Book Review – April
{This post contains affiliate links. All thoughts and opinions are my own.}
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is the book I read in a day. And did not plan it that way at all. I had Thursday off and woke up at 6.00 am with no alarm. So I started reading in bed. I stopped reading at 10 am to go out for a PR event. I came back at 5 and was done with the book by 8. I even went for a run. I think I could do this for a living: read books as part of my job, go out for an event, come back, read, run, and sleep. Sounds like a dream life to me. I am so grateful for a day like this. One day, one day . . .
Back to the book. I would say Eleanor Elephant is Completely Fine is a story about friendship and about believing in someone. We follow Eleanor and Raymond, two friends with up and downs. I read somewhere that Gail did not want Eleanor to seem like a victim, but I must admit I did feel sorry for her. I could feel the loneliness she describes. It is so sad because we always think that only elderly people can be lonely. But as you can imagine, reality is always a bit different. The book is written simply, and you float through the story. That is why I read it all in one go. The main reason why I liked this book so much was the mystery surrounding Eleanor. She would go for work from Monday to Friday, over weekend stayed in her house and drink two bottles of vodka. I could not for a moment guess in any way how the story would finish! And all through the book I just waited to find out why she was the way she was. What was her background? Seriously, I enjoyed so reading so much!
Gail Honeyman wrote this book in her 40s. I think this is inspiring for anyone who dreams of being a writer. Gail sent her first three chapters to a competition (she did not win), and one of the judges was a literary agent who recognised the potential in her story. The idea for the book came from a newspaper article about loneliness that Gail read years ago.
For more information about Gail Honeyman visit her twitter.
If you missed my March book Little Black Book by Otegha Uwagba check it now.
