Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

On Monday, December 2nd, the Booked for the Day Book Group met to discuss, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman.  Here are some of the comments readers made during our discussion.

• Before we started to read the book we knew from the cover that Eleanor is NOT completely fine. We had some mixed reviews on this book. Most of the group really enjoyed the book but a few thought it was just okay.
• Some of the things we loved were the laugh out loud humor along with some pull on your heartstring moments. It reminded us of the book, A Man Called Ove and the Rosie Project. We laughed about her bikini wax experience and wondered how they would do that in the movie.
• We loved Raymond and enjoyed following his relationship with Eleanor. We thought he was a caring person and with his one simple act of kindness to Sammy, helped Eleanor come out of her shell.  We were glad that the author did not make it into a romance, even though the ending led us to believe that something could happen in the future. We liked Eleanor too, she was different, a little quirky, but endearing and we enjoyed reading how she finally evolved.
• The story had a mystery included even though a few knew from the beginning what was really happening.
• The major theme in this book was loneliness but the author also touched on some important topics; trauma, empathy, isolation, and the importance of finding a counselor.
• We thought the book was well-written and we liked the first person narrative, hearing it from Eleanor’s perspective.
• The author in her interview when asked about the epidemic of loneliness said she did not feel she was qualified to speak on it. The story evolved from reading a newspaper article on a woman who did not speak to anyone from the time she left work on Friday till Monday morning when she returned to work.
• A few people thought that the ending was rushed, that she would not have made a breakthrough that quickly. We wondered what the cause of her awakening was, the rock star or the feeling of family from Sammy and Raymond.
• Another member pointed out that this was a story not a study which is a great point to remember when reading fiction.

These are just a few things mentioned during the discussion. Please feel free to add any of your thoughts in the comment section.