Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

4:

Back in 2021, I picked up this book for the first time. Due to events that are later explained in the story, Eleanor has many oddities to herself. I didn't get very far that time: pretty early on she started to refer to her mother as “mommy”, and I was completely put off. Immediately after, I hit a reading slump that lasted almost a full year.

When I got back into my groove again this year, I decided to bite the bullet and give it another go, and boy was 2021 me stupid.

I think deep down I felt I related too much to Eleanor, and that put me off. I haven't gone through a traumatic event as gruesome as the one she did, but I've experienced life through similar lenses, and at the time I finally read the book, I was at a point where it helped to read a story that showed that sometimes, things for people like us can turn out okay.

Eleanor was endearing, and it was a joy to see her coming out of her shell. I liked her friends with Raymond and his mom, and with the elderly gentleman and his family (I forget his name, but it was all very sweet).

I did hope, though, that the whole extreme makeover thingy had been more of a sidenote, or an afterthought, instead of being basically what brings people to seeing her in a different light.

Overall, it was a very cozy read!