You can’t help but love Eleanor Oliphant, despite all her eccentricities and her complete lack of social skills.

As you read you may feel the need to give Eleanor a little nudge when she says something rude, completely inappropriate or politically incorrect.

Then at times you just want embrace and comfort her, especially when she is interacting with her mother. Or in my case I would happily give her a mother a mouthful of abuse worthy of an aggravated sailor.

The reader follows Eleanor on her path of self-discovery, as she embraces the novelty and finer nuances of friendship, and interacting with people who actually care about her. After years of complete emotional isolation she starts to test the tepid waters of unknown situations, new relationships and finally she steps out of her shell.

She seems to be unable to halt her self-inflicted cycle of punishment and destruction when she is by herself. That is when the loneliness kicks in, and the vodka helps her to forget all those terrible memories she keeps hidden deep inside her.

I have to admit to drawing the stares of a room full of people when I was reading this book. Laughing out loud and chortling to yourself in your doctor’s waiting room is, in my humble opinion, a definitive sign you have picked a cracking read. This is actually quite a heart-rending read at times, so kudos to Honeyman for being able to infuse it with a very subtle layer of humour.

This is a story about the invisible people in our society. We live in an era of disinterest and lack of compassion. People like Eleanor are often swallowed whole by the shallow and cold attitudes they encounter on a day-to-day basis. Nobody cares what they have been through or has any desire to help them get through life with a little more ease.

This is the kind of read you pass on or recommend to others, because it’s a story, a lesson and it is also a reflection of the mirror of life nearly all of us try to avoid seeing. A poignant and yet in equal measures a heart-warming reading experience.
*Thank you to HarperCollins Uk and NetGalley for my copy of Eleanor Oliphant.*

I absolutely loved this book, you laugh and cry for this wonderfully weird and yet fascinating character as her story unfolds. Despite a very unhappy childhood, she has survived and we see her morph into a very loveable woman as she uncovers her past with the help of the one person who befriends her despite her determination to shun friends. Please read this.

Eleanor Oliphant is an unusual woman. She lives each day exactly the same, has the same routine each weekend and discovers she wants more out of life. She meets the new IT tech at the office and they help an elderly man. She now has two friends. As she chips away at the routine life she has lived suppressed memories start appearing. There is dry humor and wit in this story as well as heartache and optimism. This is the first book that Gail Honeyman has written and I hope it's one of many to come.

I knew as soon as I began reading this book that I was going to enjoy it. Narrated by Eleanor the words just flew off the page as if I was listening to someone right there in the room telling them to me. I loved going on this voyage of discovery with Eleanor, about who she is and is becoming.

Eleanor has built a life and a routine which begins to be broken down - eradicated, until unfortunately she doesn't know who she is anymore. One simple action and it begins to unfold so many avenues for Eleanor. For every laugh there was a moment of sorrow and for that you need to be prepared.

At first I thought Eleanor was much older than her 30 years, she has such mannerisms and ways which belie her youth. She certainly speaks as she finds, meaning no malice, but simply the truth as she sees it. Reminding me of someone on the Asperger's spectrum. If she needs help she just goes to who logically can provide it, putting herself completely in their hands, such as the ladies at the department store and their choice of new clothing for newly acquired social life. Many a time I gasped out loud at some of her nuances and turn of phrase, so entertaining and laugh out loud funny.

I did begin to guess some of Eleanor's past but only towards the end of the book. as she begins to reveal more of true self. I like the way the book ended, just a couple of loose ends. It is rare to read a book in which the voice is so completely of a character that I forgot I was reading a novel, but the author achieved just that for me.

I wonder if we will see more of Eleanor? I do hope so as I would love to catch up with her again some time.

I've thoroughly enjoyed this book and I am giving it 5 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley for a copy to review.

I was really happy when the publicist for Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine contacted me to ask if I’d like a review copy as I’d seen the book mentioned quite a lot on social media and was really keen to read it.

Eleanor Oliphant is a brilliant character. She is very stuck in her ways, and at first, seems quite abrasive. She is in her thirties but dresses and behaves like someone much older. Very soon it starts to become apparent that Eleanor has had a very difficult childhood and is just trying to cope with life as best she can. I felt like she was very enmeshed in how her mother had treated her when she was young and that she is talking in her mother’s voice and has adopted all her mother’s beliefs and attitudes to people and life. It broke my heart to see how much Eleanor, whilst maintaining that she was completely fine, was drinking vodka to get through the weekends on her own and the loneliness just emanated from her. I very quickly realised that Eleanor actually wasn’t okay and that she longs to have the same things that everyone else wants.

‘I have always taken great pride in managing life alone. I’m a sole survivor – I’m Eleanor Oliphant. I don’t need anyone else – there’s no big hole in my life, no missing part of my own particular puzzle. I’m a self-contained entity. That’s what I’ve always told myself at any rate’.

Eleanor’s loneliness really comes through when she goes to see a local band with one of her colleagues from work, and she immediately realises that the lead singer of this band is the man for her. Her attempts to get to know more about him make her seem very obsessive but I really believed that she just has never had anyone to learn from when it comes to meeting a potential partner. Eleanor has never even had a friend, she grew up in care and no one has ever shown her true kindness so how could she know how to approach making a friend or forming a relationship.

Eleanor does have such resilience in life though and I really admired how she didn’t let what people said about her get to her. She sometimes overhears colleagues laughing at her but she just takes it in her stride. It’s sad that she doesn’t seem to know that it doesn’t have to be that way, but also I really respect how she could just let things go. Eleanor’s thought processes as she finds her way through life are very amusing at times.

If I’m ever unsure as to the correct course of action, I’ll think, ‘What would a ferret do?’ or, ‘How would a salamander respond to this situation?’ Invariably, I find the right answer.

I loved seeing how Eleanor began to find her way in the world as she finds herself in a situation with another colleague, Raymond, when they end up helping an elderly man who falls in the street in front of them. Raymond is such a lovely man and seemed to see through Eleanor’s abrasiveness and he takes her under his wing. It was wonderful to see Eleanor beginning to understand how friendship works, and she starts to blossom. Eleanor’s manner in replying to a message from Raymond about going out for lunch shows how she is finding her way in this new situation of having a friend.

‘That would be fine. Thank you’. Daringly, I didn’t put my name, because I realised he’d know it was from me.



The book then moves on to the bad days where we start to find out what happened in Eleanor’s past to make her how she is. This section of the book was really hard to read because I’d formed such a soft spot for her so to find out what she had lived through was heartbreaking. Her problem with alcohol is also much more apparent as a real problem, and seeing the level of desperation and distress in Eleanor made me want to reach through the pages to try and help her.

Eleanor is a truly memorable character, she’s not someone I’ll forget in a hurry. This is a brilliant novel, I savoured every minute of reading it and it’s one I will keep and re-read in the future. I actually feel genuinely quite bereft at having to leave Eleanor behind now I’ve finished the book.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is a tender and moving look at loneliness, at how it is to be given a chance and what it is to find a friend having had a lifetime of just getting through the days. A beautiful novel that I highly recommend.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is out now!

I was sent a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

What a gem of a book, it made me have laugh out loud moments as well as making me sad. Simply loved it. Eleanor Oliphant has worked in a design studio doing the accounts since she left University.

She is used to being on her own since that thing happened which tore her family apart. She still however talks to Mummy once a week on the phone.

She never strays from her routine, same lunch, same dinners each week night and same bottles of Glen's vodka to see her through the weekend. She's social awkward and keeps herself to herself but a compelling character - several instances made me laugh out loud.

She finds a friend at work. Kind hearted Raymond who helps her to see the world in a different light. They spend a lot of time together after helping Sammy, an older man who fell in the street. It's a cracker of a book and I highly recommend it

Eleanor Oliphant is an uplifting, fantastic read. A gem. Gail Honeyman has created a truly brilliant character in Eleanor; an administrator in a design company, who keeps herself to herself, eats meal deals for lunch each day, downing two bottles of vodka to ease the ache of loneliness at weekends. This novel could easily have been titled the Mystery of Eleanor Oliphant, as Honeyman carefully reveals the layers of Eleanor’s life that have made her the lonely, distrustful, socially awkward person that she’s become. The strength of Honeyman’s character, of Eleanor’s voice, very much reminded me of Maud in Elizabeth is Missing – storytelling at its best. However, Eleanor wasn’t the only character I loved in this novel, I also found myself rooting for Eleanor’s single friend and supporter, Raymond. Everyone should have a Raymond to call upon in times of need. I was delighted to learn that Reese Witherspoon’s film production company plans on turning Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine into a movie. Having loved the book, I can’t wait to see the film. A cracking debut…

Title: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
Author: Gail Honeyman
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 18 May 2017
Genre: General fiction
Pages: 400

Eleanor Oliphant is firmly settled into her routine. She starts work at 8.30am, buys a newspaper and completes the crossword in her lunch break, heads home at 5.30pm on the dot and listens to The Archers over a simple one pot, one plate dinner each night. On Fridays, she breaks the daily routine with a visit to Tesco on her way home to buy a ready-made pizza and two bottles of vodka to see her through the weekend.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is a contender for my book of the year. A stunning debut, it explores loneliness, addiction and abuse. When Eleanor and Raymond, who works in the IT department, witness an elderly gentleman fall in the street, an unlikely friendship blossoms and the three rescue each other from the different kinds of loneliness, solitude and isolation they are experiencing.

Eleanor is an excellent character. Her voice is unique and memorable, quite unlike any other I’ve read in fiction, and she made me laugh out loud on several occasions. I love how she assumes that everyone else (especially the people in her office, who are more interested in gossip than accounts) is terrible at communication, despite the reality being that she comes across in a manner that puts others on edge.

It is really Raymond’s quiet empathy that I fell for though. I have so much respect for him.

Tender and touching, Eleanor’s story has been compared to Don Tillman’s in The Rosie Project. This is presumably because Eleanor appears to be on the autism spectrum (although this is never stated), but the tone is quite different.

A perfect blend of humour, heart and a touch of mystery surrounding her past, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is a compelling read. I have already pushed it onto my work book club and I will be recommending it to everyone I know!

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not sure what to say about this book? It's simply unique? We all need an Eleanor in our lives at some point- cold calling responses are hilarious and I'm going to use them to repeat offenders. It's an incredibly well written book that has stayed with me and perhaps will for really long time! This being a debut novel makes me sick- this author has so much talent I can't wait for the next! A funny, interesting, warm, unique and emotional book you'll remember for a long time! And if you don't 'I know where you live' hahaha

I’ve been taken by Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine from the moment I first came across it’s synopsis. It's a novel that has captured my complete and utter attention from it’s first page to it’s very last, and I can honestly say, I will miss Eleanor sorely now it’s over.

When we’re first introduced to Eleanor, it would be a fair statement to make in saying her life is nothing short of mundane. In a world of isolation, regimented routine and structure are a comfort to her. She is a very unique individual and it quickly transpires her behaviours reach far beyond the realm of being labelled “quirks”

A day that begins like any other is interrupted by an incident that would become an coming of age story for our Eleanor. I became her protector and her champion, and felt everyone of her emotions along her. Peeling back the layers revealed an astute woman with a devilish sense of humour, who like all of us wants to find her place in the world.

Gail Honeyman’s story telling and characterisation are at the very least sublime. Her ability to convey Eleanor and her experiences were at times simply breath taking. She quite literally brings to life the character of Eleanor Oliphant and I’m filled with absolute elation to have been lucky enough to have met her.

I really loved this book and its main character Eleanor Oliphant, who lives a very simple life with very few people and interactions in it.

Eleanor does not have any friends or family and does not appear to have the social skills to integrate happily with society. It is clear from the beginning that there has been some sort of major trauma in Eleanor’s life that has caused her to be this way. I almost suspected that Eleanor was on the autism spectrum such was her behavior.

As the story develops the reader becomes aware of how disturbed the thirty-year-old young woman is following a traumatic fire during her childhood and her steps towards uncovering and accepting what happened.

Eleanor finds an unlikely friend in a fellow work colleague Raymond who is kind and understanding of her. He helps her in her time of need and brings her out of herself helping her find her confidence in life. By the end of the book I found myself really rooting for the heroine to find happiness and to have people she can rely on.

An excellent read and great first novel by Gail Honeyman, I am looking forward to further novels from her in the future.

Eleanor is a creature of habit - she goes to work every day, does the same job that she has done all of her working life, eats the same meals all the time and every weekend buys herself two bottles of vodka to drink while she is not at work

When she wins a couple of tickets for a gig she gets someone from work to go with her, but the night changes her life - she is sure that the lead singer of the support band is her destiny! She realises that she has to change and sets about sorting out her appearance and tries to learn how to interact with other people - suddenly she is becoming a different person

I loved this story - Eleanor is obviously on the asbergers/autism scale and does not realise how she appears (or when not to say what she thinks!) but gradually she starts to learn and she blossoms and suddenly her life is changing....even though she has always thought there was nothing wrong with it......and people then respond to her

This is an outstanding first novel. It is funny, warm, sad and yet full of hope. I literally could not put this book down. Rarely does a character captivate as Eleanor Oliphant does. Hers is a story of heartbreak and neglect, a life spent trying to fit in. I laughed out loud throughout at misplaced timings and words, identifying with the awkward social situations and ridiculous demands society can place upon us. This will be an undoubted hit. It is raw and emotional and at the same time joyous, a rare find of a book.

I really enjoyed this book. It is different from any book I have read. Eleanor has so many problems. Her story is told in a sympathetic and sometimes humorous way. at the start of the book her behaviour is very similar to Aspergers. She has no friends and leads a very lonely life. Her life is totally different by the next of the book and that is wonderful to read.

I can't tell you enough how much I loved this book , I wasn't sure at first if I was going to enjoy it purely because of the first description of Eleanor but I was was very impressed as I progressed into the book I really felt for her deprived of all the things we take for granted in childhood and in adulthood and the terrible things that she had gone through and the mentality that she has , I loved all the characters in this book especially Raymond I loved his colourful language and humour and he is just the sort of friend I would love to have .
This book will have you in tears with laughter and sobs of tears with sadness.
Big fat 5 star read x

I absolutely loved this book. I loved the main character she was so sweet and quirky but very strange as well. She certainly made me laugh. This was entirely different from my normal kind of book but I'm so glad I read it.

Eleanor Oliphant is completely brilliant! This is far and away the best book I've read this year. I had assumed from the title that the story was going to be something along the lines of Bridget Jones, but the book cover with the burned out matches (on the UK version) intrigued me and I thought perhaps there was more to it - maybe a psychological suspense?

It turned out I was completely wrong about that too! There is no big 'twist you'll never see coming'; there are no big twists at all, just a very clever story, about an unusual and very interesting character, whose past history is revealed a tiny bit at a time. (Pay particular attention about halfway through). I'm not quite sure what genre to classify this as. It did remind me of We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, but I think that is more the style of writing; it's not really a psychological suspense.

The story is about Eleanor Oliphant who is nearly thirty years old. She's been in the same job since leaving university, has no ambition, and is happy to just keep doing the same things every day for the rest of her life. However, she has no friends - she has no social skills at all - and the kind of things the rest of us take for granted - smart phones, social media, etc - completely flummox her. The other clue that things are not quite right in her life, is that she drinks two bottles of vodka every weekend, and has developed a crush on a musician who she is convinced will fall madly in love with her once he realises she exists. And every Wednesday she speaks with her horrible mother, who completely tears her any self-confidence she has built up over the previous week to shreds. To me, she felt like a 1930s debutante who had suddenly been plonked into the 21st century and was completely clueless.

Of course, things can't carry on like this and one simple act of kindness will turn Eleanor's ordered life upside down.

The story is told from Eleanor's point of view and, as well as being absolutely hilarious (this is one of those books that actually does have lots of those 'laugh out loud' moments), is by turns sweet, funny, sad, quirky, poignant, touching, incredible lovely and completely wonderful. I loved it!

Eleanor Oliphant is a creature of habit. Aged thirty she is still working as an Accounts Assistant at the firm that she joined straight after her degree. She has the same meal deal for lunch every day and passes the time doing the Daily Telegraph crossword. She wears the same white blouse every day (she has five identical ones) and the same black velcro shoes. Every weekend she buys two litre bottles of vodka and drinks them to pass the time till she goes to work again.

Eleanor exists. She doesn't live. A figure of fun for all her work colleagues she tends to keep to herself. She isn't unhappy, it is just the life that she has carved out for herself. She knows that she is different. And its not just the scar tissue that covers one side of her face that marks her out. From when she buys the vodka on a Friday night she doesn't speak to anyone until she gets the bus to work on Monday morning.

Coaxed into an act of kindness by Raymond, the IT guy at work, Eleanor is suddenly thrust into a world of new people and new experiences. All of the carefully constructed walls that she has built around herself are under threat and she has to learn how to survive in this new world.

It is hard to believe that Eleanor Oliphant is the first book from Scottish author Gail Honeyman. Beautifully written, this book will tug at your heartstrings and force you to think about mental illness and how badly we judge people who suffer from it. It also has an element of a thriller about it as we discover why Eleanor isn't fine.

Eleanor is very well read, impeccably spoken and with very sophisticated food tastes. Despite her quirks she is a wonderfully human character and you just want to be her friend.

“A philosophical question: if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? And if a woman who's wholly alone occasionally talks to a pot plant, is she certifiable? I think that it is perfectly normal to talk to oneself occasionally. It's not as though I'm expecting a reply. I'm fully aware that Polly is a houseplant.”

I can't recommend this book highly enough. It really is one of the best stories that I've read all year. Moving and suspenseful, all in one white polyester and black velcro clad package.

Supplied by Net Galley and Harper Collins in exchange for an honest review.

UK Publication date: May 18 2017. 299 pages.