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silver_lining_in_a_book's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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.
This book has been a long-time coming. I was a little scared going into this because of all the high praise surrounding this book, but I shouldn't have been. I thought it was very well written, with an engaging plot and a lot of important messages to get across to the reader. I certainly had a couple of issues with how some things (the therapy, the SA, and the alcoholism to give just some examples) were handled and I found Eleanor's fatphobia (although in no way endorsed in the book) was somewhat difficult to read.
However, Eleanor was a very unique character and her charm really grew on me throughout the book. Despite the dark themes, Gail Honeyman's humour came across very well in my opinion and I loved the way she made me feel Eleanor's loneliness. If the trigger warnings do not look to overwhelming, I can definitely recommend this book to many of my close friends, it is one that is certainly worth the read!
Graphic: Physical abuse, Mental illness, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Drug abuse, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Death, Emotional abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence
Minor: Fatphobia and Body shaming
sophie42's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Death, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
Minor: Fatphobia
reading_racoon69's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It’s a very emotional cute book
Not a romance !! If you’re looking for romantic love this is not what you’re looking for it’s much more self discovery and friendships !
Not the type of book I usually read, some times a little too slow for me but either way very enjoyable :) totally fell in love with Elenor
Graphic: Alcoholism and Vomit
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
twitchywitchy314's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Sexual assault, Child death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Sexual violence, and Domestic abuse
lauraelovesbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Abandonment, Child abuse, War, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Fire/Fire injury
astrofeldy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Child death, and Mental illness
Moderate: Fatphobia
jennnw's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Fatphobia, Child death, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Fatphobia and Body shaming
I found the author's brief bit about fat people to be insensitive. The author lists forgiveable reasons/ailments why someone may be fat or overweight. In this the author, through the protagonist's point of view, makes a case for how fat doesn't inherently imply inferiority, but she fails to mention that fat does not inherently mean unhealthy.lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
4.5
"Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" follows Eleanor, a young woman who is striving to have a very okay life. Eleanor really struggles in most social situations, and she follows a pretty rigid routine, even on the weekends. But her life is completely fine, until she meets a new character: Raymond. Raymond's presence causes Eleanor to begin to question her life and Eleanor begins to wonder if there could be more to living than her monotonous, mundane day-to-day.
Eleanor is such a plain, ordinary character, but she captivated me in a way I cannot describe. I felt a kinship to Eleanor and her desire to lead a simple life, and I really enjoyed her commitment to a predictable routine. Eleanor being socially awkward and not being able to read people super well is also highly relatable. I wanted more for her and wanted to see her truly live her life, not just survive. I loved the balance Raymond brought to her life, and how, without really trying, he brought her out of her shell and showed her that there is more to life than what she thought, and that it is okay to live a more fully.
Eleanor's relationship with her mother is clearly toxic from the first interaction, but I did not see the direction that relationship was going until it was revealed. Eleanor's complicated relationship made her all the more relatable and I had even more empathy for her.
The writing style of this book really reminded me of Fredrik Backman, and Eleanor specifically reminded me of the main character in "Britt-Marie Was Here". The writing is very approachable, but engaging, and has a plainness to it that should not be misconstrued as boring.
I really enjoyed this novel, and I will definitely be keeping Gail Honeyman on my radar in the future.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Alcohol
Moderate: Death, Medical content, Death of parent, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
kathrynok's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Addiction, Child death, Medical content, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Death
peasandpancakes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Grief, and Alcohol
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Child death, Death, Child abuse, and Vomit
Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Stalking