Book Review: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

Author: Gail Honeyman
Genre: Contemporary
Type: Fiction

This book is something I am glad I picked up for the Popsugar prompt 25 – A debut novel. It is not usually a genre or premise I would usually read. But I chose it through recommendations.

Eleanor Oliphant is an adult who is generally considered a social misfit. She lives alone, has a job and there is a routine for everything in her life. She doesn’t socialise. Her mother is the only person in her life she speaks to regularly. One day, she sees a musician at his band performance whom she decides is her soul mate and plans to meet him, fall in love and get married to him. Also she is introduced to a colleague, Raymond who is friendly and doesn’t see the flaws in Eleanor. The remaining story tells why Eleanor is the way she is and did her plan to covet the musician work.

The entire book is single character centric and we see a character arc in Eleanor that happens by the people she meets. You don’t see a sudden twist and turn until you know her back story. I did feel a hint of mockery on all the questions on the norms, decorum and code we follow on social behaviour. Sometimes we don’t ask questions where we need to and hide behind etiquette.

The character does grow on you as you read. Eleanor is sometimes aware of her shortcomings but she doesn’t let that bother her.

The read is a smooth ride with the ebbs and flows of laughs and grief. It can be heart-warming and heartbreaking at the same time.

This one definitely goes into my list of good reads for the year.

Verdict: Highly recommended in contemporary fiction with odd characters are odd and a warm story.

Book Review: Where'd You Go, Bernadette

Author: Maria Semple
Genre: Humour
Type: Fiction

I had selected this book for my Popsugar reading prompt 16- A book with a question in the title. I am still not sure how I feel about this book. I will try my best to put it into words.

The whole title is a little misleading. I was expecting some search expedition for a missing person from the start. But it comes almost at the end.

Bernadette is an opinionated mother of a 15 year old, Bee. She hates her neighbourhood and does most of her work through an outsourced personal assistant. Her husband is a Microsoft employee and is almost absent physically and emotionally. Bernadette has gone through so many issues like a big hit on her career as an architect, issues with her pregnancy and Bee’s health problems. When her daily life gives her grief, Bernadette disappears. Bee, who is very close to her mom, decides to find her. The remaining story says if she finds her mom or not.

The storytelling is done through a series of letters, notes and emails and a few narrations from Bee. So it makes the reading quick and easy. It is hilarious at a few scenes. But I wouldn’t say it is a laugh out loud humour. There is a whole lot of satire and sarcasm on the suburban culture of private schools, mommy clubs and Microsoft culture. But the world and characters in which the satire is played on is too shallow. I did feel sorry for Bernadette once all the reasons for her anguishes are explained.I couldn’t care any less about her neighbours. I couldn’t pine for anyone here. That is one downside about this book.

Verdict: At the end of the book, all I felt was uncertainty. I am still a bit confused if this is satire or humour.

Book Review: Behind Closed Doors

Author: B. A. Paris
Genre: Thriller
Type: Fiction

I picked this book for their reviews and rating from different sources. The author is new to me so I started with an open mind.

The story is a about a couple Jack and Grace Angel who seem to be the perfect couple to their friends. Jack is a domestic violence lawyer and has an amazing track record. Grace who used to be a fruit supply buyer for a big department store, quit her job after marrying Jack. Grace’s sister Millie has Down’s syndrome and is attending special needs school. The couple have great looks, a cute story about their courting, amazing holidays and a gorgeous home. The cherry on the top is Grace’s cooking which their friends applaud at the dinner parties. But with all the happy couple show going on, there are some deep secrets turning their life to a sham.

The story goes back and forth between Grace’s past and present. The author does not beat around the bush and there is no suspense about the dark secrets. You are immediately introduced to 2 different worlds.  Though there was potential for dark content I am grateful that there were no rambling psycho thoughts on display. There are no vivid and graphic descriptions of the cruelty, but you do fear for the person. Sometimes you feel so helpless that it makes you want to find a way to end the horror. The story keeps flowing uninterrupted and you come to the end without realising it.

In terms of character design, I think all major characters were well defined. I see the flaws on the decisions Grace makes but you can only know how your mind works if you are in that situation . Millie is observant and clever and my favourite in the novel. If it wasn't for her I don't know how the story would have proceeded.

Once I finished I thought it fit the Popsugar prompt 4: A book you think should be turned into a movie. If not a movie I think this could make a pretty good mini web series. I also think this book has a potential for a sequel.

Verdict: An engaging and exciting psychological thriller. Must read and highly recommended of the genre.

Book Review: Master of the Game

Author: Sidney Sheldon
Genre: Thriller
Type: Fiction

This book was chosen as part of Popsugar prompt 35: A book by an author whose first and last names start with the same letter. Sidney Sheldon is one of the primary authors that I had read when I moved on to thrillers from Enid Blyton’s works and Nancy Drew and I was never disappointed with any of his novels.

The novel starts with Kate Blackwell where on her ninetieth birthday she recollects the past events of her life and history of the conglomerate she owns Kruger-Brent Ltd. The story mostly happens in South Africa when diamond mining was a booming industry , describes how her father started the company from the scratch and showcases the hunger for power, riches, revenge, passion, betrayal, manipulation spanning across four generations.

You might find yourself pining for a character and the next second hating the same person making the character more humane. In most of Sheldon’s novels we can find strong-willed female characters. One such person is Kate though I am not going to debate on if she is good or evil. Every generation has 1 or 2 central characters and the writing does not make us feel the length of the book.

The novel never slows at any point. It is entertaining, ruthless and unputdownable.