Rating: 4 stars
Well. This little book took a piece of my soul, but no matter, as a habitual reader I am accustomed, nay, anticipative, of novels that rip my heart out and mend/swell it all within the same 327 pages. I thought it might be appropriate to organize my book review in order of the book's sections: good, bad, and better.
THE GOOD
I was really floored upon the introduction of Eleanor's character. In short, I was charmed. She really is the quirkiest human ever. And I think it's telling that she thinks everyone else is the problem. Obviously, this isn't true in all aspects because she does a lot of self-blaming in reflection on her traumatic past, etc., but what I mean is that Eleanor is extremely socially awkward. She never learned how to socialize or just be around and talk to humans in an everyday context. Yet, she believes that most of the people she is around lack social skills and are inarticulate. Given her history, she has had to define social manners on her own terms, and everyone around her can see how misplaced her understanding is besides her. Eleanor is not a perfect character. She has very clear flaws, a lot of baggage, and is overall not a happy person. This makes her a fantastic narrator. Her way of telling her story, her point of view, was unlike anything I've ever read before. She's so blunt and intelligent, and she takes everything literally; she's like a mix between Amelia Bedelia, Alice (from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) and Sheldon Cooper.
I also love the relationships in this book. Both the good and the bad. The author really made the bad relationships believable and hard-hitting. It's painful to read at times, especially because most characters with Eleanor's past would dance around questions that had such horrible answers. Eleanor's factual way of explaining her past relationships, and people's responses to this blunt explanation, really shows Eleanor's acceptance of unfair and abusive treatment. She just doesn't know any better, and it's heartbreaking and almost inconceivable, yet we know that things like this do happen. The positive relationships are just wonderful though. I really liked how Eleanor's personality and life shifted and how you could see that in her relationship with Raymond, both outwardly and through her thoughts.
"People don't like these facts, but I can't help that. If someone asks you how you are, you are meant to say FINE. You are not meant to say that you cried yourself to sleep last night because you hadn't spoken to another person for two consecutive days. FINE is what you say."
THE BAD
I really don't want to trash this book in any capacity because it was a charming little read. But I must mention some annoying tidbits that I'm still thinking about after I've finished the book.
I mentioned how I liked Eleanor's quirkiness, and this is true, but I definitely think it was overdone at times. There are just some things that you know about if you live in the 21st century, have a job, watch TV, read books, do crossword puzzles, etc. And yet somehow Eleanor was completely floored by them. I just find it hard to believe that in her thirty years of existence (while she lacks socialization, Eleanor reads/watches enough TV to understand some really big things), Eleanor is completely ignorant of pop culture staples like Spongebob Squarepants, heavy metal music, and Starbucks. Sometimes it seemed like the author was trying to make her seem like an actual alien that was still learning about life on Earth. I'll concede that maybe this is the point: that Eleanor didn't pay attention to things that didn't interest/concern her, but it was just a bit far-fetched. Part of the joy of reading from the POV of a really interesting, outlandish character is that you become them and can understand a viewpoint and lifestyle very different from your own, and I got this at some points while at others it just wasn't plausible.
My second issue with this book is also a plausibility issue. After Eleanor gets a completely makeover (gets a haircut/highlights, starts wearing makeup, buys a bunch of new clothes, etc.) her coworkers suddenly stop acting like middle school children and treat her like an actual human. I didn't find her coworkers' behaviors believable in the first place: the whispers behind her back, the Mean Girls-esque taunting, especially when Eleanor was just in the background and not bothering anyone, not to mention that they are ADULTS. It was so ridiculous. Maybe this is accurate, I don't know, I've never worked in an office before, but I just didn't buy it. And to make it worse: as soon as Eleanor gets the aforementioned makeover, everyone is COMPLETELY over it. They are reaching out to her, being nice, complimenting her, just being real life human beings and not children. Not only do I find this implausible (usually women feel more threatened/aggressive when another woman suddenly becomes attractive, sorry but it's true), I also thought it was a horrible message for the book to carry. If Eleanor's coworkers had started being nice to her because of something concrete, like her personality/work ethic, or like how they all sent cards/gifts after the events of "Bad Days", then it would've been okay. But it's basically saying: people in the workplace will treat you like garbage unless you look like a supermodel. Even Eleanor was shocked at this sudden 180: "Was this how it worked, then, successful social integration? Was it really that simple? Wear some lipstick, go to hairdressers and alternate the clothes you wear?" I just really wish that either A) in the first place, Eleanor's coworkers had ignored her, rather than constantly belittling her, and then they started to respect and appreciate her in the end, or B) her coworkers were jerks for the entirety of the book, and in the end Eleanor learned how to be okay with that and appreciate the people who do care for her. Almost everything about the coworker situation just did not agree with me (although I did think the part at the beginning of chapter 32 and the part at end of chapter 39 were pretty cute).
I know that makes it seem like I didn't like the book, but honestly these scenes I mentioned cover less than probably 5% of the novel and the other 95% is so good, so don't let it scare you off, I'm just trying to give my honest opinion! The book is very good, but these are the reasons I gave it four stars instead of five. Rant over.
"Noticing details, that was good. Tiny slivers of life--they all added up and helped you to feel that you too could be a fragment, a little piece of humanity who usefully filled a space, however miniscule."
THE BETTER
This book is not always a happy book. But it is a book that I always felt something while reading. Chapter 17 left me sad, Chapter 3 left me a little freaked out, and Chapter 32 made me feel so GOOD inside and it was wonderful and beautiful. I suppose, in a lot of ways, I feel like I identify with Eleanor. Not in any of her past traumas or anything like that, but I could just really appreciate her outlook on life, and I enjoyed seeing her navigate loss and love and friendship. I was very satisfied with this book. It elicits a lot of emotion, deals with some heavy topics, but it's also cute and sweet and funny. I definitely recommend this book, especially if you're looking for a quirky contemporary that deals with loss, mental illness, and/or friendship.
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