Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine: Debut Sunday Times Bestseller and Costa First Novel Book Award winner

Just like it says in the title of the book, Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine....well she thinks she is. She is honestly not worried that she may be missing out on anything. She is content with her life. Eleanor is a little bit....odd. She's very intelligent and well-spoken with impeccable grammar (thanks to Mummy) but she lacks the ability to filter what she says and therefore she will tell you exactly what she's thinking. This can lead to very awkward situations. Eleanor is comfortable with her routines. She's worked at the same job for nine years. She starts work at 8:30, at lunch she buys a newspaper which she reads from cover to cover and then does the crossword. She finishes out her day, leaving work at 5:30. Eleanor listens to the Archers as she makes a simple dinner (usually pasta and salad - one pan one plate), watches TV or reads for a little while then off to bed at ten. Her weekday routine only changes on Wednesday when she talks with "Mummy" for ten minutes. Weekends are a bit different. After work Friday she picks up pizza, wine and two big bottles of Vodka for the weekend. She drinks the vodka over the weekend.....in a state where she's neither drunk nor sober, waiting for Monday to come. No one comes over and she doesn't go anywhere to visit. She sometimes wonders if she's a figment of her own imagination. But she's fine with it. She's fine. There's nothing missing, she doesn't need anyone else. Well that was what she told herself. But then it happens... "He was light and heat. He blazed. Everything he came into contact with would be changed. I sat forward on my seat, edged closer. At last. I found him" Now Eleanor is on a mission. First she decides a make-over is in order....and where she starts is both shocking and hilarious. I really want to write about what happened but I think I would spoil a very funny moment for many readers. Things don't go exactly as planned. When her computer at work stops working she meets Raymond from IT. An easy-going guy, Raymond is intrigued by Eleanor, but she's just not interested. She's busy trying to re-create herself for the man of her dreams. But after work one day Eleanor and Raymond come across a man who has fallen on the sidewalk. Together they help the man, Sammy and so begins a friendship along with the start of many changes in Eleanor's life. The story is told from Eleanor's point of view. We go along for the ride as she navigates her way through her life, learning to stand up for herself. But it won't be easy. Secrets and memories that have been tucked away for many years can be painful to remember. When you have trouble with social skills I can see how it would be easier to refrain from situations where things could go wrong so fast..... It would be easier being alone. As I mentioned there are many funny moments throughout the book. I really like how the author wrote these parts. I never felt like I was laughing AT Eleanor but at the things she said or the situations she ended up in. However, there are also many sad and painful moments. Times where I felt terrible for Eleanor. Some of the funniest parts came out of nowhere - the phone doesn't ring often but if telemarketers call Eleanor whispers "I know where you live" and hangs up. Often it was what she would be saying to herself that was funny. An incredible read that had me bouncing from one emotion to the next. The author did a tremendous job bringing these wonderfully unique characters to life. It's hard to believe this is the author's debut novel. There are so many words that can be used to describe this novel - hilarious , unique, heartwarming, heartbreaking, charming, hopeful, inspiring, and COMPLETELY unforgettable.

An outstanding debut by Gail Honeyman. There is something about this book which makes you feel deeply. It’s an easy, touching and engaging read. Eleanor Oliphant, a 30-year female is a survivor. She works in an office, follows a set routine for weekdays and weekend too. Monday to Friday she is on time for her work, has lunch alone and reads the newspaper and solves crosswords. Friday’s she buys Margherita pizza, wine and vodka. The booze spreads through the weekend so that she is neither drunk nor sober. She is well-read and well mannered but doesn’t seem to fit in this society. She is lonely in this world and many situations expressed by the author from her viewpoint moves you deeply. Like she doesn’t speak from the point at which she says her destination to the bus driver on Friday night, right through until she greets his colleague on Monday morning. We are busy with our lives that we don’t realize that such people do exist. We may think, but such people do indeed exist. She thoroughly researches all activities before pursuing them. She is neither close to someone nor she hangs out socially. The author has wonderfully described her first experiences of many things like bikini wax, manicure, fast food restaurant, getting shampooed, dancing etc. Her relationship with Raymond (nothing romantic here) has been beautifully described. Eleanor meets new people and feels the warmth around them. It’s overwhelming but pleasant for her. As she doesn’t hang around with people she is completely natural (not diplomatic), sometimes weird and deadly honest. Her thoughts are sometimes humorous and sometimes silly. She thinks Bobbi Brown is a female, who works at the store. It’s moving how things that are considered normal doesn’t cross someone’s mind e.g. job change, moving to another city, etc. Eleanor had never walked hand in hand with someone; no one had ever rubbed her tired shoulders or stroked her face. There are times when she felt she would die of loneliness. A paragraph I would like to quote, “ 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.” Read this page-turning book to find out more about Eleanor and life from an angle of a person who is in loneliness. For me this book is unforgettable, unmissable, powerful, deeply moving with perfect combination of humor and sadness. I would rate this book 4.5/5. Happy reading!

beautifully written read with unexpected layers. Eleanor’s dry, quirky humour keeps you smiling throughout, and just when you settle into her routine, the story takes a twist you truly don’t see coming. A touching mix of wit, warmth and surprise — absolutely worth reading.

Eleanor is a 30-year-old who works in an office Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. Rarely anyone asks what she does in the office. But in the self-narrated story, Eleanor tells us she works as a financial clerk in an IT firm. She lives alone has since she was 17 in an apartment provided by social services and furniture from the charity. She makes herself pasta every night and on Friday she buys a Tesco pizza and two bottles of vodka, not uttering a single word for two days. She talks to Mummy every Wednesday night and she is completely fine. You’d say that she might feel lonely from time to time but it’s something she doesn’t know even exists because she never had company. “Some people, weak people, fear solitude. What they fail to understand is that you don’t need anyone, you can take care of yourself.” One fine day Eleanor finds her computer is not working so she calls up the IT guy, Raymond. Raymond is not someone she can like. He doesn’t fit her definition of proper man as provided by Mummy besides she has already found a proper man. He is a musician. Eleanor develops a middle school crush on the musician leading to changes in her physical appearance. On the other hand, her interactions with Raymond increase after they save an old man on the street. A new world opens to Eleanor, one she didn’t know existed. She made choices she didn’t know were there. It is funny and sad when Eleanor describes day to day things in a new perspective. And Eleanor is hilarious. This is how she describes her mug “I purchased it in a charity shop some years ago, and it has a photograph of a moon-faced man. He is wearing a brown leather blouson. Along the top, in the strange yellow font, it says ‘Top Gear’. I don’t profess to understand this mug. It holds the perfect amount of vodka, however, thereby obviating the need for frequent refills.” But what’s the reason for Eleanor’s utter loneliness? Why doesn’t she use a phone or talk to anyone? What happened to her that she has a scar on her face? Why is Mummy so rude to her? A set of changes forces Eleanor to face her past, the one she didn’t want to remember. The past she removed from her memory. Maybe change is better than fine. My Review Well, Eleanor’s vocabulary is awesome, and she treats herself like royalty. Which made me think our world is what we want it to be. The way she carries herself makes it evident that it’s easy to exist, but it takes an effort to live. Her loneliness and lack of emotions touched a nerve. Raymond is such a kindred spirit. While reading I was so afraid that maybe now Raymond will walk out and leave Eleanor alone. It’s a feel-good book. Makes you believe that there are still good people out there. And once you start running for the bus the universe provides. What I didn’t like how the author doesn’t go into the detail of Eleanor’s past. But maybe it’s just me. “In the end, what matters is this: I survived.”

The book was in mint condition . This book has become my best read novel in 2025 . it is so funny witty and thoughtful that we sometimes feel like we are watching an enthralling series like Fleabag

Disclaimer - This book can turned out very unappealing at times but if you stick upto end then it can bring surprises for you In starting I almost felt like Eleanor is mad girl I mean who lives like that she has routine pack for whole week she was doing same thing from last 9 years In morning she goes to work , at work in lunchtime she does crossword and back at home in evening She make dinner mostly it's pasta On weekends she buys vodka , watch a tv program and waits for Monday Things started to change when she started hang out with a IT guy from her work place named Raymond and initially she develop crush on a local musician But her realization that it's all her delusional thinking about him made her totally miserable And At last Raymond convince her to meet a therapist , there she comes to know she has clinical depression How her childhood trauma, physical assualt and sabotage loss of loved one caused her menatal harm so deep I liked Eleanor so much She is complete in herself Always on her own , Frank enough to not waste money , ask for her rights, She don't know about human affection, care and love How to love someone or being loved by someone She accepted her trauma , willing to go for cure , it wasn't easy for her literally it was hell of the session she had to go through with her therapist But I salute to Dr. Maria Temple ( her therapist ) how wonderfully she managed to bring everything on Eleanor's plate one by one ..! Now , I must say Gail has masterfully weaved this story , she has written beautiful characters in this book , she also made it clear we should not take someone trauma lightly This book heartwarming , full of lovely words always after few pages which make it relates in our daily basis life..! We need more such stories on front , we need to such friends like Raymond who can look after in hardship , we need to understand someone certain behaviour can have some deep down buried past .. Rec - Read this book , if you have patience to understand evry layer of some silent , underdog persona , I must say don't read this book in haste You will miss it's originality

Initially I thought this novel was about a 30 year old woman who feels lost in life. But every now and then a little tidbit about Eleanor's past would be revealed. Like, she has a scar on her face, she has never owned a cell phone, and her unusual relationship with her mother. So there was a lot more to the plot than I first realized. The book is somehow both relatable and suspenseful... and a must read for fans of all genres!

While the novel describes loneliness, depression in very detail and vividly, the suspense here a different stance altogether. As a reader I wasn’t expecting it and hence was taken aback at that page specifically. The book does get depressing for the most time but I love that this book will make people uncomfortable and also let them acknowledge some of the similar patterns in life.