Book Review: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

Eleanor Oliphant is a loner who functions on an everyday routine where weekdays are spent at work and weekends are spent at home eating pizza, drinking vodka, and talking to her mummy. Her antisocial life changes when she and a new IT guy from her office save Sammy, a drunk unconscious old man on the sidewalk. Visiting Sammy in the hospital brings them closer. When Sammy wakes up, the three of them become friends and Eleanor’s normally “alone” weekends become weekends spent with new friends. Meanwhile, Eleanor is suffering from depression due to a traumatic experience. Her inner struggles finally come to its halt when Raymond convinces her to see a professional. With someone finally caring genuinely for Eleanor, she slowly sees a bigger picture of the world and starts opening her heart to people.

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman is an intelligently written psychological drama with lots of funny instances that had me laughing like a crazy woman. Her peculiar personality is very lovable. She has no filter when she speaks and her awkward interactions with people are amusing. I got hooked with this book not because of the story, the setting, or the other characters. It was Eleanor Oliphant’s character alone that was enough to keep me reading it.

I’m giving this 5 out of 5 stars. This book was supposed to be a sad story about depression, but Eleanor was just so entertaining. I recommend this book to ALL readers who love drama with humor.