I've no memory of where this copy came from, but suspect it was a present from a friend at some point. It's taken me a while to get round to reading, but I enjoyed it much more than expected.

I should note that I get why some hate this novel. Its handling of trauma, depression, social services, and alcoholism are all massively over-simplistic. This isn't gritty realism; it's tissue box cosy drama with a promise of happy endings.

But personally I think there's room within literature for this genre - especially when it's done in such a a captivating and imaginative way. Eleanor Oliphant is a great character (though not, as I accept, a realistic one) and I loved the rollercoaster emotion of her developing story. I cried lots, but they were happy tears. Reading the novel was a cathartic, uplifting experience. It taught me little about the realities of extreme childhood trauma, but it still took me on an emotional and thought-provoking journey.

I recommend.

Sent to my UK Secret Santa. Merry Christmas!

This is a book that I know most of our monthly Book Club has read - leaving me the odd one out - until now. I am looking forward to finally reading this book and I suspect it will not remain on tbr for long.

Sadly, this descended down the tbr pile a few times but made its way back up this year in a spectacular crash of the tbr pile resulting in a mix of books over a much larger area than I realised until it happened! Specific books have made their way back up again and this was one of them which I read in August this year.

This was an intimate and compelling read detailing the life of Eleanor Oliphant and her ascent back to the world of 'normality' from her fog of isolation and unreality. I am another who disbelieves that trauma, depression, alcoholism would be treated like this and social services would never do this so I can see where that criticism comes from, but I set aside reality and just read it as a feel-good promise of a future - not necessarily a rosy future, but at least a future - so setting aside such thoughts, this becomes a very gentle and caring book with a 'feel-good' factor. Most of my monthly Book Group seemed to latch onto this feature and just ride with it all through the rosy haze, which I did find strange as 2 of them are involved with Social Services!

However, I did enjoy this book and would recommend it to others to read. I may have a plan for this, wait and see .......

Released into the Already Crossed Bookbox for its new round.