It made me think about what it means to be a good friend, as the occasional check-ins from my friends have gotten me through some dark times these past few months. This book made me think deeper about changes I want to make in my own life.
Honeyman’s novel follows, Eleanor, a girl who struggles with social skills, who meets a new coworker. After a chance encounter with a fainting man on the bus, Raymond helps Eleanor see the joy in the little things in life – having a meal with loved ones, helping an old man and his family, and going to a pub with a pal for a pint. Then she meets Raymond, the new IT guy who is the first person to actually see her and not the large scar that covers her face. Her co-workers mock her peculiarity, yet she seems perfectly okay with being on her own. A scar across her face, a burn mark from a childhood trauma that is gradually revealed to the reader as the novel progresses, signifies that she is different from the rest before she even has the chance to open her mouth. Eleanor has been working at the same company, in the same position since she graduated university, yet has no friends amongst her co-workers.
The beginning of the book is quite troubling. I had to read this book to see how Eleanor, and partially myself, prevailed from this monotonous existence. The only difference is I now live with my mummy so there’s no need for phone chats.
When I picked up Gail Honeyman’s “Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine” at my local Barnes and Noble, I was struck by how the description on the back alarmingly mirrored my own COVID induced existence: “Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and … weekends mostly consist of frozen pizza, vodka and phone chats with Mummy.” Yikes.
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