#pameladorman

ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE GAIL HONEYMAN MY RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️▫️▫️ PUBLISHER Pamela Dorman Books PUBLISHED May 9, 2017 ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE is a charming and heartwarming story about a quirky woman who must battle some bad days to get to the better ones.

SUMMARY Eleanor Oliphant is almost thirty, socially awkward and has worked as a finance clerk for a graphic design firm for the past nine years. She says what she thinks and she has a very specific daily routine she follows to avoid social interaction. Her weekends are filled with pizza, vodka, and talks with Mummy. Eleanor takes great pride in managing her life alone. To her, there is nothing missing in her life. Nothing that is, until she spots a man onstage that just may be the love of her life. The musician, Johnnie Lomond is “the one” and once they actually meet she knows her life will never be the same. With anticipation, she pursues an makeover: waxing, nails, hair, makeup and clothes.

The very next day her computer blows up and she meets Raymond, the shaggy, unkept new IT guy. Later that afternoon Eleanor and Raymond happen to be leaving work at the the same time. They spot Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has collapsed on the sidewalk, and because they called an ambulance and saved his life the three form a unique bond. But it’s Raymond’s genuine friendship that helps Eleanor to stoically step out of the safety of her comfort zone and explore new interactions and experiences. When the secrets of Eleanor’s past threaten to overwhelm her, she bravely battles her childhood demons with a little help from the friends she didn’t even know she had.

REVIEW ELEANOR OLIPHANT was a charming and heartwarming story about a quirky woman who experiences a metamorphosis, Not only does she seek an outward makeover, but she subjects herself to an internal transformation as well. This debut novel by GAIL HONEYMAN will make you laugh and it will make you cry, but the best part of all is witnessing Eleanor’s courage. Despite her insecurities, despite the fact that she is different, Eleanor finds the strength to face the truth of her past. In facing the truth she learns about having friends and about being a friend. In all ways that matter…ELEANOR OLIPHANT is fine. Overall, I liked the book, found it funny, easy to read, found myself highlighting many delightful passages:

“It often feels that I’m not here, that I’m a figment of my own imagination.”

“Grief is the price we pay for love, so they say. The price is far to high. “

Great reviews for upcoming debut novel Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal! In Kitchens of the Great Midwest, a charming, fast-moving round robin tale of food, sensuality and Midwestern culture, Mr. Stradal has delivered one extremely tasty, well-seasoned debut in what is sure to be a long and savory career.—Janet Fitch, author White Oleander and Paint It Black. 

"A Great American Novel in the fullest sense of the term. Everything you want a book to be."—Ben Loory, author of Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day 

“Tender, funny, and moving, J. Ryan Stradal's debut novel made me crave my mother's magic cookie bars...and every good tomato I've ever had the privilege of eating. Kitchens of the Great Midwest manages to be at once sincere yet sharply observed, thoughtful yet swiftly paced, and the lives of its fallible, realistic, and complicated characters mattered to me deeply. It's a fantastic book.”— Edan Lepucki, bestselling author of California 

"An impossible-to-put-down, one-of-a-kind novel. The prose is beautiful, the characters are unique and memorable, and the plot is surprising at every turn. I have never read a book quite like this—and neither, I'll bet, have you. This stunning debut announces J. Ryan Stradal as a first-rate voice in American fiction. This is a wildly creative, stunningly original, and very moving novel. I can't wait to see what Stradal does next."— Rob Roberge, author of The Cost of Living. 

“Kitchens of the Great Midwest is a big-hearted, funny, and class-transcending pleasure. It’s also both a structural and empathetic tour de force, stepping across worlds in the American midwest, and demonstrating with an enviable tenderness and ingenuity the tug of war between our freedom to pursue our passions and our obligations to those we love.”—Jim Shepard, author of Project X and National Book Award finalist Like You’d Understand, Anyway