Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

"These days, loneliness is the new cancer - a shameful, embarrassing thing, brought upon yourself in some obscure way. A fearful, incurable thing, so horrifying that you dare not mention it; other people don't want to hear the world spoken aloud for fear that they might too be afflicted, or that it might tempt fate into visiting a similar horror upon them."

Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine...or so she thinks. Socially awkward and quiet, Eleanor is all alone in this world and doesn't have any friends. Her weekends consist of pizzas and vodka. That all changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the IT guy at her work. Raymond becomes a friend, and slowly shows Eleanor how to open up, and encourages her to face her inner demons head-on.

Eleanor's bluntness is both quirky and honest. Ms. Honeyman kept the character real without going overboard. In addition, I was happy that the relationship between Eleanor and Raymond wasn't romantic.  I appreciated that.

After finishing this book, all I wanted to do was wrap my arms around Eleanor and give her a hug. Something that at the beginning of this story, Eleanor had never experienced. This led me to wonder about the Eleanor's in my own life and how by taking the time to be a pal (like Raymond) I could make a difference.

Please, if you haven't taken the opportunity to pick up this book I'd highly recommend it.