eleanor oliphant is completely fine a novel

Several developments advance the narrative.

It is clear that Eleanor's mother is both vindictive and manipulative. Her mother now appears to be confined to an unidentified institution: she phones Eleanor for a 15-minute conversation on Wednesday evenings. Twice yearly she receives a routine visit from a social worker to monitor her progress. She has a badly scarred face knows nothing about her father spent much of her childhood in foster care and children's homes and, as a student, spent two years living with an abusive boyfriend who regularly physically assaulted her. Her colleagues regard her as a bit of a joke, and refer to her as ' Wacko Jacko' or ' Harry Potter' while she regards them as 'shirkers and idiots'.Ĭlues gradually emerge to Eleanor's troubled past. Not considering that she has a problem, Eleanor repeatedly describes herself as 'absolutely fine', and even when obvious moments of awkwardness arise in her interactions with others, she tends to blame the other person's 'underdeveloped social skills'. She takes little interest in her appearance, having gone without a haircut since she was 13. She has no friends or social contacts, and every weekend consumes two bottles of vodka. However, she is socially awkward and leads a solitary lifestyle. Every day on her lunch break she completes the Daily Telegraph crossword. She is academically intelligent, with a degree in Classics and high standards of literacy. At the novel's outset, she is 29 years old. The novel deals with themes of isolation and loneliness, and depicts Eleanor's transformational journey towards a fuller understanding of self and life.Įleanor Oliphant, the novel's protagonist and narrator, lives in Glasgow, Scotland, and works as a finance clerk for a graphic design company. The story centres on Eleanor Oliphant, a social misfit with a traumatic past who becomes enamoured with a singer, whom she believes she is destined to be with.

Print (hardback, paperback), e-book, kindle, audiobookĮleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is the 2017 debut novel by Gail Honeyman, and the winner of the 2017 Costa Debut Novel Award.

Eleanor oliphant is completely fine a novel