Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

by Gail Honeyman

The audiobook earns the first 1/2 a star right off the bat for a great recording narrated by Cathleen McCarron. I enjoyed her Scottish accent, which was just Scottish enough to make the characters lovable, and not so much that I couldn’t understand them.

Reese Witherspoon’s recommendation appears on the book cover saying it’s “Beautifully written and incredibly funny.” I guess Reese and I do not share the same sense of humor. The story is well written, but “incredibly funny”? Not IMO. I assume readers who found it funny would refer to Eleanor’s quirky way of navigating life. There were three moments that I found somewhat amusing. Here’s one: when Eleanor was instructed to choose a strong password on her computer, she went with Seneca’s “Ignis aurum probat”, which translates to “Fire tests gold”. I smiled that she chose a “strong” phrase, but at no point did I laugh out loud.

To me, Eleanor’s social awkwardness felt tragic, mostly because her way of being is most likely a result of the abuse she endured as a child, and the rigid life she has set up for her adult self. But that is also at the root of why I quite liked this book. We get to follow Eleanor’s healing, which comes about because someone is kind to her for a change. It’s a beautiful message of the good influence we can have on each other when we look beyond the quirks and the scars and just be friendly.

3 book club questions

Here’s what I would ask if my book club read this story:

1. What is the significance of Eleanor’s “strong password”? How does “fire tests gold” express one of the book’s main themes?

2. In the beginning of the story, Eleanor and her co-workers actively avoid each other. After a chance encounter with Raymond, whom she initially labeled as inelegant and unkempt, she gains a friend. Is there anyone in your life whom you care deeply about, but whom you initially overlooked or even shunned? How has that relationship grown?

3. Overall, where does this story land for you on a humor meter? “Incredibly funny”, amusing, awkward, painful, or somewhere in between?

The comment section book club

Someday I hope to set up a live online book club with my followers. For today though, you can find me on Goodreads (I’ll work on being better about writing reviews), or just comment below to let me know what you thought of Eleanor Oliphant.