Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

I don’t understand why so many regarded this book as ‘not for them’, or simply tried and then apparently lost interest and put it down. They’ve missed out, in my opinion. It is a read of such eloquence and style that it is hard to believe that it’s Gail Honeyman’s first stab at a novel.

Skillfully written, her perception, empathy and insight ensure that one cannot but fall in love with Eleanor Oliphant and become interested in the most mundane routines of her daily life. No wonder the book caused such a sensation with its rights sold out in the UK and Ireland.

Eleanor lives alone, works in an office and follows a strict self-imposed routine in order to ensure her daily survival. She wears the same clothes to work, eat the same lunch alone every day and has only the most limited of interaction with her fellow workers. She inevitably resorts to her same quirky habits to help her through the weekends during which she often speaks to no one. Her self-imposed protection wall is solid enough to prevent her colleagues – or anyone else for that matter – from getting to know her.

Written in first person, the reader becomes intimately involved with Eleanor’s unique thought processes and how she views the world. At times sad, often peculiar and frequently hilarious, she never resorts to self-pity and it is rewarding to share her experience as she encounters small gestures of kindness that help to melt the icy loneliness in which she has cocooned herself.

Hers is indeed an insightful journey to share – that of a young professional woman, handicapped by severe childhood trauma, who finds a way towards a more fulfilled life through kindness and friendship.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is a novel about loneliness and our need as humans for interaction, friendship and intimacy to define ourselves and to help us acquire the necessary social skills to navigate our way through life. A book that made me realise once again what the difference is between being alone and lonely (living in isolation within a community) and how even the smallest act of kindness can change a life.