I don't often write book reviews because I just don't think I'm the best at explaining things and doing them justice but I could not put this book down and genuinely think it's one of the best I've ever read, so I thought I have to at least try and do some sort of review because it totally deserves it. This was one of those books that seemed to be doing the rounds on social media, I couldn't go more than a few days without it popping up on Instagram and eventually I thought, okay I just need to read this, there must be a reason people won't stop talking about it. Now that I've read it I can totally see why it's had so many positive reviews.
'Meet Eleanor Oliphant. She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she's thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen on the sidewalk, the three become the kind of friends who rescue one another from the lives of isolation they have each been living. And it is Raymond's big heart that will ultimately help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one'
My review
Pretty much as soon as I started this book I was hooked. Straight away I was intrigued by Eleanor and wanted to find out more. It didn't take long for me to start to understand why Eleanor is the way she is, she'd clearly had a difficult past from the snippets we were told and she soon became someone really endearing, someone I was rooting for. I loved that Eleanor just says what she wants and genuinely doesn't care what people think, I so wish I could be more like that, but there was clearly a deep sadness to her that really got to me. The theme of loneliness runs throughout the book which I'm sure is something a lot of people can relate to but there is also so much humour throughout. Just subtle little lines she says that made me laugh out loud, or some of the situations she gets herself into, you can't help but giggle so there was a really good mix throughout the whole book. I think part of the reason I love the character Eleanor so much is because I could see bits of myself in her and could really relate. What with her being quite socially awkward and not really knowing how to interact with people sometimes, I'm exactly like that and I'm sure people think I'm a bit strange sometimes too! I found myself desperate to see her get a happy ending, but I won't spoilt it for you - it was just one of those books where I was really just willing for things to work out for her. Overall the book is just brilliant and I could rave about it all day. It's a beautiful story of love, hope and happiness with many twists and turns throughout. In fact the plot twist at the end, had me so shocked, I almost wanted to go back to the beginning and read it again! To say this is Gail Honeyman's first novel, you would honestly never be able to tell. I was genuinely hooked from the first page to the very end and I got through it all within 24 hours, I can't even remember the last time that happened. I could picture all of the characters so well and I was really sad by the time I'd finished it as I just wanted it to keep going! I just couldn't recommend it enough, it totally deserves the hype it's getting and I think it will be one I keep forever and re-read.Favourite Quotes
'People don't like these facts, but I can't help that. If someone asks how you are, you are meant to say FINE. You are not meant to say that you cried yourself to sleep last night because you hadn't spoken to another person for two consecutive days. FINE is what you say.''Sometimes you simply needed someone kind to sit with while you dealt with things.'
'The supermarket in question carried a wide range of quality goods - not just food and drink, but toasters, sweaters, frisbees and novels. It wasn't a Tesco Metro, it was a Tesco Express. It was, in short, one of my favourite places in the world.'
Have you read Eleanor Oliphant yet? If so, what did you think?
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