Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

70 reviews

silver_lining_in_a_book's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

• 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! 

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Content Warnings

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

jennnw's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

A great story in many ways, but I felt it could do without two things. First,

the plot twist added very little to the story. Perhaps if it had been written differently, it may have worked better, but I honestly think the book may have been better without it. Written as it is, it feels like a cheap trick.

Secondly, I was shocked and disappointed by the brief bit about

fat shaming. The author states, through the protagonist's voice, reasons and ailments that may lead to someone being fat, implying that being fat is less than ideal or a fault to be corrected if medically possible. It is inaccurate and insensitive to portray fat as inherently being unhealthy.

The more I think on this last one, the more I'm disturbed by it and may adjust my rating.

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Content Warnings

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.

almaprincess66's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

3.5

I think this is what contemporary fiction is and I don't know how I feel about it. Ordenary people with ordenary things is my genre but I need some pizzaz that this book didn't have.

Overall it was fine. It had moments that made me smile but I didn't feel connected enough to her trauma. It wasn't too well established, which I get because that was the whole mistery of the plot. The ending plot twists felt a bit out of place tho. I did't get them.

Bonus points because Eleanor is so autistic coded. She is not which is a shame, but I'll pretend she was. Would explain a lot.

Extra bonus points for showing that a man and a woman can have a friendship without being in love with each other. Also that you can have friends even after your 20s. That was an important message.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Murder, Ableism, Death, and Cancer

Minor: Fatphobia

klsreads's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• 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

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It was sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, often heartbreaking, and very tender. Eleanor felt like a real person to me. I loved seeing her grow in tandem with her relationships. The writing was gorgeous and accessible (minus some Big Words). Heartwarming, excellent, very sweet.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Medical content, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Child death, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Vomit, Confinement, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, and Sexual assault

Minor: Murder, Forced institutionalization, Terminal illness, and Cancer

geerbeer's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

In het begin dacht ik dat ik Eleanor verschrikkelijk zou vinden om zo lang over te lezen, maar nu ik het uit heb ben ik van haar gaan houden en mis ik haar nu al 🥲

Ook dacht ik in het begin; wat saai, waarom lees ik dit eigenlijk, maar al snel werd ik toch nieuwsgierig naar waar het boek naartoe wilde gaan en echt al mijn hoop werd beantwoord! Wat een lekkere 'ride' om te nemen, het verhaal in dit boek. Heerlijk ♥️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, and Vomit

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Cursing, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Confinement, and Death of parent

All the content warning things are either used in a beautifull and thoughtfull way to tell an honest story ór they are redeemed at the end (like the fatphobia and bodyshaming)... to me it seems like the author is not a bad person / only using terrible things for shock value 😊

daniofthewood's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Body shaming, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Rape, and Vomit

lizziaha's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

3.25

I found Eleanor to be intensely unlikable at the beginning of the story, which is sort of the point, but it was hard for me to get over it. She is a little (a lot) oblivious to how the world works, and while this is funny and endearing at times, it also involved a lot of second hand embarrassment for me. This gets a bit better, once Raymond begins to teach her how to be human. Her character growth is immense, but I don’t know if the payoff was quite worth it. I did really enjoy the writing style, so I might have to check out something else by this author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Child death, Alcohol, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Ableism, Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Classism

tidals's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Lots of dry British humor. Guess I’ve been through a lot because I didn’t find her current state or her past particularly depressing; that’s life. If you’re quick to find things depressing don’t read this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Bullying, Body shaming, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Rape, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Vomit, and Toxic relationship

thetearex's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Sexual assault, Child death, Mental illness, Self harm, Death, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Murder, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Rape, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Adult/minor relationship

shayna14's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Alcohol, Classism, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Bullying, Body shaming, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Rape, Ableism, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault