A Little Saturday Morning Book Review: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

I'm gonna be honest, I initially wrote this book off as an "airport book." I thought it was the kind of book that moms buy at Hudson Booksellers and read the first few chapters of on the plane and then forget about, like many other mass market paperbacks. This is an example of me doing that thing that you're not supposed to do, you know, judging a book by it's cover (which is also the intention of book cover design, so I don't really understand the expression).

I am pleasantly surprised to report that I was wrong. I mean, it is kind of a mom book, and I did recommend it to my mom, but I also absolutely loved it. I have to remember to always trust Reese Witherspoon, she owns the rights to a lot of really amazing books. Anyway, the titular Eleanor Oliphant is a young woman who lives a life of carefully constructed routine. She struggles with social skills and developing close relationships. Due to a series of unusual events, she develops a friendship with Raymond, the IT guy in her office. Through out the book, she starts to open herself up more to friendship and starts to see that life has more to offer than what she's settled for. However, underneath it all, a repressed childhood trauma is bubbling to the surface and bound to emerge.

Gail Honeyman does an absolutely excellent job of writing Eleanor, from the first pages her voice and character are so clear. She is funny and kind-hearted and her story is going to stay with me for a very long time. I also am so impressed with how she handled unfolding the story of Eleanor's past. Some of it was predictable, which isn't a huge deal, but I was genuinely caught off guard by the final reveal of the whole truth. The book also candidly unpacks mental illness and why it might be difficult to seek treatment, as well as the rewards from doing the work to heal from trauma. Overall, it was just a really sweet story of friendship and growth. I loved it.

Content Warnings: Physical and emotional child abuse and sexual abuse and rape are all mentioned, but not described in detail. Mental illness and alcoholism are portrayed in detail.