Eleanor Oliphant has learned how to survive – but not how to live

Eleanor Oliphant leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats the same meal deal for lunch every day and buys the same two bottles of vodka to drink every weekend.

Eleanor Oliphant is happy. Nothing is missing from her carefully timetabled life. Except, sometimes, everything.

One simple act of kindness is about to shatter the walls Eleanor has built around herself. Now she must learn how to navigate the world that everyone else seems to take for granted – while searching for the courage to face the dark corners she’s avoided all her life.

Change can be good. Change can be bad. But surely any change is better than… fine?

Review

‘A truly original literary creation: funny, touching and unpredictable. Her journey out of the shadows is expertly woven and absolutely gripping’ Jojo Moyes

‘Unforgettable, brilliant, funny and life-affirming’ Wendy Holden, DAILY MAIL

‘Original [and] unexpectedly funny’ SUNDAY TIMES

‘An outstanding debut about loneliness and the power of a little kindness’ MAIL ON SUNDAY

‘Heartbreaking and heartwarming’ STYLIST

‘Brave, smart and funny… the most refreshing and heartwarming debut I’ve read in some time’ YORKSHIRE POST

‘A narrative full of quiet warmth and deep and unspoken sadness… Wonderful and joyful’ Jenny Colgan, GUARDIAN

‘Moving, funny and devastating’ THE HERALD

‘Heartwrenching and wonderful’ Nina Stibbe

‘Deft, compassionate and moving’ Paula McLain

‘I adored it. Skilled, perceptive, Eleanor's world will feel familiar to you from the very first page. An outstanding debut!’ Joanna Cannon

‘A truly original voice and so good on loneliness: I sobbed and sobbed’ Cathy Rentzenbrink

‘Hugely original, a funny and sad tale of a survivor who tackles the challenges of emotional reconnection with grave courage. Unmissable.’ SUNDAY EXPRESS

‘Quirky, witty and absorbing’ HEAT

‘Warm and funny, moving and deeply original, Eleanor Oliphant is completely marvellous’ Gavin Extence

‘A beautiful and delicate balance between funny and heartbreaking… restores your faith in humanity’ RED

‘You’ll laugh and cry reading this fine debut’ PRIMA

‘Impeccable’ Dawn O’Porter

‘So powerful – I completely loved Eleanor Oliphant’ Fiona Barton

‘Heartbreaking’ Bryony Gordon

‘Delightful, dark and moving’ Sarah Pinborough

‘Warm, quirky and fun, with a real poignancy underneath’ Julie Cohen

‘A stunning debut! I laughed, wept and reflected’ Lucy Clarke

‘As perceptive and wise as it is funny and endearing… Warm, funny and thought-provoking’ OBSERVER

‘An absolute joy, laugh-out-loud funny but deeply moving’ DAILY EXPRESS

‘Satisfyingly quirky’ NEW YORK TIMES

While Gail Honeyman was writing her debut novel, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, it was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize as a work in progress. It has subsequently sold to almost thirty territories worldwide and it
was chosen as one of the Observer’s Debuts of the Year for 2017.

Gail was also awarded the Scottish Book Trust’s Next Chapter Award in 2014 and has been longlisted for BBC Radio 4’s Opening Lines and shortlisted for the Bridport Prize. She lives in Glasgow.