Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine

Can I just say how much a sucker I seem to be for books advertised on trains? This book and Cows have had adverts on my local train for the past few months and although I didn’t buy them straight away; when I finally found myself standing in front of the bookstand, I grabbed them straight away. So that’s some positive feedback for publishers – train adverts do work!!!

This was such a charming book – it made me smile, chuckle and also cry.
Eleanor likes routine: she likes to wear the same clothes, have the same food on Friday night, drink the same amount of wine and vodka a week and, talk to her mother every Wednesday. Except everything is about to change – she’s got a crush on a singer.

Eleanor realises she needs to ‘fit in’ to capture the attention of her crush and so we follow her transformation – hair, makeup, clothes and being spontaneous.

The way I’ve just described this book sounds like it might be a chick lit, it’s anything but. This is a story of enlightenment, friendship and freedom.

Eleanor is trapped by her past – the scars on her face are a physical reminder of what happened, but she refuses to remember; and her mother seems to become extremely aggressive on the phone whenever Eleanor suggests she should find out.

Along comes Raymond.

Eleanor has never been friendly with her work colleagues; hardly surprising, since they spend most of their time ‘taking the mick’ out of her… but Raymond is different. He seems generally interested in getting to know her. Their friendship was definitely my favourite aspect of the book, to see a man and a woman blossom so much from a platonic relationship was such a refreshing change. The acts of kindness that Raymond showed towards Eleanor – which in my mind saved her – were touching and inspiring. I like to think I’m a reasonably thoughtful person; I like to ‘check in’ with people when they’re not well and let them know that I’m there for them if they need me. But Raymond’s thoughtfulness astounded me – I wish I had a friend like him!

I loved the fact the book had a sense of suspense running through it and I was impressed by the twists.

This is one of those all-rounder books where it’s difficult to tie it down to a specific genre, it really did have a bit of everything and because of this, I’m not surprised it’s been picked up by a production company – I feel this would make a fantastic movie.

I thoroughly recommend this book to all – it leaves a lasting impression!

Until next time, Chloé x