Friday, July 27, 2018

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Warning:  Spoiler alert near the end of this post:

A week or so ago I found myself in an airport without having packed reading material, so I picked up this compelling novel on the fly (literally!).  I give it five stars for beautiful writing, an unforgettable main character and a plot that was not frenetically paced, yet I couldn't put it down.

Eleanor Oliphant is one of the quirkiest characters I've ever encountered.  Often the stories we find most compelling are those in which we identify with a character, and aren't we all a bit quirky?  Turns out Eleanor is more than quirky.  She isn't just sarcastically funny; a traumatic childhood has made her a  judgmental misanthrope.  She has convinced herself that she is just FINE with her lonely, insulated life, boring job, and vodka best friend.

As the story progresses, she reluctantly is drawn into several warm relationships despite her resistance.  These relationships change her.   At the same time, events force her to look inward to the reasons she is the way she is.  It is painful for her; painful to read, but a welcome turning point in her life.  It's been a long time since a book brought me to tears; this one did.

But here is the SPOILER, so read no further if you want to avoid it.  At the very end, there is a twist that (in my opinion) doesn't fit with the rest of the story.  It makes Eleanor seem even more disturbed than previously indicated.  It deprives the reader of a satisfactory confrontation that one has been anticipating and looking forward to.  It is a conflict-resolution moment that never comes. It left me hanging, angry, and anxious -- my own quirky self wanted something very different and now I'm left with.....

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