Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

188 reviews

vulcajes's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad 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

3.0

Read it when I was in my early teens and I adored it. The way it handles trauma and child abuse was mind-blowin  to baby me. The relationship between Eleanor and Raymond is so cute. So is the cat. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty

olliebooks25's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Vomit

jolineliest's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

1.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Rape, and Abandonment

Minor: Body horror, Cancer, Confinement, and Cursing

hanapaz2's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Rape, and Vomit

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.  

---

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!

jldean729's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

Minor: Body shaming

flowersophia's review against another edition

emotional funny tense fast-paced

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

4.75

The unfolding of Eleanor’s background was perfect, Honeyman drops little pieces that don’t fall together literally until the very end. A lovable character voice with some neurodivergent representation and a unique (but realistic) perspective on trauma. And further, the journey of recovery. I also despise unnecessary romantic subplots, and this has the perfect balance of romantic implication without straying from the purpose of the main character. Hopefully the upcoming film does it justice. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, and Vomit

Minor: Bullying, Fatphobia, and Physical abuse

yelyahrose'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Vomit

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.  

---

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

abigailhaagen's review

dark hopeful inspiring lighthearted

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I felt a lot more called out by this book than I would have liked to be lol

But for real, this was such healing story. Really strong character voice, lots of wholesome moments, but also dealt with extremely heavy topics. Very good read.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Stalking

Minor: Animal cruelty and Cancer