At least that I what she tells her social
worker, her only visitor as she keeps herself to herself. She lives alone, kept company by cheap
bottles of vodka that help her through weekly conversations with her apparently
institutionalised mother. At work she
keeps her head down and gets the job done.
Her life changes when she wins tickets to a
music gig and is stricken by the lead singer of the support act. It is love at first sight, for Eleanor at
least; Johnnie Lomand is oblivious to her existence.
Eleanor realises that alterations are
necessary to woo Johnnie – hair, clothes, social skills all need an upgrade –
and stepping into the unknown to achieve them leads her into a whole new world
of social interaction, including social media.
For help with her computing needs she seeks help from friendly but
unprepossessing IT geek Raymond; her social pointers come from streetwise
hairdresser Laura.
All the while hints emerge of the darkness
in her past that has left her scarred (physically and emotionally). And as the book progresses into the second
half Eleanor’s life becomes a tug of war between the draw of her new life and
the anchor of her past.
It is well written with plenty of humour in
Eleanor’s discovery, not to mention dismay, of the modern world. The portrayal of her older, darker, life that
clings to her is equally well done.
Which will gain the upper hand?
By the end the reader fervently hopes that indeed Eleanor Oliphant will
be completely fine.
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