Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

27 reviews

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

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

4.5

I picked this up as a buddy read with a friend.
"Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" follows Eleanor, a young woman who is striving to have a very okay life. Eleanor really struggles in most social situations, and she follows a pretty rigid routine, even on the weekends. But her life is completely fine, until she meets a new character: Raymond. Raymond's presence causes Eleanor to begin to question her life and Eleanor begins to wonder if there could be more to living than her monotonous, mundane day-to-day.
Eleanor is such a plain, ordinary character, but she captivated me in a way I cannot describe. I felt a kinship to Eleanor and her desire to lead a simple life, and I really enjoyed her commitment to a predictable routine. Eleanor being socially awkward and not being able to read people super well is also highly relatable. I wanted more for her and wanted to see her truly live her life, not just survive. I loved the balance Raymond brought to her life, and how, without really trying, he brought her out of her shell and showed her that there is more to life than what she thought, and that it is okay to live a more fully.
Eleanor's relationship with her mother is clearly toxic from the first interaction, but I did not see the direction that relationship was going until it was revealed. Eleanor's complicated relationship made her all the more relatable and I had even more empathy for her.
The writing style of this book really reminded me of Fredrik Backman, and Eleanor specifically reminded me of the main character in "Britt-Marie Was Here". The writing is very approachable, but engaging, and has a plainness to it that should not be misconstrued as boring.
I really enjoyed this novel, and I will definitely be keeping Gail Honeyman on my radar in the future. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

mjenae's review against another edition

hopeful reflective sad 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

The title makes this book seem a little like comedy—touching, but lighthearted.

It's… quite heavy. If you want an easy read, this isn't for you. But if you want a spectacular survival story with anguish enough to empty you out and bravery enough to fill you to the top, you've come to the right place.

Something the potential reader needs to understand: Eleanor has gone through intense, repeated trauma—physical and emotional abuse, the latter of which is still happening throughout the book. And that's just part of it. I thought at first she might have autism—and I don't know, maybe she does—because of her inability to pick up on social cues or read humor. But now I think at least some of that was due to her chaotic and unhealthy upbringing. To be fair, I haven't read a lot of books dealing with trauma so upfront and firsthand like this, but this seemed very heavy on the sorrow.

There's healing, too, though. There has to be. Go travel down that path with Eleanor. She's a fascinating character, and she meets a lot of interesting people on the way, people who pop out of the page and shove new perspectives into your hands. I hope you come away with something you didn't have before—hope, at the very least. I have.

I'd give it more stars if I could. Possibly the best book I've read so far this year.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Medical content, and Sexual harassment

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

geerbeer's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

5.0

In het begin dacht ik dat ik Eleanor verschrikkelijk zou vinden om zo lang over te lezen, maar nu ik het uit heb ben ik van haar gaan houden en mis ik haar nu al 🥲

Ook dacht ik in het begin; wat saai, waarom lees ik dit eigenlijk, maar al snel werd ik toch nieuwsgierig naar waar het boek naartoe wilde gaan en echt al mijn hoop werd beantwoord! Wat een lekkere 'ride' om te nemen, het verhaal in dit boek. Heerlijk ♥️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

All the content warning things are either used in a beautifull and thoughtfull way to tell an honest story ór they are redeemed at the end (like the fatphobia and bodyshaming)... to me it seems like the author is not a bad person / only using terrible things for shock value 😊

shayna14's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

m4rtt4's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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

4.25

I think this book should be primarily marketed as a trauma story, as it was quite dark rather than funny in my opinion. It made me smile as well, and those darker parts gave the story the depth it needed, but that's just because I do not have ptsd myself — please consider the trigger warnings carefully.

Since the story was such a slow-burning one, I wouldn't have minded had it been a bit longer as the ending felt a bit abrupt. And Eleanor really grew on me, it pains me to let her go :( <3 

The English audiobook narrator did an excellent job portraying the characters, I'd highly recommend the audio version over the text!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

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

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

a_l_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

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

2.5

+ parts of the storyline & characteristics were relatable for me personally

- the wrap text describes a mere slice of what the story is actually about
- sometimes the main character reads social cues perfecrly fine and somethimes she doesn’t get them at all. big inconsistency there.
- too long

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual violence, Vomit, and Stalking

abigailgrims's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Bullying, Vomit, Medical content, and Medical trauma