Gail Honeyman, author of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, found the seed of her novel in an article on loneliness. Honeyman had associated loneliness with older people, but the article told of a 20 year old who went home from her job every Friday and spoke to no one until Monday. From this seed, Honeyman created the wonderful and eccentric character of Eleanor Oliphant and the horrifying story behind Eleanor's behaviors.
At age 10, Eleanor was severely burned in a house fire. With no one to care for her she went to a series of foster homes, then to university where she majored in the classics, and then to the flat she now occupies with its used furniture from charity. She works for a graphic design company as accounts receivable clerk.
The novel moves in two directions--into Eleanor's past and the horrific circumstances of the fire that left her scarred and forward as Eleanor gradually rebirths herself by her own decisions and by the nudging from very kind people she meets.
The author skillfully melds the two stories together through Eleanor's narration of everything she thinks and does--of her memories and her current encounters with others.
As her daily life unfolds, Raymond, a scruffy IT guy in her office, befriends Eleanor and nudges her toward a more social life. She also fantasizes about a handsome musician whom Eleanor elevates way out of proportion, and when disillusioned, comes crashing down from her imagined clouds.
Raymond is kind, sympathetic, accepting. He introduces her to a kind world of helping an old man who has collapsed in the street, his gentle mother, and ultimately prodding her gently to seek help in dealing with the traumatic events of her childhood.
Eleanor seeks help for her depression with a counselor who slowly leads her through the dark tunnel of truth until Eleanor can see light and be her own person and not the guilty child cowering beneath her mother's cruelty.
Eleanor herself summarizes her journey with Raymond's guidance. "This is what I felt; the warm weight of his hands on me; the genuineness of his smile; the gentle heat of something opening the way some flowers spread out in the morning at the sight of the sun. I knew what was happening. It was the unscarred piece of my heart. It was just big enough to let in a bit of affection. There was still a tiny bit of room left."
With the truth and understanding of this catastrophic event in her childhood, she could allow herself to open up to the world around her and a future of some happiness.
This is a story of how a person, fired in a tragic past, can heal with small kindnesses and how important it is that we show those kindnesses.
When Gail Honeyman was asked what she would say to Eleanor if she were sitting with her, she responded, "You matter."
Isn't that what we are hearing from all over the globe? People are shouting, "I matter." With all the focus on globalization, we are ignoring the critical importance of the small, the individual, the essential foundation of life from which all else rises.
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