Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine...What a let down

Title: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
Author: Gail Honeyman
ISBN: 978-0-0081-7211-4
Rating: 6/10
Genre: Fiction, England, Grief
Type: Paperback

"I have always enjoyed reading, but I've never been sure how to select the appropriate material. There are so many books in the world - how do you tell them apart? How do you know which one will match your tastes and interests? That's why I just pick the first book I see. There's no point in trying to choose. The covers are of very little help, because they always say only good things, and I've found out to my cost that they are rarely accurate. Exhilarating. Dazzling. Hilarious. No!"

I had such a hype for this book. A number of people I know had already read it and my mum was reading a copy of Eleanor Oliphant as the book from her book club. Once she had finished it she lent it to me. I was so disappointed with the book. The quality of the writing was great and I enjoyed the character descriptions, however, I did not like the story.

Eleanor is a character who has very much had a deprived upbringing. She and her mother have a very difficult relationship with each other. Eleanor is an unusual character. Although it is never confirmed I believe Eleanor is autistic. Something which is never discussed in the story. I feel this is something which could have been addressed as it would have brought more character description and made the reader feel more for Eleanor. I felt quite indifferent to Eleanor. She did not get much sympathy from me, to be honest. I know she is socially awkward but I just did not sympathise with her. If anything she irritated me. She irritated me because she wanted everyone to feel sorry for her because she was so socially awkward that she did not know how to function in life.

The only positive from the book I took was the relationships which developed for Eleanor. She does not have any friends at the beginning of the book and she is perfectly okay with this, thank you for asking! She unexpectedly starts to make friends with Raymond, a colleague who works in IT. Through her friendship with Ray, she realises she has to "tolerate" people. She needs Ray to help her understand society and social norms, especially when they meet Sammy Thom. A kind, gentle old man who has an accident. He badly injures himself and socially awkward Eleanor assumes he is a terrible person. I had no understanding of how someone can assume this about someone else. I know she has been raised with a horrible mother, I know she has had a difficult childhood, I know she has difficulty with understanding social cues but this was unnecessary I thought.

I was so disappointed with this book, my mum loved it, my friends loved it, every review I read loved it. It was voted Book of the Year. It was supposed to be hilarious. I didn't laugh once and I wish I had never started it. Sorry, but it was not for me. I felt the end of the story just didn't go anywhere. I felt like the author, yet again, got bored and couldn't be bothered to tie any loose ends up. I hate it when authors do this, so many authors have ruined good books this way.

That is not to say you won't love it. I know I have slated it and said I did not feel anything for Eleanor but so many people did. This is the great thing about writing a book review blog, I am entitled to my opinion and you are entitled to yours. So go, go read it, just don't say I didn't warn you that it wasn't very good (in my opinion). I will definitely not be waiting for the film to be released.

Overall, I would not personally recommend this but so many people do. Hopefully, you think differently to me.

Rating: 6/10
10-Word-Review: Not my cup of tea but others must like it.

I will be publishing more reviews shortly. I See You by Clare Mackintosh, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr and The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne are all books I have recently finished and are to be reviewed.