Reviews

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman

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readitoryeetit's review against another edition

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emotional sad slow-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? Yes

4.0

huongdang's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense 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? No

2.0

I'm sad to say that this book wasn't it for me. I get that the book explores why a person is who they are from beginning to end. However, Eleanor Oliphant wasn't a likable character, and although I understand that being likable is not the point of the book, Eleanor being an unlikable character made the book a struggle to finish. Alas, it's over and done with.

geneviever's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

bellebookstitch666's review against another edition

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5.0

At first it was a little dull. The main character, Eleanor Oliphant, pretty much exists. She wakes up, goes to work, goes home and looks forward to the weekend where she can drink vodka and eat pizza and sleep until it's time to work. She has no friends or family that color her life other than her Mom who is in prison for some terrible crime. All of a sudden, she goes to a concert and develops a crush on a musician and become fixated on this idea that they are meant to be. As she makes plans to make this man hers, 2 more men pop into the picture. Raymond, the new IT guy at her office, who is her opposite and Sammy, an old man who change things for Raymond and Eleanor. I don't want to give out any spoilers so I'll move on.

At first, the book was slow and dull. Eleanor is an intelligent woman but socially clueless and makes some errors along the way. I almost quit reading it because she was frustrating and because I identified with her too much. I saw a lot of similarities between her and myself that I didn't like and was slightly upset over it. But, I wanted to see where it went and I'm glad I stuck with it. It is slow at the beginning but it warms up over time, much like in real life. There are parts where you'll chuckle at her misinterpretations of the world and parts where you'll cry or say "OMG!" There is a twist towards the end that you won't see coming.

I want to talk about it more but I don't want to spoil it for everyone. So if you haven't read it yet, give it a try.

caseymccully's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

4.0

carinahackman's review against another edition

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5.0

What a precious book and what a precious character. 10/10 ending.

lm_laeser's review against another edition

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5.0

"Eleanor Oliphant har det helt fint" er håndværksmæssigt den mest velskrevne skønlitterære roman, jeg endnu har læst. Ikke ment som at den er filosofisk, prangende eller finkulturel, som andre klassiskere. Tværtimod, er den så simpel, så meget hverdag, så menneskelig, at det er mere end beundringsværdigt, hvordan Gayle Folman formår alligevel at smide læseren igennem en nøje tilrettelagt spændingskurve.

Romanen tilbyder den muligvis mest unikke læseoplevelse, man kan forestille sig. Man kan ikke undgå at trække på smilebåndet, når Eleanor udfolder sine umiddelbare tanker om omverdens gøren og laden, der for hende er helt ude af takt. Som læser kender vi dog en anden kontekst, og den sociale verden mere indgående, hvilket gør det til en helt speciel læseoplevelse. Det er et så enestående indblik i en anden måde at se verden på, som vi alle kan have godt af at blive konfronteret med. Fordi umiddelbarheden får en til at holde af og føle ømhed for Eleanor, bliver det hjerteskærende, når man møder årsagen til hendes kvaler.

Gayle Forman formår altså i allerhøjeste grad at hive en, ikke igennem Eleanors følelsesliv, men igennem ens eget, når man bevidner hendes vilde karaktermæssige udvikling. Karakteren er så stærkt skrevet, at jeg ikke ser grund til også at komme ind på plot. For mig vil "Eleanor Oliphant har det helt fint" uomtvisteligt stå som den mest unikke fortællerstemme i nyere litteratur.