eleanor oliphant is completely fine (gail honeyman)

"A philosophical question: if a tree falls in a forest and no-one is
around to hear it,does it make a sound?
And if a woman who's wholly alone occasionally talks
to a pot plant, is she certifiable?
I'm confident that it is perfectly normal
to talk to oneself occasionally.
It's not as though I'm expecting a reply.
I'm fully aware that Polly
is a houseplant"
​ (Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, p57)

​I usually tend to avoid mainstream popular novels, but on the recommendation of my beautiful colleague Emma (who kindly loaned me this book) I have been forever captivated by this extraordinary character Eleanor Oliphant. This short excerpt above may just convince you to pick it up too - she is one of a kind and it was such a refreshing read! Her situation in life would have brought many a strong man to break into pieces, but her combination of folly and frankness demands her readers laugh out loud at the most seriousness of issues and to move forward despite the pains of the past. Because the truth is, if you don't laugh, you will feel your heart wrenched from it's ventricles as you absorb all she has had to endure in her almost 30 years of life.

These are some of my other favourite excerpts:

​“There are days when I feel so lightly connected to the earth that the threads that tether me to the planet are gossamer thin, spun sugar. A strong gust of wind could dislodge me completely, and I’d lift off and blow away, like one of those seeds in a dandelion clock. The threads tighten slightly from Monday to Friday.” 

~​

“I wasn't good at pretending, that was the thing. After what had happened in that burning house, given what went on there, I could see no point in being anything other than truthful with the world. I had, literally, nothing left to lose. But, by careful observation from the sidelines, I'd worked out that social success is often built on pretending just a little. Popular people sometimes have to laugh at things they don't find very funny, or do things they don't particularly want to, with people whose company they don't particularly enjoy. Not me. I had decided, years ago, that if the choice was between that or flying solo, then I'd fly solo. It was safer that way. Grief is the price we pay for love, so they say. The price is far too high.” 

~

“There are scars on my heart, just as thick, as disfiguring as those on my face. I know they’re there. I hope some undamaged tissue remains, a patch through which love can come in and flow out. I hope.” 

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