Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor & Park

by Rainbow Rowell

'Reminded me not just what it's like to be young and in love, but what it's like to be young and in love with a book' John Green, author of The Fault in our Stars

Eleanor is the new girl in town, and she's never felt more alone. All mismatched clothes, mad red hair and chaotic home life, she couldn't stick out more if she tried.

Then she takes the seat on the bus next to Park. Quiet, careful and - in Eleanor's eyes - impossibly cool, Park's worked out that flying under the radar is the best way to get by.

Slowly, steadily, through late-night conversations and an ever-growing stack of mix tapes, Eleanor and Park fall in love. They fall in love the way you do the first time, when you're 16, and you have nothing and everything to lose.

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, Eleanor & Park is funny, sad, shocking and true - an exquisite nostalgia trip for anyone who has never forgotten their first love.

Reviewed by Joséphine on

2 of 5 stars

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Eleanor & Park was a bearable book made better as an audiobook. It wasn't challenging, though it still had a decent enough plot. Throughout the book I couldn't bring myself to care all that much about Eleanor or Park. I should've felt more for Eleanor, at least, because she wasn't only bullied in school but lived in an abusive household. Given all the bullying Eleanor endured for being overweight, I'm confused that Park didn't experience any overt racism. It was set in the 1980s after all, where ignorance about Asians was rampant in dominant white communities. This was addressed only very mildly with classmates referring to him as Chinese when his mother was actually Korean.

What's disappointing is that racism coloured the worldview of both the main characters. While it's understandable that Eleanor might've romanticised Park and his Asian ethnicity, it's strange that Park perpetuated these stereotypes as well, wearing them like a badge. I think this stems from the author's own perceptions which underscored some of the prose as well when it came to describing the characters.

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  • Started reading
  • 29 October, 2016: Finished reading
  • 29 October, 2016: Reviewed