I Finally Read Reese Witherspoon's First-Ever Book Club Pick from 2017...and I Have Thoughts

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Fresh off the heels of reading Reese Witherspoon’s most recent book club selection —Ally Condie’s twisty thriller, The Unwedding , which I really enjoyed—it got me thinking: What other gems are hiding among the star’s book club picks? Naturally, I went back to the start and picked up the first-ever Reese Witherspoon Book Club book: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine . And friends, I loved it. Read on for my full review (including why I highly recommend picking up a copy for yourself if you haven’t already).

The book begins with Eleanor Oliphant, almost 30 and living alone in Glasgow. She is, for lack of a better term, quirky. She follows a rigid routine that includes going to a nine-to-five bookkeeping job she’s had for almost a decade and making contact with as few human beings as possible. When she does have to interact with others, she’s awkward and oblivious to social cues and norms. (Her reaction to seeing people flirt is worth the price of admission alone.)

Over the course of the book, Gail Honeyman slowly rolls out details of Eleanor’s traumatic past, including stints in multiple foster homes, a substantial scar on her cheek and weekly phone conversations with her “Mummy,” who’s currently incarcerated.

Basically, she’s spent her entire life stuck in a rut, until she meets Raymond, a gentle, easygoing colleague who becomes her first real friend. At first she considers him slovenly and unkempt, but he’s pretty much the only person in the office—or in her life in general—who treats her like a normal person.

It’s funny, sad and satisfying to see Eleanor begin to creep out of her shell, and, without giving too much away, I will say that while her entrée to the modern world is bumpy and at times tragic, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

In short, this book is everything that Reese's Book Club has come to stand for: strong female characters, emerging writers and quirky-real stories that draw the reader in from the very first page.