Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

This is another book that was not as simple as my predictions. The blurb discusses a woman who leads a simple, monotonous and empty 9-5 and compensates with a vodka fuelled weekend. From this, I assumed that this would be an ‘Animals’ esque, heavy drinking novel, with Lena Dunham style characterisation. I assumed that the protagonist would overcome her demons by finding something more meaningful in life (and in predictable fashion; a boyfriend to sew it all up nicely). A fraction of this assumption was correct, although it is more comparable to The Rosie Project than the sordid encounters of the beautiful people in Skins. However – charming Skins is not, and Eleanor Oliphant certainly does possess charm.

In opposition of being drug and party fuelled, Eleanor’s life is charged only by loneliness, and Honeyman creates the interesting angle of what it is like to be young and lonely, something seldom explored. Essentially, Eleanor witnesses the fall of an elderly man, and her assistance in the situation brings her closer to IT tech support colleague Raymond. Throughout the novel Eleanor attempts to transform herself in order to become the object of a musician’s affections, and as the novel progresses there is suggestion of parental and domestic abuse. It is testament to the writer’s ability that a single narrative with fairly sparse plot can be so engaging, and the unreliable narrator element consistently surprised me, compensating for predictability in other areas of plot.

Humour was derived from Eleanor’s “Sheldon Cooper” style social interactions – being a young woman in her early 30s with a shopper, or accidentally booking tickets for a heavy metal concert and wearing her sensible Marks and Spencer’s jerkin. However, the humour was necessary for me in order overcome the isolation Eleanor faced and her harrowing previous experiences. It is possible that I drew more sadness than other readers; as in places I saw her situation too bleak as to see the humour. Furthermore, the comedy was bordering contrived in places, such as her confusion over what a Hollywood wax was or thinking the lady at the counter was called Bobbi Brown. Nonetheless, to counter this, I found that the book improved as it went on, as Eleanor endeared herself to you, and I raced to the end of the novel. Conversely, there were strands of plot that took too long to unravel; only revealing in the last pages of Honeyman’s novel. Whilst this is a page propelling technique to a certain degree, it was also a little frustrating.

One element I believe the writer should potentially have been more careful with was creating an illusion of reality. For example, the titular character succeeds in receiving counselling appointments immediately when requested, and her alcoholism and depression seemingly evaporate overnight. Moreover, there were other unrealistic elements, such as Laura’s relationship with Raymond, Eleanor’s contradictory finances, Raymond’s failure to see Eleanor as an alcoholic, etc. Nevertheless, I do believe you have to read the novel to understand that this is all somewhat mitigated by the enchanting characterisation of Eleanor, and the creation of a dialogue concerning loneliness.

I believe if you were to read this book you would find the conclusion satisfying – it isn’t overly cliché or tightly sewn up – it is suggestive, yet ends in a way that a reader will be content with. Fundamentally, I can see why this debut novel has sold quite as many copies as it has. Eleanor’s character did grown on me over time, and it is evidence of a likeable character if the reader is willing on their development. However, it was not the gripping or hilarious page turner I expected. It is not something I will be raving to my friends about, (although I did discover the book from Instagram, as it is potentially the most instagrammed book of the year), but conversely I am keen for it to sit on my shelf and I want Eleanor’s little story to live on in a corner of my home.