Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Gail Honeyman
HarperCollins
Dh73, from Amazon.com
Sometimes, a novel introduces a character so believable, so moving and so original that there is a feeling of real loss when you turn the final page.
I reread the ending of Gail Honeyman’s wonderful debut several times, just to spend a few more minutes in the upsetting, yet uplifting orbit of Eleanor Oliphant.
She will make you laugh, cry, recoil in embarrassment and reassess your own relationships – sometimes all within the same paragraph. We meet Oliphant, 30, in her office, describing her prosaic working week and her lunch of supermarket-meal-deal sandwiches, which she eats alone. She is a socially awkward, slightly dowdy character who is the subject of unkind gossip. Her ordered, matter-of-fact tone is so strange – it makes the reader also feel that there must be something wrong with her.
And then there is this crushing line about Oliphant’s conversations with a pot plant in her flat, where she lives alone: “When the silence and aloneness press down and around me, crushing me, carving me like ice, I need to speak aloud sometimes, if only for proof of life.”
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is absolutely brilliant at depicting and describing loneliness. It slowly becomes clear that Oliphant's odd behaviour and demeanour is a coping mechanism. Her mother tells her once a week she is useless, the one partner she had was violently abusive and she spent time in care. So there is no one for her to bounce off, no one to give her meaningful experiences.
Until, that is, she assists a man who has collapsed in the street, with the help of a scruffy IT assistant called Raymond. It’s not as if Oliphant needs saving by a man, as such – she just needs to know somebody is looking out for her. Bubbling along underneath all this is the mystery of her isolation, which is connected with a scar running down her face. It might sound clichéd that the terrible childhood truth she has hidden comes out during a counselling session, but it feels realistic in this context.
Well before then, you will be in Oliphant’s corner. There is a moment where she plucks up the courage for a haircut makeover.
When she finally sees herself in the mirror, a tear runs down the side of her nose as she tells the hairdresser: “Thank you for making me shiny.”
This novel is an object lesson that if we stop to think, we can all make someone feel that way.
• Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is out now
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Company info
Company name: Entrupy
Co-founders: Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder/chief executive, Ashlesh Sharma, co-founder/chief technology officer, Lakshmi Subramanian, co-founder/chief scientist
Based: New York, New York
Sector/About: Entrupy is a hardware-enabled SaaS company whose mission is to protect businesses, borders and consumers from transactions involving counterfeit goods.
Initial investment/Investors: Entrupy secured a $2.6m Series A funding round in 2017. The round was led by Tokyo-based Digital Garage and Daiwa Securities Group's jointly established venture arm, DG Lab Fund I Investment Limited Partnership, along with Zach Coelius.
Total customers: Entrupy’s customers include hundreds of secondary resellers, marketplaces and other retail organisations around the world. They are also testing with shipping companies as well as customs agencies to stop fake items from reaching the market in the first place.
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
The Specs
Price, base Dh379,000
Engine 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 503bhp
Torque 443Nm
On sale now
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match details
Wales v Hungary
Cardiff City Stadium, kick-off 11.45pm
World%20Food%20Day%20
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Defending champions
World Series: South Africa
Women’s World Series: Australia
Gulf Men’s League: Dubai Exiles
Gulf Men’s Social: Mediclinic Barrelhouse Warriors
Gulf Vets: Jebel Ali Dragons Veterans
Gulf Women: Dubai Sports City Eagles
Gulf Under 19: British School Al Khubairat
Gulf Under 19 Girls: Dubai Exiles
UAE National Schools: Al Safa School
International Invitational: Speranza 22
International Vets: Joining Jack
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
MATCH INFO
CAF Champions League semi-finals first-leg fixtures
Tuesday:
Primeiro Agosto (ANG) v Esperance (TUN) (8pm UAE)
Al Ahly (EGY) v Entente Setif (ALG) (11PM)
Second legs:
October 23
Brave CF 27 fight card
Welterweight:
Abdoul Abdouraguimov (champion, FRA) v Jarrah Al Selawe (JOR)
Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (TUN) v Alex Martinez (CAN)
Welterweight:
Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA) v Khamzat Chimaev (SWE)
Middleweight:
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Rustam Chsiev (RUS)
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) v Christofer Silva (BRA)
Super lightweight:
Alex Nacfur (BRA) v Dwight Brooks (USA)
Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (JOR) v Tariq Ismail (CAN)
Chris Corton (PHI) v Zia Mashwani (PAK)
Featherweight:
Sulaiman (KUW) v Abdullatip (RUS)
Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) v Mohammad Al Katib (JOR)
What%20is%20Dungeons%20%26%20Dragons%3F%20
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THE BIO
Occupation: Specialised chief medical laboratory technologist
Age: 78
Favourite destination: Always Al Ain “Dar Al Zain”
Hobbies: his work - “ the thing which I am most passionate for and which occupied all my time in the morning and evening from 1963 to 2019”
Other hobbies: football
Favorite football club: Al Ain Sports Club
How%20to%20avoid%20getting%20scammed
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THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
Book%20Details
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