She’s a survivor, she’s witty, and, against all odds, she’s got a fair bit of unextinguishable pride. If it sounds like a corny premise, trust me when I say this girl’s got grit. This is a warm account of one woman’s fight to let go of old hurts and insecurities and make room for self-acceptance and friends. To be clear, this isn’t a mystery about Eleanor’s dark past, although gradually, the truth of her frightful upbringing is revealed. It has subsequently sold to almost thirty. While Gail Honeyman was writing her debut novel, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, it was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize as a work in progress. When she’s forced to rescue an old man who’s collapsed outside the office, we realize that while Eleanor possesses the ability to let love in, heartbreakingly, she’s got some reason not to. An astonishing story that powerfully depicts the loneliness of life, and the simple power of a little kindness. And while her inability to get along with co-workers is definitely due to a lack of social graces (you’ll LOL at a few unwitting moments of rudeness), it also comes from her steadfast refusal to connect. Her weekend vodka-drinking seems excessive. Her plan to marry a local rock star in order to impress Mummy is just weird. Though I was instantly won over by her cheerful narration, it wasn’t long before I began to suspect that Eleanor is not as fine as she pretends. In fact, she’s 'completely fine.' Um, yeah, no. Sure, she doesn’t have friends, but in general, Eleanor is doing okay. Thirty years old, she’s a mid-level accountant whose life runs along several well-worn, if lonely, tracks: dinners for one, weekly calls with her spritely, acid-tongued 'Mummy,' and, most of all, taking pains to avoid humanity.

Did they wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Are they just clueless about how conversations work? Or could it be that their life experiences give them reason to be guarded, to be wary of giving other people even the tiniest of ins?Įleanor Oliphant falls-mostly-into the latter category. Ever meet one of those people who, for no clear reason, treats you like you’re not worth the time of day? I often wonder what their reason is for acting like that.

Eleanor oliphant is fine