‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine’
Book Review
‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine’ was written in 2017, and was the debut novel of Gail Honeyman. It won the 2017 Costa Debut Novel Award.
Eleanor, the protagonist, is smart, sensible, sarcastic, wry, wonderful at juggling numbers and figures, professional, punctual, logical…and lonely.
From Friday evening to Monday morning, she doesn’t talk to a living soul. But her mother phones her every weekend.
She is terrified of human contact, of germs, of infections, of getting too close to people emotionally. She is terrified. Period.
Then she falls in love with a celebrity singer and follows him on Instagram, and buys entry tickets to places and gigs where she might find him.
One day, an old man keels over in the street, and Eleanor and a colleague are instrumental in getting him to the hospital on time.
Then begins the unraveling.
I am not planning on being a spoiler here: but one thing is for certain. This debut novel written by Gail Honeyman, which began its life as an assignment when the author had enrolled in the Faber Academy writing course and went on to garner several prestigious awards, will change the way the reader reacts to many things that she, the reader, takes for granted.
The book is written in the first person, and it is, in turn, amusing, stark, sinister, and very, very relatable. It is particularly relevant in this day and age, with pandemic-induced distancing, loneliness, and truncated relations. There is a particularly poignant incident where Eleanor imagines how she might have another person to share her life with, or a family that might accept her the way she is, where simple everyday rituals like sitting together in the same room, bring contentment.
Yet, Eleanor, as the author insists, is not a victim: at no point do we see her indulge in self-pity.
It brought home to me, how powerful a hug can be, and how affirmatory a phone call from an affectionate friend, or relative. It reminded me that when I ‘cut the clutter’ from my life and space, I must not delete the relationships which have formed the bulwark of my life, at certain phases.
And when we read the book, we should also factor in a complete 24 hours, after we are through, to reorient ourselves and our lives, to our usual flippant, cynical selves.
When all this is through, and we can actually, physically, meet each other, I would love to sit down with a cup of coffee or a glass of ‘cutting chai’, and discuss the book with those who have read it.
Hug a person today. Call someone you haven’t spoken to in ages. Show them you care.
Happy reading!
