a review: eleanor oliphant is completely fine by gail honeyman

*All reviews are spoiler-free unless otherwise specified*

“These days, loneliness is the new cancer—a shameful, embarrassing thing, brought upon yourself in some obscure way. A fearful, incurable thing, so horrifying that you dare not mention it; other people don’t want to hear the word spoken aloud for fear that they might too be afflicted, or that it might tempt fate into visiting a similar horror upon them.” - Gail Honeyman, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Eleanor Oliphant is a character unlike any other. She is introverted, witty, blunt, awkward, and unapologetically opinionated. She has lived a life filled with struggles and horrors one would hope never to endure, and yet she has survived. She always survives.

Gail Honeyman pens a powerful and astounding novel with Eleanor as the lead, exploring issues of loneliness, abuse, addiction, insecurity, friendship, and love. It is unlike any book I have read, completely honest in its depictions of such raw human emotion. It provides a glimpse into the life of an introverted woman, struggling to find peace with many events in her past and discovering what her place is in the world.

It's extremely rare to find a character such as Eleanor as the lead in a novel. In fact, I can only think of one other book off the top of my head that starred an introverted, awkward character and featured such detail into their personal thoughts and struggles. It is refreshing in its honesty.

I, like I'm sure many others have as well, related to this book on numerous different levels. For anyone like me who is quiet or struggles with social anxiety, Honeyman manages to write our exact thoughts down on paper--and they're alarmingly accurate. She explores societal expectations surrounding proper social behavior through Eleanor's interactions with others, particularly her coworkers, who find her quirks to be targets for ridicule. Loneliness and introvertedness are attributed as "weirdness" or "defects" rather than simply personality traits, and people like Eleanor are left to struggle through the judgements and criticisms thrown at them on a daily basis.

It isn't until Eleanor meets Raymond that she discovers what it is to have a true friend--one who will care for you and be there fore you even in your darkest moments. Their relationship is my first of two favorite parts of this novel, as it is entirely genuine and pure. They are, put quite simply in the words of Raymond, "pals," and the joining of their two journeys has a tremendous impact on both of their lives.

My second "favorite" part of this book was Eleanor's personal journey through the events of her past. I won't say much, so as to avoid any spoilers, but this character journey is powerful and touching in revealing the process of working through deep emotional trauma. Honeyman doesn't leave much to the imagination in writing this process, and I am so grateful for that. Many times, authors seem to "gloss-over" mental health, or rather they will write of it then sort of jump to the part where the character is already in recovery--not many get down and dirty with the details. I truly loved Honeyman's authenticity in depicting Eleanor's mind and coping skills through her struggles, when she hits rock bottom, and during her process of recovery.

There won't be a pros and cons list for this review, as I have far too many pros and very, very few cons. Really, the only thing I can think to list would be that the novel gets off to a bit of a slow start. It did take me a while to really get into the story (there is a lotof detail that you must chew through), but in the end I came to appreciate the lengthy descriptions of Eleanor's daily activities. It's lengthy for the very purpose for us to feel the monotony of her life, the day-in and day-out routine and loneliness. So, I guess I just talked myself out of my one con. ;)

I highly, highly recommend this book if you are looking for a vibrant story that is raw in emotion when dealing with mental health. It is fantastic from start to finish. I am only disappointed that it had to come to an end.

Rating: 5/5 stars