(Kind of like my mom in the last years of her life. She was always "Fine," whenever you asked how she was. In fact, everyone was fine and everything was fine. Was she trying to convince herself or just convince me?)
Eleanor is a 30-something living a solitary life in Scotland, working as an accounts clerk at a graphic design firm. She goes to work, where she spends much of each day judging her co-workers. She spends her lunch hour at the same spot eating the same thing every day, while doing the crossword puzzle. And then she goes home, alone, to eat (pesto during the week, pizza on Fridays), drink vodka, read, and sleep. A really sad existence. No friends. Unless she goes to her corner convenience store over the weekend, she can go from leaving work on Friday to returning to work on Monday without speaking to another soul.
At 30, Eleanor has zero social skills, an outdated way of speaking, and an odd sense of dress that she thinks should make her invisible, but rather makes her stand out as an oddball instead. She spots a musician with whom she "falls in love" and dreams of a normal future on the arms of this rock star.
In the process of trying to recreate herself to be the perfect mate to the musician, Eleanor is removed from her routines. While out of routine, she and a co-worker witness a man collapsing on the street and get him to the hospital. She is drawn into the lives of these two men and this is what really starts Eleanor's whole world changing.
I found parts of the novel extremely predictable, but Honeyman's descriptive language and development of the characters were a joy. Even when Eleanor rediscovers some not so joyful parts of her past, we are rooting for her. I'm sure I'm not alone in being able to connect with Eleanor on some levels. I don't want to say that this is a feel good read, because it truly isn't. But I did really enjoy reading it.
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