An excellent choice for a book club read, as this book addresses many issues within current societies. Chief among them being loneliness, as it is not only isolating but debilitating to social engagement and connection.

I was initially worried that Eleanor’s unique and rigid view of etiquette and societal rules were the root of her isolation - but thankfully the author made her traits admired by others who became her close friends. There was other circumstances and mental repression that resulted in Eleanor shying away from casual interaction, even though when she pushed herself into everyday interaction it often had hilarious results.

Overall, it was a fascinating book and Eleanor was a character to truly admire and respect.

Such a strange book which followed the path of Eleanor Oliphant as she went about her normal, and not so normal everyday life. I think everyone could take something away from this book whether it be to look after yourself or that it's okay to be "different".

Besides the fact that this book had some great messages to take away from it, it also had a lot of twists and a few unexpected plot twists which turns the story on its head. I will definitely be recommending this bittersweet novel to my friends in the future.

This is the best book that I have read all year (out of 70+ books that I have read so far). All I want to say is that it deserves all of the stars. I love Eleanor Oliphant. She reminds me a lot of myself. This book is a firm favourite of mine and I recommend it to everyone!!!

Please find my complete review on the Narrative Muse website: http://www.narrativemuse.co/books/eleanor-oliphant-is-completely-fine/

This really reminded me of A MAN CALLED OVE by Fredrik Backman and I really enjoyed it :)

So many feelings!

Eleanor is a one of a kind protagonist and her wry observations had me chuckling away. The plotting is so perfectly precise and captivated me from the moment I began reading. As a reader this book takes you through the full spectrum of emotions. I cannot recommend this enough.

This is an outstanding book, especially from a debut author. I could not fault it and am finding it is one of those books I genuinely want to throw at people and means they read it!

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5-4★
Poignant, yet funny, Eleanor Oliphant’s story will touch many readers. Raised in many foster homes, she remembers “at each new school, I’d tried so hard, but something about me just didn’t fit. There was, it seemed, no Eleanor-shaped social hole for me to slot into.”

A good student, she never saw the point of school sports days.

”How they loved to wear those badges on their blazers the next day! As if a silver in the egg-and-spoon race was some sort of compensation for not understanding how to use an apostrophe.”

She recalls “I never managed to find anyone who could fit the spaces that had been created inside me.”

We meet Eleanor at thirty, at work. She prides herself on having been taught excellent manners by Mummy and on doing her work perfectly. Manners, yes. Social skills – not so much. But she has a wry sense of humour about what she does.

“I’m a finance clerk. I could be issuing invoices for anything, really: armaments, Rohypnol, coconuts.”

She won’t talk about her past (Mummy), and she won’t talk about an abusive boyfriend she had for a couple of years. We understand she seems plain and has scars on one side of her face. She wishes to
“. . . disappear into everywoman acceptability. I would not be stared at. The goal, ultimately, was successful camouflage as a human woman.
. . .
I aspire to average … I’ve been the focus of far too much attention in my time. Pass me over, move along please, nothing to see here.”

This was a girl probably not born with autism or Asperger’s or OCD but who had a Mummy who taught her to keep her mouth shut . . . or else.

“It’s quite frightening to think about the ideas that I may have absorbed from Mummy.”

So she shies away from revealing much, but she can’t help gushing to us about the lead singer of a local band on whom she’s developed an almighty schoolgirl crush, almost to the point of stalking. She can be quite poetic, when she wants to be.

“His eyes were light brown. They were light brown in the way that a rose is red, or that the sky is blue. They defined what it meant to be light brown.”

She’s been working in the same office for many years, has no friends and hates that she has to talk to Mummy every Wednesday (although she doesn’t know where Mummy is, and while we have our suspicions, we don’t really know either). Mummy's conversation continues to be critical and demanding--demanding that Eleanor learn to live with her shortcomings and lack worthlessness.

But Eleanor accidentally makes a friend, a nice guy and co-worker who urges her to help him rush to the aid of an old gent who’s collapsed in the street.

Much of this is a delightful story, albeit with dark undertones (wait till you hear Mummy). Her brave attempts to make herself an irresistible object of lust for her heartthrob singer are both funny (especially the waxing!) and earnest. She’s determined!

She self-medicates on weekends with Vodka, so she’s not all goodness and light, by any means. But Eleanor Oliphant is quite real, and while this isn’t an Ugly Duckling story, it is nice to watch her learn when to lower her standards and when to raise them.

I would have enjoyed this more Declan, the abusive boyfriend. We never really learn how he figured into her life or why, and I didn’t think the bit we did hear added much to the story. But I look forward to more from author Gail Honeyman.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the preview copy from which I’ve quote (so quotes may have changed).

I thoroughly loved this book. I wasn't expecting it to be so good! A great witty page turner about Eleanor and her dark past and uncomfortable present. Well worth the read!

Well, as it turns out, Eleanor really is completely fine, although how she manages to be fine is quite a story. Eleanor is odd, she is endearing, a woman of systems and very firm opinions on how everything should be. She works for an advertising agency doing the accounts, she has been there a long time, she eats the same food, sits in the same place at lunch, follows a rigid routine Suddenly it seems, Eleanor’s systems are being challenged, she is being made to feel that there might be other ways than hers which are worth considering.

As her story unfolds we discover that Eleanor’s childhood has coloured her life, that there are good reasons there are regular visits from social workers and why vodka is her comfort. I loved this book, I felt that Eleanor was a character who I’d never met and who I quickly became fond of. It races along and is really hard to put down. I found myself smiling at lots of Eleanor’s thoughts, I enjoyed her immensely.

Thanks so much to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me access to this marvellous book.

I have just finished reading a truly wonderful book and what a treat it was to escape into the world of Eleanor Oliphant. I don’t think I have read about such a fascinating character such as Eleanor. She is definitely an, “old soul” with her own routines, day in and day out, and as you read further into the book one find out why Eleanor is this way! I was happy that Eleanor met Raymond who was such a kind and generous “geek of a man” and the unique friendship they formed. This book was absolutely hysterical and I had many laugh out loud moments as well as tearing up moments. Gail certainly managed to capture your emotions during the read.

Its unbelievable to comprehend that this is Gail Honeyman’s debut novel! Her writing is flawless and engaging. I felt a bit sad when this book ended and perhaps Gail will surprise us and give us the next chapter in Eleanor and Raymond’s life? If not, I cannot wait to read more from Gail and I hope it is not too long to have to wait and escape into Gail’s hilarious and deeply emotional writing.

Thank you HarperCollins Publishers Australia and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book!

Thirty-year old (Miss) Eleanor Oliphant lives her life by a strict routine. Monday to Friday, her 8.30 to 5.30 job as an accounts clerk in a graphic design firm fills in her waking hours. On Wednesday night, a 15-minute phone call from “Mummy” will leave her exhausted and seeking the oblivion of sleep. And on Friday evening, there is a pizza from Tesco to look forward to, and vodka. Lots of vodka. Often she doesn’t see another human being from Friday night until going back to work on Monday, but Eleanor is fine with that, absolutely fine. She doesn’t really need anyone else in her life. After all, she has a house to clean, Polly the houseplant to water, and vodka to keep those dark doors in her mind firmly closed.

But Eleanor’s life is about to change when her computer at work breaks down and the IT guy drops into her office to fix it. Meet Raymond, a thirty-something scruffy man who just doesn’t get Eleanor’s hints that she really is not in the mood for chit-chat. Instead, annoyingly, he insists on walking to the bus stop with her, as if she was an ordinary person, not the office oddball people whisper about. When an elderly stranger collapses in front of them, Eleanor reluctantly helps Raymond take care of him. Against her better judgment, mind you. Little does she know that this one incident will change Eleanor’s life – and routine – forever.

I cannot adequately express how much I adored this book! It was love at first page! I laughed out loud, I shed some tears, and most of all, it left a warm fuzzy feeling with me all day as I heard Eleanor’s voice in my head (ok, that sounds a little bit crazy, but I mean that in a good way). Eleanor’s voice is the most refreshing thing I have read all year! A cross between A Man Called Ove and The Rosie Project, this damaged, judgmental and totally honest thirty-year-old woman wormed her way into my heart immediately, and I looked forward to every minute I could spare to keep reading. I started highlighting the passages that made me laugh out loud, or ponder life, or those where I would throw a punch into the air, exclaiming: Yes! Exactly! as the ever honest Eleanor states it just as it is. How often have I thought exactly the same thing, only for social convention to hold me back actually voicing it. It was so liberating! When I found that I was drowning in a sea of highlighted pages I realised how very, very much this book spoke to me.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is not all fun and games, though, as it explores the effects of childhood trauma and people’s reactions to those who may not quite fit societal norms.

“I’d tried so har, but something about me just didn’t fit. There was, it seemed, no Eleanor-shaped social hole for me to slot into.”

Step by step, we get to know Eleanor through her “good days”, “bad days” and “better days”. Bittersweet and deeply insightful, Honeyman has created a character so damaged that she has long given up hope of ever being loved – or being able to love.

“I was thirty years old, I realised, and I had never walked hand in hand with anyone. No one had ever rubbed my tired shoulders, or stroked my face. I imagined a man putting his arms around me and holding me close when I was tired or upset; the warmth of it, the weight of it.”

Eleanor’s journey of self-discovery is as touching as it is humorous – and there are indeed a lot of laugh-out-loud moments in this book.
“No, thank you,” I said. “I don’t want to accept a drink from you, because then I would be obliged to purchase one for you in return, and I’m afraid I’m simply not interested in spending two drinks’ worth of time with you.”

Warning: Eleanor’s honesty is infectious. As I found out when my fingers typed out an email stripped of the polite word-play that usually disguises the issue at hand in political correctness – I only just managed to wrench my index finger away from the ‘send” button in time. I guess my circle of friends and colleagues may not be ready for such an Eleanor Oliphant-esque moment of truth quite yet. But how liberating it may have been!

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine has definitely been one of my favourite reads this year and will make it on my all-time favourites list. I am indescribably grateful to the Goodreads community for recommending this gem of a story, as I probably would not have picked it up otherwise – and what a loss this would have been indeed. This book was everything I look for in a book: tender, touching, funny, quirky, heart-breaking, heart-warming, inspiring and just totally and utterly GOOD! Reading it felt like a warm hug by a good friend whilst pouring your heart out to them. This is apparently Gail Honeyman’s debut novel – amazing! I can’t wait to read more from this talented author in future!

Eleanor Oliphant had been working as an “office worker” since she was twenty one – her life prior to that was one of pain, confusion and despair. But her intelligence and regimented timetable meant her life was fine; she was completely fine. Eleanor was used to the stares and snide remarks from her office co-workers and just got on with her job. With her day set at an 8.30am start with an hour for lunch, which she ate over the newspaper and crosswords, finishing at 5.30pm the only variation to her evenings was her Wednesday night phone call to “Mummy” which usually lasted an excruciating fifteen minutes.

Until Eleanor met Raymond, a colleague who worked in IT. Her computer needed work – Raymond fixed it; they remained unlikely friends from then on. And with the two of them saving the elderly Sammy when he collapsed on the road in front of them, the three slowly changed each other’s lives. Eleanor found herself unusually content as she gradually let Raymond and Sammy into her heart; her meeting of Raymond’s mum and Sammy’s family crossed the lines she had set for herself – but it felt good. Would Eleanor continue to be completely fine?

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is the debut novel by Gail Honeyman, and it couldn’t be more different to anything I’ve ever read before! Eleanor is filled with weirdness; inept social skills and the ability to say exactly what she thinks without processing first. The introduction of Raymond and then Sammy – two people who are nothing like Eleanor – and the reader knows something out of the ordinary will follow! Amusing, heartwarming and completely fine, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is recommended (thanks to my GR friend for her recommendation as well)

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital copy to read and review.

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine. Fine. Fine. Fine. But there are things deep inside her that are not so fine.

Set in her ways and her routine, Eleanor has learned to get by and live life in the most minimalist way possible. No drama impedes on her daily life. She holds down a job, maintains her health and spends the weekends in a blissful vodka dream. Fine fine fine!

The book itself is chick lit, the writing is easy to read and you just know that there are going to be a lot of laughs and a lot of tears. While you wait for the hammer to fall, you will slowly fall a little in love wth Eleanor. Keep a packet of tissues in your pocket.

Thank you HarperCollins Publishers Australia and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is an absolutely delightful book to read. Very accomplished for a debut novel with such a charming main character. Eleanor Oliphant is an unusual character, lonely and isolated due to a loveless upbringing. Taken from her sociopathic mother after a traumatic event and placed in foster homes and then an orphanage, Eleanor has never learnt how to interact and relate to others. With ugly scarring on her face she has always felt the need to hide herself and not be see. At 21 she landed a job in a small graphic design company as a finance officer and has been there 9 years, eating the same lunch every day while she does the crossword, never making friends or being involved in the chatter of her colleagues. Weekends are the worst when she whiles away two days alone by drinking herself senseless with vodka. But all that changes when she and a colleague see an old man collapse in the road and go to his aid. Eleanor starts to become involved in the wider world, visiting the man in hospital, going to a bar for a drink, meeting her colleague for lunch and even going to a party. She even makes a friend in Raymond, her colleague from work. He is also a lovely character, not tall and handsome, but kind and caring and extremely patient.

Life starts to get a whole lot better for Eleanor until something goes wrong and her world comes crashing down again into a spiral of pain and depression. But Eleanor is made of tougher stuff than she realises and is ready to confront her past and her toxic mother and to let people into her life.

A really lovely, warm story about one of life's misfits. Ms Honeyman has captured her naivety and innocence brilliantly and there are some hilarious but also poignant moments as Eleanor tries to navigate a world that she has had little contact with and doesn't understand. Highly recommended!

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is one of those rare novels which are well written, smart, funny, but full of heart, without being sappy.

It was a joy to read. I loved everything about it, starting with the wonderful title, perfect cover and incredible writing and characters.

So do yourself a favour, read it! You'll love it.

Initially I thought this was going to be a piece of trivia writing and would be a pleasant way to spend a few hours on the weekend. The more I delved into the book and gave it some thought the more insightful it became. It wasn't depressing and wasn't a heavy read and yet embedded in this book was a depth that I hadn't expected. I thoroughly recommend it