now' on Netgalley, so I thought I would give it a go.

I enjoyed it. I found Eleanor and all her quirks amusing. Some of the things she wasn't aware of seemed a bit unrealistic considering she had been to University but hey ho. I liked reading how she slowly came into the land of the living. I was happily reading away enjoying it but then two thirds through, it takes on a darker edge and I found myself wishing this didn't have to be so but it still kept me gripped. I didn't see one twist coming.

I liked her friend Raymond. I wished the book hadn't ended where it did, I would like to have read a bit more about her and Raymond.

I didn't realise this was a debut novel. After I finished reading it, I was surprised at the amount of negative reviews on GR but I can understand why some didn't like it but I didn't really take it as seriously as others have and just enjoyed it as a good read. It's obviously not going to be to everyones tastes but considering I normally read romance books, I find this one a refreshing change.

'Read Now' copy received via Netgalley.

I wish I had Eleanor Oliphant's extensive vocabulary to do justice to this book in my review. It is simultaneously heart breaking, hilarious and insightful. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Just as well I am on holiday at the moment because I put everything on hold while I read this book.It is the most wonderful piece of writing,best book I've read in ages.It is laugh out loud funny in bits and then made me cry soon after.The character of Eleanor is so well written that by the end I really cared about her and what happened to her.It's such a feel good book,and reminds us that people are more often kind than not,although there are awful things in Eleanor 's past which you only gradually learn about.
Wonderful-definitely recommended!

A gem of a book Touching,though provoking, Eleanor captures your heart and you are on her side from page one, willing her to change, be brave and live rather than survive Laughing out loud, one minute, stifting a lump your throat the next, I can't recommend this book too highly. An original voice, outstanding debut. Gail Honeyman goes straight on my 'author's to look out for list'

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, which manages to be both sad and funny. It very much reminded me of A Man Called Ove, which I also enjoyed. It is impossible not to feel for the main character and for you to hope she can find happiness.

I have just finished reading this straight after CJ Skuse's Sweetpea.

Both books are based on the consequences of a girl's traumatic childhood that is gradually revealed over the course of the book, and both are very funny a lot of the time and very well written and interesting but they are two very different books.

I'd downloaded Sweetpea some time ago and so had forgotten what it was about so I got a big shock very soon in. The whole book is outrageous and shocking, very violent and sexually explicit. Not my usual thing at all, but I kept reading because I wanted to see how it played out and I wasn't disappointed. A 4* read overall.

EOICF is brilliant. Very original and with some unexpected twists and turns and changes of mood. Although it is very funny it is desperately sad in places and had me in tears more than once. Uplifting in the end though and just superb. One of the best books I've read for a long time. I'd give it 6* out of 5 if I could

I would like to thank HarperCollins and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine’ by Gail Honeyman in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Miss Eleanor Oliphant is thirty, she works in an office, has no friends, and her life is ruled by routine. When Eleanor has problems with her computer she meets Raymond who works in the IT department and they become friends, something Eleanor was not expecting and has not experienced before.
Eleanor sees musician Jonnie Lomond and he becomes the object of her affection, but when she realises he isn’t what she expected her world collapses and she turns to drinking excessive amounts of vodka and coke.
‘Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine’ gave me an insight into the problems those with autism and manic depression deal with in their everyday lives. I enjoyed reading how Eleanor improves during her visits to Dr Maria Temple, how her sense of humour develops, and how she feels when her friendship with Raymond and his family progresses and she’s offered love and kindness.
At the end of the book I was left with a warm feeling, hopeful that Eleanor’s life is improving and that she’s becoming a much happier and fulfilled person.

Wow what a debut ! Once in a while a book comes along that completely blows you away, this for me is that book. This is my favourite book of 2017 so far and I doubt I will read one to overtake it. The writing is absolutely captivating. We follow Eleanor on her journey to not just live but to actually have a life and what a journey it is. Absolutely fantastic read.

Hands-down my favourite book of the year so far. I loved Eleanor’s many layers and her quirky character, the heart-wrenching unravelling of her back story and the wonderful friendships she forms in the course of the story. It is heartwarming and wise, bittersweet and hilariously funny -- truly a special book.

What a totally lovely read from start to finish, Eleanor is wonderful warm character and I loved her instantly, a very easy book to read, bit gutted I've finished it

One of those very rare books that changes a little piece of you, deep inside.
There's something not right about Eleanor Oliphant. Acutely socially awkward and friendless, her weekly conversations with "Mummy" hint at a terrible past. Gradually Eleanor's history is revealed, and with it, we see a changing Eleanor. The reader develops a huge emotional tie to Eleanor and we will her along every step of her journey. A quite remarkable and unique read.

I heard so much about this book I jumped at the chance to read it and I wasn't disappointed all though I am now emotional washed out! I wasn't prepared for this! An absolutely amazingly beautiful story

Beautifully written and heart-warmingly eloquent. Who couldn't fall for the odd but honest Eleanor.