General Fiction | Book Chatter

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
By Gail Honeyman
Penguin Books, 9780735220690, 2018, 352pp.

The Short of It:

It took me years to finally pick this book up and now I am hitting myself over the head with my copy because I could have enjoyed it years earlier.

The Rest of It:

What you need to know right off, is that this book has been marketed as “funny” and “warm” and with that colorful cover, it radiates a lightness which is probably why I overlooked it for so long. It remains a popular Reese Witherspoon pick, but nowhere, anywhere have I seen any reference to the heaviness of the story.

This story has some teeth, that’s what I am saying.

Eleanor is quirky and odd and as the author put it, sometimes a bit daft. She possesses a good job and manages to be somewhat social with her co-workers when needed, but in a very, off-putting formal way. She’s efficient when she needs to be, but a complete and total disaster other times.

Early on, it’s clear that something has happened to Eleanor. It’s referred to as “the incident” and it’s left her curiously alone, living in social housing with regular visits from a social worker. This is fine. Eleanor is fine, or so it seems until she meets a new co-worker by the name of Raymond. Up until this point, she has convinced herself that her life is good but Raymond’s sweet, unassuming ways and the kindness he displays forces her to consider the life she’s been living thus far and she has found it to be lacking.

Sigh. This book! It kind of tore me up a little. It’s actually very sad but peppered with “Eleanorisms” which lightens the load as details from the past are slowly revealed. I loved it. I loved how simple the storytelling was and I liked many, many of the characters both large and small. I am sitting here as I write this review, still pondering Eleanor’s story and that is definitely the sign of a great read. It has some sweet moments and really is a story about survival.

I highly recommend it. It would make for an excellent club read. I heard that Witherspoon bought the rights to it early on, to produce a movie down the line. I see no updates on a movie being in the works but I think if there is one, it will be very successful.

This was a book on my Summer Reading List so I am glad to finally check this one off my list and add it to my list of faves.

Source: Purchased
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

The Last Flight
By Julie Clark
Sourcebooks Landmark, 9781728215723, June 2020, 320pp.

The Short of It:

This is the “it” book making the rounds this summer and it’s quite the page-turner.

The Rest of It:

On the outside, Claire Cook has it all. A beautiful home with gleaming appliances, people who are literally at her beck and call whenever she needs them, her work for the foundation is rewarding and satisfying but her marriage to Rory is a constant reminder that things are not golden in the Cook household.

Rory Cook, an up-and-coming political figure comes from a well-known family and expects Claire to behave and act a certain way. If she doesn’t respond appropriately in public then as soon as he has her behind closed doors, he makes it clear to her that whatever she’s done must never be done again.

After fearing for her safety one too many times, she comes up with a plan. On an upcoming business trip, she plans to disappear and never come back. New identifying documents have been purchased and the morning of her plan, she is energized with renewed hope. Until she is forced to change her plans.

When her careful plan to escape is ruined by Rory, she does the next best thing by switching airline tickets with a stranger. She’ll head to Oakland, California and Eva, the woman she meets at the airport will head to Puerto Rico as Claire. This will buy her a little time.

What Claire doesn’t plan on is Eva’s plane crashing into the ocean shortly after takeoff. Could it be a blessing that Claire is considered among the dead?

This is a tightly wound story told through alternating points of view, Claire’s and Eva’s and it held my attention until I turned that last page. It reads like a movie script. There is just the right amount of intrigue and all of the supporting characters all have a role.

My only complaint, is that I really expected some of the story to be set in Puerto Rico. I was looking forward to spending a little time there but since the plane crashes (not a spoiler) before getting there, no time is spent there at all. So you won’t get a vacation-like setting in this one but you could easily read this one on a beach in one sitting.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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