This book was recommended to me some time ago, however, for some reason the title didn't grab me, and I didn't even get as far as reading the blurb. Generally I find the blurb one of the most important factors in choosing a book. A clever outline of the story, without giving too much away. For some reason this book just passed me by, or rather I passed on the book.
More recently I posted on Facebook, asking for book recommendations. I often do this - it's another easy way of finding out what my peers are reading, and more importantly if a book is any good. Eleanor Oliphant sprang up again.
I was intrigued this time enough to look the book up on Amazon and to read the blurb. "Eleanor Oliphant leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink...…", well I read the last bit twice, a clear indicator that Eleanor did not lead a simple life, there was more to this lady. I downloaded with the intention of saving it for a holiday read, but after sneaking the first two chapters it was too late, I wanted to know more.
Eleanor is such an interesting character, eccentric almost, but also just a bit weird. The humour within the story, albeit at Eleanor's expense, was at times hilarious, but also made me feel sorry for Eleanor, to be fair Brazilian, Hollywood, French....if you've never been waxed, how actually would you know? What I loved about Eleanor was that she dealt with situations with such stiff upper lip and quite nonchalantly carried on.
Raymond was a breath of fresh air, relatively unassuming and, in the end, quite a solid hero. Raymond is very normal, kind, caring, and the relationship between Raymond and Eleanor is utterly heart warming.
I hated Mummy the very first time she was mentioned, fairly early on in the book it is clear that Mummy is not a nice person. I got the gist of what had happened, but it was good to fill in the blanks later in the book.
The only part of the book that I really couldn't quite get my head around was the musician. Why him? I never did come to any conclusion on that, apart from the fact that he was the catalyst that began Eleanor's reinvention of herself. It was never going to pan out the way Eleanor had fantasised.
As the story progressed I was anxious for Eleanor to work through her difficulties, at one point I thought she was doing so, then boom, things took a turn for the worse. Or perhaps Eleanor needed to sink that low to enable her to really make the changes needed, to realise her worth and feel loved, to feel that people cared. And they did.
Eleanor, with help, was able to reconstruct her outlook on life, on friendship and of herself.
Brilliant, unexpected and enjoyable.
More recently I posted on Facebook, asking for book recommendations. I often do this - it's another easy way of finding out what my peers are reading, and more importantly if a book is any good. Eleanor Oliphant sprang up again.
I was intrigued this time enough to look the book up on Amazon and to read the blurb. "Eleanor Oliphant leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink...…", well I read the last bit twice, a clear indicator that Eleanor did not lead a simple life, there was more to this lady. I downloaded with the intention of saving it for a holiday read, but after sneaking the first two chapters it was too late, I wanted to know more.
Eleanor is such an interesting character, eccentric almost, but also just a bit weird. The humour within the story, albeit at Eleanor's expense, was at times hilarious, but also made me feel sorry for Eleanor, to be fair Brazilian, Hollywood, French....if you've never been waxed, how actually would you know? What I loved about Eleanor was that she dealt with situations with such stiff upper lip and quite nonchalantly carried on.
Raymond was a breath of fresh air, relatively unassuming and, in the end, quite a solid hero. Raymond is very normal, kind, caring, and the relationship between Raymond and Eleanor is utterly heart warming.
I hated Mummy the very first time she was mentioned, fairly early on in the book it is clear that Mummy is not a nice person. I got the gist of what had happened, but it was good to fill in the blanks later in the book.
The only part of the book that I really couldn't quite get my head around was the musician. Why him? I never did come to any conclusion on that, apart from the fact that he was the catalyst that began Eleanor's reinvention of herself. It was never going to pan out the way Eleanor had fantasised.
As the story progressed I was anxious for Eleanor to work through her difficulties, at one point I thought she was doing so, then boom, things took a turn for the worse. Or perhaps Eleanor needed to sink that low to enable her to really make the changes needed, to realise her worth and feel loved, to feel that people cared. And they did.
Eleanor, with help, was able to reconstruct her outlook on life, on friendship and of herself.
Brilliant, unexpected and enjoyable.
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