{"id":2296,"date":"2024-06-11T13:09:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-11T20:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2296"},"modified":"2024-06-11T13:09:47","modified_gmt":"2024-06-11T20:09:47","slug":"bookshelf-eleanor-oliphant-is-completely-fine-gail-honeyman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2296","title":{"rendered":"Bookshelf \u2013 Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you believe everybody\u2019s broken in some way, or at least capable of being riven by life\u2019s random tribulations, then you will bond with Eleanor Oliphant.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Nine years ago, Eleanor showed up for a job interview with \u201ca black eye, a couple of missing teeth and a broken arm,\u201d got hired nonetheless, and, at age 30, alone and hermetic, holds her fractured self together through rigid routine, harsh dismissal of others, and wet weekends of self-dosing with bottom shelf vodka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eleanor is far from fine; she\u2019s a mess. She\u2019s also the keeper of horrific secrets rooted in past violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, Eleanor yearns to be more, and thanks to a series of chance encounters with open-hearted people who look beyond her physical disfigurement and emotional deep-freeze, she slowly morphs, leaning more and more into life\u2019s small pleasures. Ah, the kindness of strangers \u2013 such magical medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eleanor could be a caricature (another heroine of the \u201cresurrection\u201d genre) but Honeyman humanizes her via clever, direct writing that mostly scrubs the narrative clean of cringeworthy gasps and heart-tugs. She also astutely perceives of what it means to be different in a society where normality is prized perhaps even more than celebrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA nose that\u2019s too small and eyes that are too big,\u201d says Eleanor in self-appraisal. \u201cEars: unexceptional. Around average height, approximately average weight. I aspire to average … I\u2019ve been the focus of far too much attention in my time. Pass me over, move along please. Nothing to see here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there is much to see in the pages of \u201cEleanor Oliphant.\u201d It is an enjoyable mix of mystery and empathy, fun to read, but also a reminder that we humans are ourselves books whose content cannot be divined by our crumpled covers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you believe everybody\u2019s broken in some way, or at least capable of being riven by life\u2019s random tribulations, then you will bond with Eleanor Oliphant. Nine years ago, Eleanor showed up for a job interview with \u201ca black eye, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[784],"tags":[770,890,889,837],"class_list":["post-2296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","tag-book-review","tag-eleanor-oliphant","tag-gail-honeyman","tag-novel"],"yoast_head":"\nBookshelf \u2013 Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman - Tim Porter's Second Draft<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you believe everybody\u2019s broken in some way, or at least capable of being riven by life\u2019s random tribulations, then you will bond with Eleanor Oliphant.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2296\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bookshelf \u2013 Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman - Tim Porter's Second Draft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you believe everybody\u2019s broken in some way, or at least capable of being riven by life\u2019s random tribulations, then you will bond with Eleanor Oliphant.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2296\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tim Porter's Second Draft\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/timporterphotography\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-11T20:09:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-11T20:09:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/EleanorOliphant-199x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tim Porter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tim Porter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2296\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2296\",\"name\":\"Bookshelf \u2013 Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman - Tim Porter's Second Draft\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2296#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2296#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/EleanorOliphant-199x300.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-11T20:09:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-11T20:09:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/#\/schema\/person\/efd6f6b05808f784091b582e4231621d\"},\"description\":\"If you believe everybody\u2019s broken in some way, or at least capable of being riven by life\u2019s random tribulations, then you will bond with Eleanor Oliphant.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2296#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2296\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2296#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/EleanorOliphant.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/EleanorOliphant.jpg\",\"width\":996,\"height\":1500},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2296#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Bookshelf \u2013 Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/\",\"name\":\"Tim Porter's Second Draft\",\"description\":\"Photography, Books, Journalism & Other Curiosities\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/#\/schema\/person\/efd6f6b05808f784091b582e4231621d\",\"name\":\"Tim Porter\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/964890359b5d3b9d2229d81cf1c545c03e5f2c1369af8c0b1cc43e74b6b4abef?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/964890359b5d3b9d2229d81cf1c545c03e5f2c1369af8c0b1cc43e74b6b4abef?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tim Porter\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\"],\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Bookshelf \u2013 Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman - Tim Porter's Second Draft","description":"If you believe everybody\u2019s broken in some way, or at least capable of being riven by life\u2019s random tribulations, then you will bond with Eleanor Oliphant.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2296","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Bookshelf \u2013 Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman - Tim Porter's Second Draft","og_description":"If you believe everybody\u2019s broken in some way, or at least capable of being riven by life\u2019s random tribulations, then you will bond with Eleanor Oliphant.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2296","og_site_name":"Tim Porter's Second Draft","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/timporterphotography","article_published_time":"2024-06-11T20:09:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-06-11T20:09:47+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/EleanorOliphant-199x300.jpg"}],"author":"Tim Porter","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tim Porter","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2296","url":"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2296","name":"Bookshelf \u2013 Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman - Tim Porter's Second Draft","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2296#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2296#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/EleanorOliphant-199x300.jpg","datePublished":"2024-06-11T20:09:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-11T20:09:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/#\/schema\/person\/efd6f6b05808f784091b582e4231621d"},"description":"If you believe everybody\u2019s broken in some way, or at least capable of being riven by life\u2019s random tribulations, then you will bond with Eleanor Oliphant.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2296#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2296"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2296#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/EleanorOliphant.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/EleanorOliphant.jpg","width":996,"height":1500},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?p=2296#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Bookshelf \u2013 Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Gail Honeyman"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/","name":"Tim Porter's Second Draft","description":"Photography, Books, Journalism & Other Curiosities","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/#\/schema\/person\/efd6f6b05808f784091b582e4231621d","name":"Tim Porter","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/964890359b5d3b9d2229d81cf1c545c03e5f2c1369af8c0b1cc43e74b6b4abef?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/964890359b5d3b9d2229d81cf1c545c03e5f2c1369af8c0b1cc43e74b6b4abef?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Tim Porter"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.timporter.com"],"url":"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2296"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2298,"href":"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2296\/revisions\/2298"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.timporter.com\/seconddraft\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}