Eleanor Oliphant is living a regimented life with a unique outlook shaped by her childhood. A chance encounter with a co-worker leads to her breaking out of her past and finding friendship and healing.
My first impression of the book was that we all are living our own reality shaped by our unique experiences. It's so easy to assume everyone else is coming from the same place. I was drawn into the story to understand Eleanor's experiences and how they led to her behavior. The story is told with humor that makes the reality bearable and demonstrates the strength of the human spirit. A great read!
Quotes
p. 91 - [She observes Raymond's mother looking at her son] She looked at him with so much love that I had to turn away. At least I know what love looks like, I told myself. That's something. No one had ever looked at me like that, but I'd be able to recognize it if they ever did."
p. 165 - [After Raymond touched her shoulder] A human hand was exactly the right weight, exactly the right temperature for touching another person, I realized.
p. 227 - These days, loneliness is the new cancer - a shameful, embarrassing thing, so horrifying that you dare not mention it; other people don't want to hear the word spoken aloud for fear that they might too be afflicted, or that it might tempt fate into visiting a similar horror upon them.
p. 299 [From her counselor about her childhood experiences] ...there were terrible, terrible consequences for everyone involved. And none of that is your fault, Eleanor, absolutely none of it. "I don't know if you need to forgive your mother, Eleanor," she said,. "But I'm certain of one thing: you need to forgive yourself".
Published: 2017 Read: December 2019 Genre: Fiction
No comments:
Post a Comment
Post your comments here, would love to hear what you think