Eleanor Oiliphant is absolutely fine

[MipMipMip]

Please tell me it cheers up! About to meet Raymond's mother and I'm getting seriously depressed.....

It suddenly clicked and I couldn't put it down. Thanks for persuading me to stick with it.

I was like that mip, I was exasperated with it until about a third of the way through then it clicked and I found I was really enjoying it.

I think it was when talking to Raymond's mum and realising she was being asked questions because someone genuinely wanted to know that got me.

I'm glad it clicked - I really enjoyed it. And yes, the conversation with Raymond's mum is the first really positive moment in the story although I didn't necessarily see it at the time.

It took me a while to get into it then I binged the end of it and really enjoyed it.

For someone who said they couldn't picture the chap I pictured Raymond as a Simon Pegg type character.

Some of the descriptions were very poignant and some funny moments, possibly overdone at times but I wasn't reading it as hugely realistic anyway.

I really loved this book! It may have been helped by the fact I read it on a sunlounger whilst chilled and had the time to devour it in a couple of days.

I enjoyed it but had huge reservations. I didn’t believe in the main character in the slightest, and I got annoyed by the way the writer withheld important information so she could come up with a big twist at the end. That twist was massively unconvincing.

SPOILER

I read the withholding as Eleanor not knowing having blocked it from herself. So she really did think her mum was calling.

But that’s just not very likely, is it, Mip?

Forgot that was the ending. It was the repeated use of the word 'jerkin' which got on my nerves.

I thought that on one level Eleanor knew that it wasn't real but on another level she didn't want to engage with it, I thought that wasn't that far fetched for severe childhood trauma.

Loved this book. My dh loved it too. It’s still at the top of the Times best seller list and has been for months and months; deservedly so.

Thanks @OzymandiasFanClub I read some Janice Galloway short stories a long time ago but I'll look this one up.

Have you read The Driver's Seat by Muriel Spark? It's got a similar feel too.

Loved it - a very realistic portrait of someone who feels she doesn't fit in.

I read this book really quickly as I was quite engrossed in the characters.

I did believe that she had a weekly 'conversation', I thought it was part of her PTSD.

inconsistencies in her awareness of modern life irritated me a little.

Really loved this book. It managed to be quite uplifting despite the dark undercurrent. At first I assumed she was slightly autistic, and made the comparison with the Rosie project. Interesting character.

@PastramiAndRye thanks for the recommendation. Have reserved Muriel Spark from the public library.

I liked it. It’s what I would refer to as a ‘quiet’ novel- as in, gently bubbling along, no dramas, but makes you think. Similar to The goldfinch for that kind of soothing quietness.

I am a chronic insomniac and if I read anything excessively stimulating at bedtime I can’t sleep, so these types are perfect for me.

@PastramiAndRye Just finished the Muriel Spark. Bit of a mind blower...that Lise is definitely one crazy cracker... thanks for the recommendation.

@OzymandiasFanClub Glad you enjoyed it!

I've ordered the Janice Galloway book from eBay so looking forward to it arriving!

Huzzah, glad you clicked. Read the hearts invisible furies next if you haven't already

@KTyoupigeon - aha so it was you who left it behind then. I found it on holiday and although it was a Slow burner I really liked it. It made me both laugh and cry

witch quite possibly if you found it near Barcelona!

I loved this book.

I came late to the party, but yes, I loved it.