Joint Discussion: Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine

Hello all! Carole and I will be discussing "Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine" by Gail Honeyman. I am in red and Carole in purple.

Author: Gail Honeyman
Narrator: Alexandra Harris
Title: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Genre: Fiction
Published:  May 9th 2017 
Format: audiobook & Hardcover
Pages: 336 

Summary: No one’s ever told Eleanor that life should be better than fine

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 unnecessary human contact, 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, the three rescue one another from the lives of isolation that they had been living. Ultimately, it is Raymond’s big heart that will help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one. If she does, she'll learn that she, too, is capable of finding friendship—and even love—after all.

Discussion:

So this was one of our try one at sort of random and do not look for the one we really want to read.

It was fun going random! I think it took off the stress a little bit!

And it did work out, this book was good, weird, I’d still not recommend it, I am so torn, lol.

It did! I liked it. I totally recommend it. Buuuuut I did the audiobook so maybe the audio was better than the paper/ebook version?

I think I am torn because I am not sure everyone would like it, but considering I could not put it down, and that ending was wow. Who knows, maybe I would rec it too

Ahhhh true. I didn’t think of that. Eleanor...she is an interesting character. She is hard to like and even remotely understand. She for sure went through a lot of traumatic things as a child and there is something mentally wrong with her. I think I read somewhere she has Asperger syndrome I believe. 

I felt at once when I read it that she had Aspergers, and that is why I worried when you went the audio route, if the narrator could bring that to life. Because reading it is so obvi. And yes, poor woman, trauma shaped her. Not to mention she does seem to be a functioning alcoholic too

Yess and I think she just fell down that rabbit hole. She had no friends or family to care about what she was doing and when. I think once she started getting friends it was easier for her to get off the juice. Poor thing. I am so glad Raymond realized how awesome she was. 

Her coworkers, ugh. Raymond was the sweetest man ever! I am glad he accepted her for the person she was. The rest were so blind cos she was not “normal.”

Screw her coworkers, they were asshats. I liked her boss tho. He seemed very nice. Yassssss Raymond was adorable. Such a good pal. His mama was sweet too. 

I liked her boss.Ray’s mom was a cutie. Eleanor finally found better people to talk with. 

 Yesss Eleanor needed friends. Maybe one day she’ll find a guy who really loves her. But she has a lot to work out. I would love a book 2 even if it's just a quick little novella/short story. I want to see her happy! 

I had some weird pink stuff in my writing, weird..

I still have hope for her and Raymond, wait, is that a spoiler?!

Nawww I don’t think so. This isn’t a romance and it made clear at the beginning they are only friends. We can always cover it that bit!

Ok, yes not a romance. Just a story about a messed up woman who needs to deal with her past. Why is her mum in prison? Oh and damn that ex of hers! I know she was not bothered, but damn!

I think deep down she was bothered, but it is just another layer of her terrible, sad past. It’ll probably bubble up as well one day and she’ll have to work through that, but it won’t be nearly as traumatic as her mummy. OMG I hated that she called her mummy. Hahaha I think that is my only complaint. Esp how the narrator said it. It bothered me. Maybe it was because we knewwwwwwww she was a bad person and you only say mommy or mummy to a mom you really adore and care about (or little kids).. It’s very childish and it felt wrong because that lady was a monster!

 I felt it fitted. She was a child back then, her mommy was her mommy even if she was a bad person. So she still thinks of her mother as her mommy. She never had another mommy. In her brain the 10 year old child is saying it. Also, well  that stuff ;)

Valid, valid. I guess it makes sense when the big ol’ secret and truth comes out. It still bothers me LOLLLL. 

I guess the narrator went full out on the mommy then ;)

Yesss she really did. And when the mom called herself mummy. Like “Tell your mummy”.  I got goosebumps. Her evil lady voice was spot on. It was creepy. 

I want to listen to that too! Cos her mother was the worst!

She really was! Gah. Poor Eleanor.

Ok, what else. That ending? Wasn’t it amazing!

THAT ending. I guessed one of the secrets but the big one? SHOCKER! I had backed it up and re-listen so I could make sure I heard what I thought I heard. LOL. 

It really was all wait!? What?! Damn! I did feel it was the best part of the book

It was. Everything built up to that reveal. Like holy cannoli batman. Dang gurl. 

Anything more to add? I am still conflicted. Hard to put down. I binged it, but it might not be for everyone. I am glad I read it, and yes ending, WOW!

Yess I binged too esp near the ending. The last 4 hours I could not stop. So good. But nothing more to add for me without major spoilers ;)

The end then

The end! Until next time folks!

About the Authors

Carole and Blodeuedd have been blogging for a long while now. The last few years the epic duo has been discussing books, watching movies, and even wetting the pen and sharing their stories with the worldwide web. They both love cats, chocolate, and a good story.