Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

It seems like a wonderful life, but the more we learn about Eleanor Oliphant, the more harrowing things become.

How long can an unreliable narrator hide the truth from us?

Eleanor is a finance clerk who loves shopping at Tesco and completing newspaper crosswords. She reads to strengthen her puzzle-cracking skills and falls in love-at-first-sight with a debonair musician. Lovestruck, Eleanor embarks on a thorough physical makeover, and all is frothy: drama at the salon, fashion fun, hair styling.

“I have always enjoyed reading, but I’ve never been sure how to select appropriate material. There are so many books in the world - how do you tell them apart? How do you know which one will match your tastes and interest? That’s why I just pick the first book I see.” (p.313)

But as Eleanor narrates, the reader glimpses altogether darker elements: things Eleanor herself won’t or can’t acknowledge. Eleanor’s unsettling use of the word Mummy. The saddening phone calls between her and her mother. A dual narrative develops as the reader turns detective, collecting clues to Eleanor’s past.

For bookworms, get ready to spot the authors: Jane Austen, Michael Bond, Arthur Conan Doyle, Thomas Hardy, Emily Dickinson, Charlotte Brontë, and more.

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