Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

LoveReading Says

Shortlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize 2018 | Category Winner for the Costa Book Awards 2017, First Novel Award | 

I could not solve the puzzle of me.

Another debut novel which was a huge hit and won multiple book of the year awards when it was published in 2017, this story of an isolated social misfit could not be more relevant than it is today, with nearly four million people in the UK suffering from chronic loneliness. That it could take such a potentially depressing  subject and make it into the funny and ultimately heartwarming book that launched the ‘up-lit’ trend in UK publishing is testimony to Honeyman’s writing.

Eleanor Oliphant’s regimented life is seemingly a simple one. Viewed as something of a weirdo by those who know her, she works all week, she goes home, she sees nobody. She drinks two bottles of vodka at the weekend and talks to her mother on the phone. Then she develops a fixation on the lead singer of a local band and things begin to change. Eleanor is an unreliable narrator, but this is not done in order to trick the reader. It is rather a reflection of the traumatic past that has shaped her life, that has left her with no connection to anyone and which is far too painful to acknowledge. 

Honeyman skilfully drip-feeds information until the truth about Eleanor’s childhood is revealed, but the reader’s journey towards that shocking revelation is one filled with warmth and wit, thanks to the central character’s distinctive and unique voice. Eleanor is hilarious, even if she doesn’t know it and there is plenty of comedy in her awkward interactions with others as she re-enters the world – the doctor, the shop assistant, the pizza delivery man. In fact, she rarely has an interaction that isn’t awkward. Her social ineptitude is hugely funny, even if we gradually come to learn that the reason for it is anything but. It’s an astonishing debut and we can only hope that Honeyman’s second novel isn’t too far away.

Guest Editor, Mark Billingham

It is the standard reply when people ask,  “How are you?” ....you say “I’m fine.” Well, Eleanor is most definitely not fine and has not been since she was 10 years old. Shifted from one foster home to another, she does eventually go to university where she ends up in an abusive relationship. On graduation she gets a job in the accounts department of a graphic designer and there she is when we meet her, aged 31 and desperately lonely. Eleanor is on the spectrum with her life overshadowed by some dreadful childhood tragedy which has left her face badly scarred. She keeps her head down at work and spends the weekends with two bottles of vodka. She speaks to her mother on the telephone on a Wednesday and dreads the call. We are uncertain as to whether her mother is in prison or an asylum. Life ticks by until her works’ computer needs attention and enter one geeky IT man. How he and others break down her barriers is beautifully done. Very slowly we learn more about Eleanor and her past. Very slowly a future develops but once the geek (Raymond) arrives the novel is by no means slow. It becomes a page-turning, compulsive read of great charm.

Sarah Broadhurst

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