Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
By: Gail Honeyman
“There are scars on my heart, just as thick, as disfiguring as those on my face. I know they’re there. I hope some undamaged tissue remains, a patch through which love can come in and flow out. I hope.”
Eleanor Oliphant is fine. She has her job and her routine and she needs no one else.
Except she’s not.
“For me, dying of loneliness is not hyperbole. If someone asks you how you are, you are meant to say FINE. You are not meant to say that you cried yourself to sleep last night because you hadn’t spoken to another person for two consecutive days. FINE is what you say.”
For so long she has convinced herself that she is content with her life. That she is fine.
And then she has an unexpected encounter with Raymond, an IT guy from her office who comes to fix her computer. It’s a turning point. Little by little she starts to break her routine. She makes changes and concessions.
It’s a little chip in the dam that’s going to break and change Eleanor’s life for the better.
I really like the concept of this story. As the author intended to expose, loneliness is so much more prevalent than we realize. And then, after this book was written, Covid happened and loneliness ratcheted up a few notches. People were literally dying of loneliness.
We are humans created to be in community. To share each other’s joys and burdens. Face-to-face. We need physical touch.
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is a story that reminds us that we don’t have to be fine. And it’s okay to tell people that. We aren’t meant to do life alone. We need each other.
I really liked Eleanor’s character. She reminded me a little bit of Fern in The Good Sister— literal thinker, witty, and struggling to interpret social situations— mixed with animal-loving Kya from Where the Crawdads Sing who also must navigate relationships from an isolated place of feeling unlovable and damaged.
Here are a few of her gems:
“Animals, birds and insects can provide such useful insights. If I’m ever unsure as to the correct course of action, I’ll think, ‘What would a ferret do?’ or ‘How would a salamander respond to this situation?’”
“YMCA! Arms in the air, mimicking the letters— what a marvelous idea! Who knew the dancing could be so logical?”
“He wasn’t using a knife, but held a fork in his right hand like a child or an American.”
“There was no window, and a framed print on the wall ( a vase of roses, made using a computer by someone who was dead inside) was more offensive to the eye than a bare wall.”
[HELP ME with this one:] “People did seem to sing about umbrellas and fire starting and Emily Bronte novels…”[I get what the first two songs she’s referring to, but what is the Bronte novel song??? Someone please comment!]
Gail Honeyman did an excellent job writing Eleanor’s voice. Whether or not her character is a person we can picture in the real world is a different conversation, but within the story the voice was consistent and entertaining. Oh, and Gail, I very much appreciated your Oliphant in the room joke.
I’m glad I read this book. It’s been sitting on my shelf for awhile. But, as a rule, I tend to not read trendy books or ones with boring-looking covers.
But, other than the frequent f-words, I enjoyed this story.
There was a little mystery in it as to what happened in Eleanor’s childhood and what the deal is with her mother. There was humor. There was heartache. There is not *really* romance but a wider variety of social relationships that develop.
Eleanor is such an odd character that is somewhat of a puzzle we, as readers, are trying to figure out. We get to see her come out of her shell and experience what life is all about. We see her open herself up to others, which means she is opening herself up to pain and grief. But it means she’s also opening herself up to experience joy, adventure, and unconditional love.
“There must be some people for who difficult behavior wasn’t a reason to end their relationship with you. If they liked you, then, it seemed, they were prepared to maintain contact, even if you were sad, or upset, or behaving in a very challenging ways. This was something of a revelation.”
Apparently this book has been picked up by Reese Witherspoon to do a movie. I’m trying to picture how this would work and I’m intrigued but not convinced it can be pulled off.
For one, it was really hard for me to picture Eleanor as a young woman in her thirties. Not sure if it was the name, the vocabulary, the sentence structure or what. (Who do you think should be cast for her part?!) Speaking of vocabulary— there are a lot of big words in here. It fit her character. If you want to read another book that has a lot of big words done pretentiously instead of tastefully read Nick Offerman’s book Where the Deer and the Antelope Play.
Second, so much of the book happens in Eleanor’s head. It’s her thoughts and internal dialogue that often fills the chapters so I don’t know how that can be effectively done on screen.
If they do create a movie, I will most likely watch it and I will update my review with a short comparison!
This isn’t typically my go-to genre but I did enjoy the book. I would recommend it! I think a wide variety of people can appreciate this book and hopefully be inspired to make sure the people around them are actually fine.
My Obligatory Section of New UK Vocabulary:
jerkin: a short, closefitting jacket, often sleeveless, or a vest, of a kind worn by men in the 16th and 17th cent (This was Eleanor’s main coat and I’m still at a loss of what it looks like. I googled it and there is quite a selection. I guess we need that movie after all. Show us the jerkin!!)
brogues: decorative Oxford shoes
leaving do: party held in honor of someone leaving their job
Christmas cake: similar to a fruit cake
shopper: (Eleanor’s purse of choice) this is a shopping bag on wheels that looks a little like luggage. HERE is something similar if you want to buy one.
duffle coat: kind of like a pea coat but different material. This article will help you choose between the two.
comestibles: food
Biro: ballpoint pen
offy shuts: I COULDN’T FIND THE DEFINITION OF THIS! Someone please inform me. Unless it’s a bad word. Then let’s leave it a mystery.
bibelots: small objects of beauty or rarity
Seneca: I also couldn’t figure this one out. Eleanor says ‘Thank you, Seneca.’ kind of to herself and I was trying to figure out if Siri is called Seneca in the UK. Anyone have any insights? Or is it the UK equivalent of ‘Karen’ or ‘Felicia’?
treasury tags: items of stationary used to fasten papers together
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