The reviews on the back of my paperback call "Eleanor" "wacky, charming... hilarious and moving" (People), and "satisfyingly quirky" (New York Times). Yes, it is all these things... but I'm more inclined to agree with the blurb from Purewow, which calls it "simultaneously hilarious and heartbreaking." I was expecting a comedy -- and yes, there is a lot of humour in Eleanor's narration, in her complete lack of social awareness and the resulting faux pas. But there's also sadness, and dark undercurrents that rise to the surface as the story progresses.
Eleanor is 30, lives in a flat by herself furnished with castoffs, and has an unexciting office job that she's held for the past nine years. Her routine rarely deviates -- except for Wednesdays, when she talks to Mummy, and on weekends, when she picks up a pizza for Friday night's dinner -- and two bottles of vodka, which she drinks to help make the time go by faster until it's Monday and time to go to work again.
Little by little, we come to learn more about Eleanor and her life story -- and that she's not quite as "completely fine" as she appears. Three things happen that shake up Eleanor's carefully calibrated world: first, she develops a crush on a local singer and begins plotting how to meet him. Second, she gradually develops a friendship with her affable coworker Raymond. And finally, she & Raymond come to the rescue of an elderly gentleman -- a simple act of kindness that changes everything.
"Eleanor Oliphant" reminded me of another Eleanor (Rigby), and "all the lonely people... where do they all come from?" Loneliness and social isolation are major themes of this book. Eleanor is different -- and as the story progresses, we learn some of the reasons why. Her coworkers think she's weird, and she's often the butt of their jokes. There's nothing in this book that's directly related to the ALI world -- and yet I was reminded of the social isolation we often experience as infertile people, as bereaved parents and as non-parents, and the inappropriate comments and questions and assumptions we are often subjected to.
We don't always know the full story. Sometimes, we need to skip the speculation and the judgment, and just give the other guy a break.
"Eleanor Oliphant" is one of Reese Witherspoon's book club picks, and apparently she is making it into a movie (Americanized, no doubt -- what a pity!)(I could hear the British/Scottish accents in my head as I read which, for me, was part of the charm). I will be interested to see how they cast it.
Four stars on Goodreads.
This was book #17 that I have read in 2019 to date, bringing me to 71% of my 2019 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 24 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 8 (!!) books ahead of schedule to meet my goal. :)
Oh, I LOVED this book! You are so right though, I found it funny at times but at its core it was pretty damn heavy. But in a beautifully devastating way. I just loved Raymond, and the bikini wax scene!!! Ha! I love your takeaway that we never know the full story about people. Her loneliness was so achy. And I also thought of Eleanor Rigby! I hope they cast the movie right, in the right country... Hate when things are Americanized when they don't have to be. Imagine if Harry Potter was set in Michigan or something!
ReplyDeleteHaving had my own painful experience with a bikini wax once (and once was definitely enough!!), I could relate to that part of it too! lol
DeleteThanks to you and Jess, I just got in a very long queue for this book at the library. Thank you!
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