“What can I say. I feel lost but fulfilled after finishing this book”
This book is an absolute show stopper. I can clearly see why it was awarded the Costa Book Awards Winner 2017 amongst many others. Gail Honeyman has done a spectacular job at creating such a gentle, realistic, beautiful read with little but powerful characters. Eleanor is someone who is so unique, different and the kind of person who would fall under such stigmatisation in this world yet she is the star of the show in this book. Who would’ve thought such a socially awkward lady with a horrifying past would come along and sweep me off my feet.
Reading this book took me around a week. I was hooked from beginning to end and when I knew the end was coming I just kept saying ‘I want this book to carry on. I want to keep reading it for the rest of my life. I’m not ready to let Eleanor go’. It was like she had become my friend and I wanted to her in my life. For me, that goes to show how incredibly powerful this book is and how well it is written. I felt such a range of emotions throughout, from sadness, anger, humour, happiness, fulfilment and pride. The simplest of things made me smile because they made Eleanor smile. Her relationships she builds are just so special and those small sections of hope, light and warmth are enough to make your heart glow. I felt such a warm, cosy, homely and oddly nostalgic feeling during my time glued to this book and it’s a feeling I’d love to feel time and time again. The last time I felt similar to this was reading ‘The Curious Incident of the dog in the night time’ by Mark Haddon.
The book ends rather quickly after being built up for a long time throughout the entire book but I feel like there was a twist in the end to make that soft blow have a little ‘oomph’ to it. I cried throughout the book and I cried at the end.
I read this almost immediately after finishing and dedicating my time to Stephen King and Owen King’s novel ‘Sleeping Beauties’ so it has been a rather unique experience reading two oppositely themed and styled books back to back. It was in fact lovely. Simple lovely. I finished horror and fantasy and moved to a beautifully normal, soft book. And my goodness have I enjoyed it (Tears in my eyes).
I was nearing the mid to end of the book when on Valentines day this year (2021) which is mums birthday, we got a call to say my Aunt/God Mother had died. My heart aches and I am completely devastated. Do you know what I did that day and the days following? I read this book. I read in the morning, I read in the bath and I read before bed and within a few days I had completed it. It has helped me cope the last few days and has almost been an aid in my grieving process. Eleanor, you may be a fictional character but my goodness my heart warms when I read about you. And Gail Honeyman; What a lady! What an Author. Absolutely magnificent read.
Overall I am almost speechless. What can I say? I feel lost but fulfilled after finishing this book. It has in short, impacted my life hugely and has helped me overcome emotional struggles and taught me a few things on the way too, from the wonderfully simple yet complex Eleanor Oliphant. I would 100% recommend this book to anyone.
You can also head over to my Youtube channel and see my video book review!
Thank you for reading. I hope this review has kept you on your toes with feeling motivated to read. Let me know if you’ve read this book and what you think. And if this review has made you want to read it, please let me know in the comments.
Stay wonderful!
No Comments