CBR15 Bingo: Europe – The book is set in Glasgow, Scotland.
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is not a book I would have chosen for myself but it was selected by my book club. This has been a reoccurring theme since I joined. I’m glad to be gently pushed out of my comfort zone of almost exclusively reading fantasy, sci-fi, and romance. It is highly recommended by several Cannonballers so I was excited to start reading. However, not long after starting I began to question if I would even finish. Fortunately that quickly changed and I was wrapped up in the mystery that is Eleanor’s life.
Eleanor is an unpleasant person. Condescending to those around her and unwilling to engage with people because she just doesn’t care about any interests outside her limited own. She has impeccable manners and is revolted when not everyone keeps the same standard. Equipped with a robust vocabulary she seems to relish unleashing it on those who don’t. Eleanor has a set routine and never varies from it. She drags herself through the work week, has difficult conversations with her mother over the phone every Wednesday, and then drinks vodka steadily through the weekend until it’s time to start the weekly routine again on Monday. Friendless and seemingly completely alone in the world. Until two things happen: she sees a singer in a band that fits the mold of her ideal man and she assists an elderly man after an accident.
After winning tickets in a charity raffle, Eleanor feels obligated to attend a concert. At first it is tedium but then Johnnie Lomond comes on stage and he ignites feelings of love inside her. He is handsome, has a lovely voice, and dresses the way she feels a proper man should. This begins an obsession to learn more about him, make changes in herself to be the type of woman he would want to be with, and wistfully hope that fate will bring them together. The unhealthy delusion of him instantly falling in love with her has Eleanor behaving outside her norm and pushing her boundaries.
One afternoon leaving work, with the obnoxious, slobby IT guy, Raymond, walking along with her, they witness an elderly man faint and drop his shopping bags as he falls unconscious to the ground. Eleanor awkwardly cradles his head as Raymond calls for emergency services. When the ambulance arrives Raymond hops in to go with the man to the hospital and asks Eleanor to collect and keep the man’s shopping until he can reclaim it.
This creates an uncomfortable situation for Eleanor as she has to interact with Raymond regarding Sammy Thom (the elderly man). Going to the hospital with Raymond to visit Sammy sets in motion the slow friendship of Eleanor and Raymond. Eleanor doesn’t recognize it but she is badly in need of a friend. Despite their differences she begins to warm up to him. When she hits rock bottom, Eleanor begins to realize that she has a friend.
Eleanor’s mother is a challenging woman. At times tender but often vicious and verbally abusive. Through the weekly phone calls it is revealed that Eleanor has no information about her father. At a young age she was put into the foster system and her mother in prison. Now at the age of thirty, it’s a toxic relationship that Eleanor feels she can’t leave. As the book progresses, more and more of her awful past is unveiled and the mystery of Eleanor Oliphant comes to light. Eleanor has been suffering from the affects of child abuse and multiple traumas.
For the longest time Eleanor thought that because her basic needs, shelter, food, and clothes were taken care of she was completely fine. However, compounded trauma kept her in stasis. Fortunately events transpire to show Eleanor how important human connection is and there is more to life than merely existing. In order to thrive she needs to address and heal her trauma.
In the end, I found that I enjoyed the book. Honeyman’s writing had me engaged with the complexities of Eleanor. It is at times is funny, tragic, and occasionally tender. I recommend Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.
Content Warning: Child abuse, alcohol abuse, results of physical abuse discussed, attempted suicide.