Reviews tagging 'Schizophrenia/Psychosis '

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

39 reviews

rory_john14's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Stalking, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Cancer, Eating disorder, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Torture, Excrement, Abortion, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

katlinstirling_reads's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

I adored this book cover to cover, I knew I was going to love it even before I owned a copy. 

‘Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine’ and is an incredibly unique, wonderful and inspiring character. At thirty-years old, she lives her life by routine. She eats the same food, wears the same clothes, goes to work and lives her life by the clock. Oliphant has worked and lived in the same place for years, never having a day off or calling in sick. She doesn’t spend her time with colleagues and if she must she is home by the hour. With no friends or close relatives, Eleanor lives her life on her own. Everything changes when she and a work colleague help a fallen stranger and eleanor is then forced to over come her barriers in the most beautiful and captivating way. 

Thought-provoking, absolutely stunning, heartbreaking but deeply heart-warming. This book literally had me through everything emotion, I couldn’t stop thinking about it and deserves all the awards! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

keelymightread's review against another edition

dark emotional funny 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

4.5

SOOO GOOD

I loved how the story didn’t feel it needed to give a proper romantic ending, it made the story all the more memorable. It took back the authors power of making Eleanor’s story the focal point and going against convention

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Minor: Rape

ashley_turch's review against another edition

challenging dark funny reflective slow-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

Ok that was crazy actually

Slow start, but when we got to the “bad times” section, things really picked up. Left me feeling every feeling by the end. Such a unique refreshing book. I was set on it being a 4 star read but it just kept getting better closer to the end. I think I’ll be thinking about this one for awhile.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty

Animal cruelty is a very minor mention in a later chapter. Basically just one sentence to provide background of an animal. The animal is quickly shown after to be a happy gal!

aksmith92's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective 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

4.5

The Setup: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman tells the story of a socially awkward (and likely many mental health challenges peppered into her life) and profoundly lonely woman in her thirties. Eleanor lives in a strict, isolated routine - she goes to work, eats the same meals, and spends her weekends alone with vodka. The novel explores themes of loneliness, trauma, and the slow healing process as Eleanor starts to form meaningful connections.

Her relationship with Raymond, a kind and unassuming IT colleague, becomes central to her transformation. Through their friendship, Eleanor begins to break free from her emotional barriers and face the deep scars from her abusive childhood, particularly the manipulative influence of her mother.

Honeyman expertly balances humor with heartbreak in this story, making it relatable to everyday life. The novel is not just a character study of a lonely woman potentially battling mental health challenges but a testament to the power of human connection, kindness, and self-acceptance.

What I Loved: I loved everything in this book. It was a bit satirical while still capturing the real challenges of loneliness. That said, I don't think this was as funny to me as I thought it would be (based on reviews)—the book was heartbreaking in a way, especially about two-thirds of the way through. However, Honeyman still made Eleanor strong - very unique and individualized. Eleanor wasn't necessarily likable or even super relatable, but she was very Eleanor and had a wonderfully distinct and interesting voice in the novel.

I'm a firm believer in "people aren't medicine," and this novel skirted that line slightly. However, I ended up loving it because it showed that while it's super important to build the bridge to healing yourself, you can rarely get there without the help of others. Raymond was such an incredible friend—he wasn't perfect, yet he cared deeply for Eleanor and recognized that a respectful and friendly demeanor can go a long way toward helping someone. That relationship wasn't the novel's highlight, but it sure was well done.

I loved Eleanor most, which surprised me because, in the beginning, I was like, "Yikes, who is this?!" We saw her hit rock bottom and try to work her way out. We saw her grapple with getting out of her comfort zone and having a good time. We saw her grow, shrink, and stand tall again. While this book is heavily character-driven, without much plot, I felt invested in Eleanor's story.

What Could Have Made It a 5?! I almost decided to rate this a 5, but I decided against it at the last minute for only one reason: I felt the ending was rushed. And I mean more from a "plot" rather than a writing perspective. Without giving away spoilers, we see Eleanor go through a lot and trying to work herself out of her rock bottom. While it was great to see therapy involved and her working through some other issues, there was a slight plot twist and some grappling with that afterward that I felt was rushed. There wasn't enough time for Eleanor to sit with this, and she almost felt ~whatever~ about it, even though it's a huge deal. I only knocked off a half-star, though, because, in general, we, the readers, were supposed to understand that Eleanor was our narrator, and this was typically how she handled things thrown at her. 

Lastly—although I didn't take away stars for this—I guessed the slight plot twist, but only because I checked the trigger warnings for this novel. While that doesn't give it away, per se, it did plant the idea in my head. 

Overall, though, this book was so well done, and I'll be thinking about Ms. Eleanor Oliphant for quite some time in my life.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cursing, Self harm, Medical content, Stalking, and Gaslighting

Minor: Physical abuse and Vomit

clarissarh's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts

jenvogel80's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

This was not at all what I thought it was going to be but still enjoyed the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

kananineko's review

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Sexual harassment

phantomgecko's review against another edition

funny sad medium-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

3.0

A friend recommended this to me because she thought I'd think it was funny. Unfortunately, I suffered from too much secondhand embarrassment to be very amused.

This is a story about a very unwell woman. Who does outrageously inappropriate things because she is unwell.

Tbh, she turned out to be much more unwell than I originally assumed what with all the mommy issues and hallucinations etc etc

My greatest quibble is Eleanor purports to be very good at crosswords, particularly cryptic (the best kind) and yet she is lacking in so much pop culture knowledge that this cannot possibly be true. Even cryptics, which rely heavily on wordplay, necessitate a basic foundation of cultural knowledge. Like, girlie doesn't know who the Grinch is. She is not completing crosswords.

Otherwise, it is an interesting if uncomfortable novel.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

klsreads's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.5

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It was sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, often heartbreaking, and very tender. Eleanor felt like a real person to me. I loved seeing her grow in tandem with her relationships. The writing was gorgeous and accessible (minus some Big Words). Heartwarming, excellent, very sweet.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Vomit, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, and Murder