Review: 'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine' by Gail Honeyman

If ever there was a post that got people talking on my Instagram page, it was when I shared the above photo and said I was reading 'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine', and despite the fact that I had only just picked it up I was already completely hooked. So many people commented saying that they loved this book and whizzed through it but a few others said exactly the opposite - a bit of a Marmite book then, you either love it or hate it?

I joined a book group over on Instagram just over a month or so ago and when it came to choosing our first read, I suggested this book because I'd seen quite a few people reading it (usually on the tube!) and it had been on my wishlist for a while, so this would be the perfect excuse to pick it up. It was delivered to my office on a Friday morning, I started it on the train home that evening and had finished it by Sunday night - I'd probably have devoured it sooner only I had packing to do but I ran back to it every moment I could. 

What can I say without giving any of the plot away? The blurb on the cover reads:

Eleanor Oliphant has learned how to survive - but not how to live.
Eleanor Oliphant leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink every weekend.
Eleanor Oliphant is happy. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except, sometimes, everything.
One simple act of kindness is about to shatter the walls Eleanor has built around herself. Now she must learn how to navigate the world that everyone else seems to take for granted - while searching for the courage to face the dark corners she's avoided all her life.
Change can be good. Change can be bad. But surely any change is better than... fine?

Eleanor is such an interesting character and I really enjoyed seeing the world through her eyes, and how she reacts to things which are so much part of the usual course of everyday life. While I guessed some of the elements that are gradually fed to you over the course of the story about her history and the events that have taken place, that didn't diminish my enjoyment of the book in any way. I was rooting for her so completely. She's a joy. 

Living in a city and looking at people all around you, going to work, travelling home, all in their own little bubbles, it really made me a think a lot about loneliness and how it's possible to feel lonely, even when you're surrounded by people everyday. 

This is the perfect book if you're looking for a real comfort-read, something to lose yourself in completely. It won't change your life but it's just a wonderful, heartwarming story and everyone needs at least one of those on their shelf. 

Have you read this book? Drop me a comment letting me know what you think - I find that a lot of the fun of reading is also sharing and discussing it afterwards!