Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine: Reese's Book Club: A Novel

by Gail Honeyman

#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. 

• ISBN10: 0735220697
• ISBN13: 9780735220690
• Publish Date: 5 June 2018 (first published 9 May 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Penguin USA
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780735220690

Reviews

[rohshey]

Buddy read with Anubelle (Babe, I think the world would fall apart the day you and I would love the same book)

This book is much like it's title. I wouldn’t call it great and it’s certainly not bad, it’s just fine. I know I’m on my own when I give it a ‘meh’ review (it’s been optioned for film and TV rights, has a killer Goodreads rating, Reese Witherspoon won’t shut up about it)

It’s the story of an idiosyncratic woman whose routine of work, vodka, packet pizza and avoiding human interaction defines her existence. After a chance encounter with a colleague where they save a guy’s life, Eleanor begins a metamorphosis which will either see her discover joy and meaning in life or return to the work, vodka, pizza, avoiding humans fate.

For all its shortcomings to win me over, there are things the book does well: Eleanor as a character is well-drawn and complex. It can be quite funny, and while the story is ultimately redemptive it puts a spotlight on mental illness and the role profound loneliness plays in it. I guess I never really invested myself fully in this story, perhaps because I found it unconvincing or maybe I’m a just cold hard bitch? Take your pick.

P.s. For thorough and insightful take on the book, read Anu's review