This book is amazing. Eleanor is such a unique character, you will laugh at her and then with her & feel her deep pain. A brilliant debut. as i wrote Unique, Brilliant, funny, sad, can you tell I loved this book?? Eleanor Oliphant is FINE & everyone should read this book

A strongly drawn, well thought out main character and a tantalizingly slow reveal of the core mystery. Well done!

Wow! What a story!

Eleanor is 30 years old, lives by herself, and on the outside looking in has such a sad, lonely little life. It would appear that no one would care if she lives or dies. Her face is marked by mysterious scars, and she has a once-a-week by-phone relationship with her bizarre mother.

However, Eleanor's humdrum world is rocked one day when she falls in love ... to a man who doesn't know she exists. She begins a beauty routine - waxing (ouch!), hair, makeup - previously foreign to her, and strikes up a relationship with the new IT guy at work, her very first friend. Her life will never be the same, especially because the two of them save the life of a stranger and as a result Eleanor begins to break out of her shell and do things she's never done before, things that a lot of us would think are normal and everyday, things like going to concerts and having people over. Little by little Eleanor's tragic and cryptic past is revealed, and she learns to listen to her own voice and I think discovers how very brave she's been.

Eleanor's story is extremely touching (trigger warning for scenes of rape and abuse), and she's not a character you'll forget in a hurry. Several scenes made me snicker -- there are definitely some amusing bits. I loved how she liked to read - her favorite book is "Jane Eyre" - and she's very tender toward her new cat, which was an unexpected present one day.

Read. This. Book. -- there is so much you can take away from it. Highly recommended. Thank you, Netgalley!

This one grew on me as I read and also once I was finished and had time to think about it. I actually liked Raymond more than Eleanor and can see James Cordon playing him in the movie. (There should be a movie.)

Good for fans of The Rosie Project and also for book groups. If you like your protagonists more than slightly awkward and sad, this one is for you.

Good book, at times funny , at times poignant. A glimpse into a different mindset

Eleanor lives an ordered, solitary life--partly by choice but partly because she doesn't really fit in--neither at work nor in social situations. But when she and a coworker aid an elderly stranger who's had an accident, she slowly but surely works her way into her first friendships.

I absolutely loved this book from start to finish--it reminded me a bit of Man Called Ove and The Original Ginny Moon with a touch of Sybil thrown in. Highly recommended!

As the story begins, it is clear that Eleanor Oliphant is clearly not completely fine. Her life is almost devoid of human contact. She goes to work every day but keeps to herself and rarely interacts with her coworkers. She eats lunch with only a crossword puzzle for company and returns to her small apartment at the end of the day for an evening of solitude. She gets through weekends with the help of a couple of bottles of vodka. Once a week she speaks to her Mummy, but she gets no encouragement there. Then two unrelated events lead her to increased human interactions and her intentional life of solitude begins to unravel. Slowly, bits and pieces of Eleanor's tragic history come to light. But even though these are truly dark episodes, Eleanor's pithy observations and awkwardly executed social interactions keep the story from slipping into maudlin or over the top tragedy. In fact, readers will fall in love with Eleanor, who is funny, smart, innocent, deeply vulnerable, and who slowly transforms from a wooden, distant, sideline observer of humanity to an active participant. While the horrors of child abuse and neglect are important themes, it is Eleanor's incredible resilience and the power of simple kindnesses that triumph.

Eleanor Oliphant is fine. She has a job, an apartment, and a routine she follows to fill her days plus she has scars and a phone call from Mummy that she dreads each week. But one afternoon when she leaves work her routine is disturbed by a work mate, Raymond, and an old man that collapsed in front of them. After that everything changes, Raymond talks to her and she actually attends social events. But part of her life is not and if she wants to survive she has to figure out how to make it better. A story of survival and finding yourself and making your life your own.

Eleanor leads a simple life. She has a very simple routine which she follows religiously until she meets Roland and the day they help Sammy.

Oh, how I hated to leave Eleanor when this book was finished. While she was definitely a strange bird at first, until the day she was leaving her nest and beginning to fly. Her life with her simple routines held a huge secret and when you learn it, your jaw will definitely drop.

This was an awesome debut and Eleanor WILL grow on you. You won't want to leave her either.

Huge thanks to Penguin Group, Pamela Dorman Books and Net Galley for allowing me to read and review this wonderful and amazing debut.

When this book begins, you're going along like, oh, I see, Eleanor is one of those narrators who's a little offbeat, socially inept, maybe on the spectrum, but she'll learn just enough to have a cute romance or something, like in The Rosie Project. And then you realize Honeyman is sowing the seeds for a totally different kind of story--one that is a lot more heartbreaking and upsetting, but still a bit hopeful. I will just lay out a general content warning here, though the warned content is counterbalanced by some really nice examples of human kindness. Ah, this was really good, I think it is going to stick with me for a while. A/A-.

When I first started this book, I thought is was a bit odd, just like its main character Eleanor. I was not sure how the rest of the book would go. I kept reading and it just took off for me. I wound up giving this book 5 stars and I rarely do that.
Eleanor is this very quirky 30 year old that does not seem to fit in or know how to socialize with people. As you read the book, you later learn why she is so strange. One day something out of the ordinary happens to Eleanor and she is swept up into socializing. She is definitely out of her comfort zone, but along the way she learns that life can have its good days and bad days but relying on friendships will get you through.
I loved this book, the characters and how well written it was. Highly recommended. I received an ebook from the publisher in exchange for a review.

A fantastic read! I could not put this book down, for all the right reasons. Eleanor's biting wit and logical rationale for the way she is and the way she interacts with others is equal parts hysterical and heartbreaking. This title will be purchased for my library and recommended to my colleagues and friends alike.

The title, ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE, could also serve as its own review. Reclusive Eleanor works in a Glasgow office all week and spends her weekends with pizza, Chianti and vodka, staying not quite drunk, but not sober either until Monday rolls around again. Although almost thirty, Eleanor develops an adolescent crush on a local singer and decides to change her appearance, undergoing a hilarious bikini wax, a “Deluxe Pamper Manicure,” a makeover, a new hair style and new outfits and then starts to metamorphose on the inside as well after begrudgingly coming to the aid of a stranger who passes out on the street. Following a realization of the unworthiness of her crush and a flashback to her horrible childhood, she hits bottom and then seeks the help of a therapist and the friendship of Raymond, a co-worker as well as the companionship of a cat named Glen. She bravely confronts the truth about her abusive “Mummy” and the fate of her younger sister.

Can Life Be Better than Completely Fine?

Eleanor Oliphant has a life, and she thinks it’s fine. She works five days a week as a finance clerk, spends her weekends with pizza and vodka and calls from Mummy. Then her computer breaks down, and she meets Raymond, the unkempt IT guy at her office.

Eleanor has few social skills, she says exactly what she thinks which is often off-putting. Raymond sees through this and a friendship begins. When Raymond and Eleanor help Sammy, an elderly man who has collapsed on the sidewalk, the trio begins a friendship in which they all help each other. Raymond, knowing that something troubles Eleanor encourages her to get counseling. This changes Eleanor’s life as she reconnects with her childhood.

This book is filled with unusual characters that worm their way into your heart as they struggle with their lives and help each other. Eleanor’s character may be hard to follow at times if you have experienced depression. The author has done an excellent job of making her problems real. As she connects with her childhood, she finds that perhaps her existence wasn’t so completely fine after-all.

I highly recommend this book if you like characters who struggle with an overcome severe problems. I think you’re remember Eleanor, Raymond and Sammy for a long time.

I received this book from Penguin for this review.

*spoiler alert*

Subtle, funny, wry, and heartwarming...by the end I was cheering so loudly for Eleanor that I'm sure the neighbors heard me

Eleanor is quirky and lovable. Her story unfolds in pieces, and by the end you are rooting for this lovable curmudgeon. The story is original, funny, touching, and Eleanor's path out of her dark past is written with kindness and compassion. This is one to recommend, often!

The reader is aware from the first page that Eleanor Oliphant is completely not fine; she is a strange duck! But the story is so beautifully told; I looked forward to reading this book to see how Eleanor becomes completely fine.

4.5 stars!

I received a digital copy of this from NetGalley.

I expected quirky and weird (the good kind), but I didn't expect the sadness and the struggle with mental issues and overcoming one's past. All of these things, plus a decent dose of clever humor and some solid writing, combined to create a moving, memorable title. We never know what others may be struggling with internally, or how our simple gestures and kindness may change not only their day, but the course of their life.

Following Eleanor on her journey felt at times heart-wrenching and at other times uplifting, and it all just worked. I worried it might become smarmy, or gag me with excessive feelings, but Honeyman wove her words together in a way that only served to endear me to all of the characters.

The ending was a bit open-ended, though I'm fine with how things were left. One thing I find important to note is how many additional words this book caused me to add to my Kindle's vocabulary builder. Initially, I was pleased, and then intrigued. When I was still stumbling over a new word every other page a bit further in, I began to feel ignorant, and mildly irritated. Some of the words are, I suspect Scottish colloquialisms, and that's fine. Thankfully the new word barrage leveled out, and I finished feeling pleased and intrigued once again.

Worth a read!

I loved this book! I was rooting for quirky Eleanor to overcome her past and make a new life.

What an amazing book. Loved every minute of it. Eleanor learns through an act of kindness that there is more to life than just existing. Read this book!