Summary: A socially awkward recluse is forced out of her comfort zone by a co-worker, sending her carefully crafted world into chaos.
Rating & Recommendation: 5/5; recommend for the reclusive, the hermits, the Howard Hughes
Review: This was sad and entertaining. I laughed, but I was devastated. I made the mistake of over-identifying with the main character. If you've ever taken the Myers-Briggs test and been surprised that your results started with an I, you may relate to Eleanor like I did. (For the record, I'm an INTJ-T.)
"Loneliness is the new cancer."
Eleanor seemingly wants to avoid most people. You can call it anti-social or rude, but people are messy and unpredictable, and they just don't fit into her perfectly organized life. Her social interactions are stilted, and she has trouble understanding why people do what they do. I related though. Society isn't always rational. Rather, we're driven by being polite. By being nice. It's the human thing to do, but Eleanor chooses being logical over being human, and the entire book is watching her slowly discover why that doesn't always work.
I know a lot of readers found Eleanor unbearable, but my guess is people who felt that way couldn't relate to being exhausted by society, by being forced to do things simple because they're "nice" or "polite" or socially acceptable.
This entire book is about being socially unacceptable. I was grateful that a protagonist - a female, especially - was written in this way. I was wholly charmed by Eleanor, by her inner monologue, by her growth. I was grateful for the way in which the author crafted her relationship with Raymond. I was grateful for how introversion and anxiety were depicted without any accusation. It made me grateful for my own support system. I was humbled.
I had originally borrowed this book from a coworker, and loved it so much that I bought myself a copy to keep. I loaned it to my mother, who enjoyed it as much as I did. I realized that a lot of how I view the world directly correlates to how my mother views the world. This isn’t groundbreaking – children are usually like their parents. It’s why good parenting is so important. It’s also not necessarily a good thing – children should eventually learn to divest themselves of their parents’ perspectives in favor of developing some of their own.
[Spoiler: The extent to which Eleanor internalizes her mother’s opinions actually jarred me. I’m talking about the ending. But the further I got away from it, the more I understood the point.]
Fortunately, my mother is a wonderful person. She’s both rational and compassionate, and I’m happy to hear her voice in my head.
Comentarios