Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine: Reese's Book Club (A Novel)
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick
“Beautifully written and incredibly funny, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is about the importance of friendship and human connection. I fell in love with Eleanor, an eccentric and regimented loner whose life beautifully unfolds after a chance encounter with a stranger; I think you will fall in love, too!” —Reese Witherspoon
No one’s ever told Eleanor that life should be better than fine.
Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy.
But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen on the sidewalk, the three become the kinds of friends who rescue one another from the lives of isolation they have each been living. And it is Raymond’s big heart that will ultimately help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one.
Soon to be a major motion picture produced by Reese Witherspoon, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is the smart, warm, and uplifting story of an out-of-the-ordinary heroine whose deadpan weirdness and unconscious wit make for an irresistible journey as she realizes. . .
The only way to survive is to open your heart.
A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick
“Beautifully written and incredibly funny, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is about the importance of friendship and human connection. I fell in love with Eleanor, an eccentric and regimented loner whose life beautifully unfolds after a chance encounter with a stranger; I think you will fall in love, too!” —Reese Witherspoon
No one’s ever told Eleanor that life should be better than fine.
Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy.
But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen on the sidewalk, the three become the kinds of friends who rescue one another from the lives of isolation they have each been living. And it is Raymond’s big heart that will ultimately help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one.
Soon to be a major motion picture produced by Reese Witherspoon, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is the smart, warm, and uplifting story of an out-of-the-ordinary heroine whose deadpan weirdness and unconscious wit make for an irresistible journey as she realizes. . .
The only way to survive is to open your heart.
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
thenextgoodbook.com
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
325 pages
What’s it about?
Elanor Oliphant is a thirty year-old office worker living a very small life in Scotland. She goes to the office each day and avoids any social interaction. On the weekends she looks forward to a Tesco pizza and a couple bottles of vodka. People find her odd and they are often disdainful of her- as she is puzzled by them. This all changes one day when she sees a random man and decides he is the one for her- he will change her life. This starts her on a path towards making some changes. At about the same time she is thrown into a relationship with the IT specialist at the office, Raymond. She and Raymond are walking out of the office together when they happen upon a gentleman in need of medical attention in the road. Sammy is his name and he is a big-hearted man who is grateful for their help. Eleanor, Raymond and Sammy soon become friends and these friendships will change Eleanor's life.
What did it make me think about?
Loneliness.
Should I read it?
I must admit that I was expecting a funny, light book. I was mistaken. Gail Honeyman has written a character in Eleanor Oliphant that makes laugh out loud observations- but this book is so much more. I loved this book! This novel tackles some really hard subjects. I would say it is every bit as sad as it is funny. Somehow, the author has managed a fine balance and given us a novel that makes you both laugh and cry. I will miss Eleanor and Raymond!
Quote-
"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."
If you liked this try-
Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny
The Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick
Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig
A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
325 pages
What’s it about?
Elanor Oliphant is a thirty year-old office worker living a very small life in Scotland. She goes to the office each day and avoids any social interaction. On the weekends she looks forward to a Tesco pizza and a couple bottles of vodka. People find her odd and they are often disdainful of her- as she is puzzled by them. This all changes one day when she sees a random man and decides he is the one for her- he will change her life. This starts her on a path towards making some changes. At about the same time she is thrown into a relationship with the IT specialist at the office, Raymond. She and Raymond are walking out of the office together when they happen upon a gentleman in need of medical attention in the road. Sammy is his name and he is a big-hearted man who is grateful for their help. Eleanor, Raymond and Sammy soon become friends and these friendships will change Eleanor's life.
What did it make me think about?
Loneliness.
Should I read it?
I must admit that I was expecting a funny, light book. I was mistaken. Gail Honeyman has written a character in Eleanor Oliphant that makes laugh out loud observations- but this book is so much more. I loved this book! This novel tackles some really hard subjects. I would say it is every bit as sad as it is funny. Somehow, the author has managed a fine balance and given us a novel that makes you both laugh and cry. I will miss Eleanor and Raymond!
Quote-
"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."
If you liked this try-
Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny
The Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick
Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig
A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman
As we come to the end of 2020 I was looking to read a novel that is funny and perhaps light hearted. This was definitely not it for me. I had thought Eleanor would be similar to Fredrick Backman’s Britt-Marie and she made me laugh out loud. Eleanor on the other hand seemed like such a sad character. I also guessed the plot twists before they happened. Perhaps having a background in social work took away from this novel. I know so many people loved it.
A very fine book
I know some of the background is a bit implausible, but I couldn't help but love this book, and Eleanor. You just feel so sad for her and want her to be happy and succeed in life. And somehow, even with the horrifying background, you'll find yourself laughing at some of the awkward, ridiculous situations Eleanor gets herself into.
I know some of the background is a bit implausible, but I couldn't help but love this book, and Eleanor. You just feel so sad for her and want her to be happy and succeed in life. And somehow, even with the horrifying background, you'll find yourself laughing at some of the awkward, ridiculous situations Eleanor gets herself into.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.