Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
“Although it’s good to try new things and to keep an open mind, it’s also extremely important to stay true to who you really are.”
Synopsis: According to Eleanor Oliphant, her life is completely 100% fine. She works 5 days a week in the office where she has worked since university graduation, and on the weekends treats herself to a frozen pizza and a bottle of vodka. Eleanor has had a scarred childhood and she is a little…. odd. She develops an unlikely friendship with Raymond, a kind if somewhat slovenly IT guy at her office, and begins to evaluate whether life really is fine after all.
Nicholette's Review: I absolutely LOVED this book! For some reason, I resisted reading it, but once I started, I got totally sucked into getting to know Eleanor. She is lonely but content, has perfect grammar, is blunt and socially awkward. On the surface, this is a very funny novel about a socially inept 29 year old woman. Her attempts to become more “normal” and blend into society by getting a fashion makeover and waxing are sources of hilarity. This somehow blends seamlessly with the sadness of her life, and her aloneness. Her friendship with Raymond turns out to be more life changing than the imaginary romance she is seeking. Thank goodness this is not a romance and second chance kind of story. It is more of a story of self discovery, learning to trust people, how to have a friend, and how to be a friend. And did I mention that it is completely smart and funny? Highly recommend! Rating: 5/5.
Corey’s Review: I adored this book! Eleanor is such an endearing character that I grew to love. She has no filter and says anything and everything that is on her mind. One moment I am crying from laughing so hard and the next I am crying because I feel for her. I found myself wanting great things to happen for her, but throughout the story she insists she is completely fine the way she is. Eleanor is lot of things, but she is not the victim. I love that the center of the story was about her and how she lives her life according to her own rules. She loves her vodka, pizza and her weekly chats with her mummy. The character development was amazing and overall it was an enjoyable read. Rating: 5/5
Menu:
We know this isn’t a frozen pizza, but we took our spin on Eleanor’s favorite dish. We decided to do our own homemade pizza and we think she would approve (we hope).
Ingredients:
Fresh pizza dough
Toppings (anything your heart desires). We chose Italian sausage, potato, rosemary, fresh mozzarella cheese
Method:
Preheat grill with pizza stone on it
Flour your hands and surface
Roll the dough out
Add toppings
Transfer pizza to pizza stone on grill
Cook 10-15 min depending on dough thickness
