Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

44 reviews

teslis's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I find it hard to decide on the rating of this book! 

In the beginning of the book I did not like the main character “Eleanor” but at the end I do like her! I think it was interesting, she has never really had friends and is therefore not used to unspoken things and manners. After listening and getting to know her I find her more likable and especially her friend Reman (don’t know his spelling).

I think I will give this one a 5 even though I’m not 100% sure. I think it’s better than the book I gave 4.5, but I’m not sure if I love it as much as the other I gave 5!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Alcohol, Death of parent, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Mental illness, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Bullying, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Medical content

bethanyt123's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I am glad I read this book, but I am also glad it’s over. It had a weird way of sucking me in, and I found myself thinking about Eleanor’s world the whole day at work. I couldn’t wait to get back to reading it, but somehow I also wanted to just be done with it. 

But at the same time, I am already planning to read it again in the coming years. I love Eleanor so much, (but she is highly irritating sometimes too). It’s a wonderful story written from Eleanor’s point of view - a delightful look into the brain of a complex, well-developed, beautiful character. It’s simultaneously a little mundane, and very rich. Nothing really exciting happens; yet the metamorphosis of Eleanor is tangible not just in the plot but in the language and writing style. As she transforms, the pages come alive with her strength and one can begin to feel every heartbeat of her story. 

It’s unique, beautiful, moving, and frustrating all at once in its mundaneness and simplicity. What an oddly shaped little gift it was.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Fire/Fire injury

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Raymond is the only good man

on a serious note, it was nice to see someone get better.

I took one of my hands in the other, tried to imagine what it would feel like if it was another person’s hand holding mine. There have been times when I felt that I might die of loneliness. People sometimes say they might die of boredom, that they’re dying for a cup of tea, but for me, dying of loneliness is not hyperbole. When I feel like that, my head drops and my shoulders slump and I ache, I physically ache, for human contact—I truly feel that I might tumble to the ground and pass away if someone doesn’t hold me, touch me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Abandonment, Child abuse, Alcohol, Suicide, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Grief, Self harm, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Body shaming, Confinement, Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Bullying

potassiumk's review against another edition

challenging emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

The only reason I finished this book was because I had to read it for school. It was so boring until a little more than half way. Then I finally started to care about Eleanor. Before that she was annoying for no reason. Atleast now she has a reason to be. 

Another thing is that somehow this woman knows nothing about modern society. Even the most tech deprived people I know, have phones and know what pop culture references are. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Stalking

Minor: Sexual assault and Terminal illness

captainnat's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Vomit and Child death

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

elle_arr_gee's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, and Mental illness

ar0deth's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit

ritzandglamour's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Heartbreaking, but leaves on a good note of hope. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Murder

Minor: Confinement and Death of parent

thestorydoer's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is an interesting and in depth character study which deals with themes of trauma and abuse (watch out for those content warnings).  I feel like this book requires a re-read for me to properly formulate my thoughts on this book but here are a few brief thoughts~~~

Narratively, this book is fantastic. Each plot point flows from one beat to the next with a steady pace throughout the novel which is an impressive feat. Each character with an ebb and flow of introduction is introduced at the exact right time. It has excellent climactic reveals and the dialogue is good. 

The character of Oliphant herself is utterly fantastic. An interesting character whose real world often intersects with her trauma in fascinating ways. There is an excellent emphasis on her social skills which walks the line on 'unsociable' people and how they can form a charisma in their own right. 

This is about as far as I can talk about this book without spoiling so here we go: 

The inclusion of Sammy is nothing short of excellent. When Eleanor is introduced to his family, it is also excellent in what this means to her. However, once Sammy dies, I couldn't help but feel the connection to that family was lost, especially once Eleanor's best friend Raymond loses interest in Laura. This is a shame, especially as Sammy as a character was also short lived, only included in four scenes I believe. I also don't understand the reason for Raymond losing interest in Laura, and I felt Sammy's family could've had a larger role to play in the novel. 

The idea to make Eleanor's mother a figment of her subconscious was also an interesting narrative choice but one I grew to accept. However, the idea of Eleanor having a sister is predictable. Roughly 200 pages predictable. However, this thought would need a reread because I can't distinguish whether this was intentional or not. That being said, the dialogue with the social worker is a masterclass in writing with missing information and had me fooled the first time around. 

There is also the classic issue with mental health. Her overcoming of her mental health issues leans slightly toward triumphant more than progressive. This, of course, begins to raise questions about the realism of the portrayal of her mental health issues which I feel I am not experienced enough to discuss.

I need to read this again so take this summary with a grain of salt.
Overall, an interesting and loveable character study which suffers from a couple pitfalls which hinder this book from greatness. 4/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, and Rape

tomnoor's review against another edition

5.0

So funny, so sweet, all while tackling extremely difficult topics. Not a light read but the characters kept me afloat. Will be looking to read more from this author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Mental illness, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, Rape, Death, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, and Body shaming