ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE (2017)

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

What an amazing, quirky character! Eleanor Oliphant is one of those isolated people who are considered odd by everyone. And yet, her take on the world is amusing and logical by her standards. Although she insists that she is fine, bits of the past emerge that are worrisome.

This book was chosen for Reese Witherspoon's book club and she is teaming with MGM to produce a movie version.

FIRST SENTENCE: "When people ask me what I do - taxi drivers, dental hygienists - I tell them I work in an office."

THE STORY: At the age of thirty, Eleanor has a mundane, gray, boring life. She was badly burned as a child in a traumatic event that has haunted her all her life. She still dreads talking to her abusive Mummy once a week.

But when Raymond, the IT guy from her office, befriends her, everything changes. 

QUOTES: "I feel sorry for beautiful people. Beauty, from the moment you possess it, is already slipping away, ephemeral."

"Being feminine apparently meant taking an eternity to do anything, and involved quite a bit of advance planning."

"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're rarely accurate. "Exhilarating" "Dazzling" "Hilarious". No."

WHAT I THOUGHT: Written in the first person, the reader is allowed into the world as Eleanor sees it as she navigates the possibility of a more than fine life. The ending is perfect but not what one might have been expected. Don't miss this wonderful book, another excellent pick by our Book Group!

BOTTOM LINE: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. I think everyone will love Eleanor.

Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher:  Penguin Books; Reprint edition (June 5, 2018)
ISBN-10: 0735220697
ISBN-13:  978-0735220690