Review - 'Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine' by Gail Honeyman

I feel like this book should be titled Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Rude.

Here I thought I was going to be reading a story about a lovable curmudgeon whose heart slowly thaws from the sweet people around her. But that's not Eleanor. Instead, she's mean, rude, and petty. In fact, she's dreadful in all the ways that would make a character unlikable. And since the story is written from her perspective, it was really hard to enjoy it.

We spend so much time in her head as she passes judgement on every single person crossing her way, commenting on their fashion styles, their looks, how they choose to spend their time, and so much more. She's also disparaging when people attempt to make conversations with her, but then she laments how she has no contact with anyone. She doesn't tip and is quick to blame others when she doesn't get the service she wants, even when she's the one who misunderstands.

She talks like she's the queen of holier-than-thou, with big words and obscure references. I understand she's well-read, but where could she possibly have picked up such a pompous style of conversation? And yet she doesn't understand the meaning of "pulled a late night" or how much to tip. I find it hard to believe that she hasn't come across that information in her readings, but she has come across Latin phrases and obscure references.

And herein lies the crux of the issue: Eleanor doesn't ring true to me as a person. She knows both a lot and very little about the same subject. When she talks about emotions and loneliness, she's surprisingly insightful, yet she doesn't realize that they apply to her. She judges alcoholics harshly, but doesn't make the connection to her own alcohol issue. She works in finance, but doesn't know the difference between laptops, desktops, and tablets. She falls for a guy based entirely on his looks, yet goes on about how she hopes he will love her for who she is.

This book does contain some touching and uplifting passages, mostly around Sammy, Raymond, and his mother. These supporting characters warm up their scenes with their sweetness and kind regard for Eleanor. And I found the mysteries around what happened to Eleanor during her younger years to be interesting, although I did see the smallish twist coming.

Since this story completely revolves around Eleanor, finding her character to be frustrating really hampered my ability to enjoy it. However, my experience is an outlier and so many others loved the character and the book, so please don't rule it out just based on my experience.

Readaroo Rating: 3 stars