Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
I had very low expectations for this book. I was wandering around Target, bored and unwilling to actually shop while my kid had indoor soccer practice across the street. Target is not known for its wide variety of reading material so I was more looking for an opportunity to feel superior than an opportunity to buy a book. This one caught my eye for whatever reason and so, book and a bag of popcorn in hand, I headed back to the dome parking lot to try to find that balance between running your car for an hour and freezing in the Minnesota chill of a late winter evening. Chapters later I was captivated. A review on the cover indicates that Reese Witherspoon thought the book was "Beautifully written and incredibly funny" and while I have to agree with both characterizations, I also thought it was delightful and heartbreaking and cringe inducing and tragic and lovely.
Honeyman takes us inside Eleanor's head so that we can see her foibles and recesses in all of their wounded glory. As a reader I found myself repeatedly wincing and shaking my head, willing her to correct course before she made what I perceived to be yet another misstep in life. Yet, Eleanor's story was also one of finding delight where one can and of pushing ones own boundaries and of making lemonade when you are surrounded by the tartest of lemons. This book is a treasure- go read it!
Quotable Quotes. (Note that upon reflection these all indicate a sad, depressing view of the world. To be sure, there is sadness and depression and horribleness buried in this story, but in the telling and living of it, and in the way its told and lived, its also about the resilience of Eleanor and via her story, all of us, however quirky we may be.)
Whilst I am neither stylish nor fashionable, I am always clean; that way, at least, I can hold my head up when I take my place, however unexalted, in the world.
On those nights I needed the vodka, or else I'd break apart too.
That said, I did sometimes wonder what it would be like to have someone-a cousin, say, or a sibling-to call on in times of need, or even just to spend unplanned time with. Someone who knows you, cares about you, who wants the best for you. A houseplant, however attractive and robust, doesn't quite cut the mustard, unfortunately. Pointless even to speculate, though. I had no one, and it was futile to wish it were otherwise. After all, it was no more than I deserved. And, really, I was fine, fine, fine.
Candles in a bathroom! I suspected that Laura was something of a sybarite.
Tiny slivers of life-they all added up and helped you to feel that you too could be a fragment, a little piece of humanity who usefully filled a space, however minuscule.
It isn't annoying, her need-it isn't a burden. It's a privilege. I'm responsible. I choose to put myself in a situation where I'm responsible. Wanting to look after her, a small, dependent, vulnerable creature, is innate, and I don't even have to think about it. It's like breathing. For some people.
New words (try to put these into a sentence of your own why don't you):
argot, hamartia, anomie, sybarite
Rating: #3 Enjoyed It Very Much
Honeyman takes us inside Eleanor's head so that we can see her foibles and recesses in all of their wounded glory. As a reader I found myself repeatedly wincing and shaking my head, willing her to correct course before she made what I perceived to be yet another misstep in life. Yet, Eleanor's story was also one of finding delight where one can and of pushing ones own boundaries and of making lemonade when you are surrounded by the tartest of lemons. This book is a treasure- go read it!
Quotable Quotes. (Note that upon reflection these all indicate a sad, depressing view of the world. To be sure, there is sadness and depression and horribleness buried in this story, but in the telling and living of it, and in the way its told and lived, its also about the resilience of Eleanor and via her story, all of us, however quirky we may be.)
Whilst I am neither stylish nor fashionable, I am always clean; that way, at least, I can hold my head up when I take my place, however unexalted, in the world.
On those nights I needed the vodka, or else I'd break apart too.
That said, I did sometimes wonder what it would be like to have someone-a cousin, say, or a sibling-to call on in times of need, or even just to spend unplanned time with. Someone who knows you, cares about you, who wants the best for you. A houseplant, however attractive and robust, doesn't quite cut the mustard, unfortunately. Pointless even to speculate, though. I had no one, and it was futile to wish it were otherwise. After all, it was no more than I deserved. And, really, I was fine, fine, fine.
Candles in a bathroom! I suspected that Laura was something of a sybarite.
Tiny slivers of life-they all added up and helped you to feel that you too could be a fragment, a little piece of humanity who usefully filled a space, however minuscule.
It isn't annoying, her need-it isn't a burden. It's a privilege. I'm responsible. I choose to put myself in a situation where I'm responsible. Wanting to look after her, a small, dependent, vulnerable creature, is innate, and I don't even have to think about it. It's like breathing. For some people.
New words (try to put these into a sentence of your own why don't you):
argot, hamartia, anomie, sybarite
Rating: #3 Enjoyed It Very Much
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