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Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine | Gail Honeyman

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Question 4. @Jess7 posted Question 3.

#LitsyBuddyRead @LitsyBuddyRead

jhod I read this earlier this year, just reading the questions makes me a bit tearful reminiscing about Eleanor's journey :-) 7y

CatLass007 Eleanor is an interesting person, no matter how difficult she may be to be around. Raymond probably finds her fascinating. If their relationship progresses beyond friendship it would be a surprise to me though. I‘m not really sure it should, that would perpetuate the myth that men and women can‘t be friends. (I wouldn‘t date anyone who smoked as much as he does.) Eleanor has learned how to be a friend, not just how to have a friend. (edited) 7y

Andrew65 I loved that part where Eleanor realised that difficult behaviour didn't mean the end of a relationship, the most startling message she learnt. So sad that her early life experiences, and the abuse she suffered meant she thought the opposite was true. 😢 (edited) 7y

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MinDea @jhod feel free to join the discussion! The more the merrier! 7y

Andrew65 I think the experiences with Raymond will allow her to let others in, and hopefully to trust them. (edited) 7y

Valeka I hope they remain friends. The love of a good friend who will see you through the difficult times is just as valuable, if not moreso, as a romantic relationship. But I do think that Eleanor‘s relationship with Raymond has helped her to be open to the possibility of friendships with others. 7y

Andrew65 @Valeka it feels like her relationship with Raymond will be more like brother and sister. Has she found a new family with Raymond and his mum? 7y

Valeka @Andrew65 I like to think that Raymond and his mother will be the family she never had. And Sammy was the father she missed having. 7y

Andrew65 @Valeka That would certainly be a happy and uplifting end to the book. I was pleased (not sure that is the right word) that her mother had died, and that outcome aligned with my thoughts through the book that her mother was dead and that conversation was happening in her head. That woman was pure evil, Eleanor did well to survive and must be such a strong personality, but too close to call at points! 7y

riversong153 You know, I really wanted them to get together but now I‘m not so sure. They are really good friends and he‘s teaching her about unconditional love and friendship. That doesn‘t have to include romance considering her last relationship. 7y

Valeka I am going to really miss Eleanor!!! This book really tugged on my heartstrings. I felt such a connection to Eleanor and know I‘m going to reread this book again (which is rare for me). 7y

MinDea @Valeka this is unrelated to Eleanor, but I found out that a co-worker of mine has 2 adopted kids and both kids have their biological moms around as part of their family. I remember your comment when we were reading #LFE and thought you would like to hear that this is done and your ideal state for the adoption of Mirabelle does exist. ☺ 7y

Valeka Oh my goodness, @MinDea that‘s amazing!! Thank you so much for sharing that! It takes so much strength of character for both parties to be open to doing that. I‘m happy to know that is possible. 😊 7y

Pamwurtzler I thought I wanted Raymond & Eleanor to get together as well, but towards the end of the book I was glad they were just friends. She needs someone to simply be her friend and there for her. 7y

MinDea @Valeka I so agree that it has to take a lot of stength, understanding, empathy and mainly trust. I had so many questions for my co-worker. I was pretty amazed by it. 7y

Andrew65 @Pamwurtzler I would agree with that too. 7y

Redwritinghood He seems to be a good influence in her life. She‘s starting to see that people don‘t have to be perfect to be good company. 7y

mrp27 I loved Raymond, he was great to Eleanor. Glad they didn't get together as well. 7y

DebbieGrillo I agree with you @riversong153 and I was really glad that the author left there relationship as open to potential development in the end. Who knows? 7y

Jess7 We would love to hear your thoughts @Sydsavvy @TheRomantiCate @CathyJ @britt_brooke @JamieArc @slategreyskies if you‘re able to join the discussion :-) here is the fourth question! 7y

MinDea I don't think Raymond and Eleanor should end up together. I think they have a wonderful friendship and should keep building that. No need to bring in romance. What if it didn't work out between them. That would be so sad for her to lose her first friend. 7y

Jess7 I think Raymond‘s unconditional friendship has been hugely important to Eleanor‘s self awakening (for lack of a better word). He has shown her that she is worthy of friendship and love regardless of her faults. 7y

Jess7 I agree @MinDea - I like that the author left open the possibility of something more between Eleanor and Raymond. I think introducing a romantic relationship to their dynamic might be a bit too soon, but I would like to see them end up together a few years down the road once she learns to make more friends and gets to a more stable healthy ground personally. I loved both of these characters and I really liked the character development in this book 7y

britt_brooke The author left it open to interpretation, but I like to think they remained great friends, nothing more. She has no family so he and his mom take her in so to speak. Maybe in the following years, they each fall in love with someone else, but will remain like siblings. That‘s my ending. 7y

Suelizbeth Should their relationship become more? That‘s entirely up to them and I‘m glad the ending was left open to possibility. Eleanor still has a long way to go to overcome her distrust and cynicism but with Raymond‘s help she‘s getting there. 7y

Sydsavvy Raymond was a much needed breath of fresh air in Eleanor's world. I thought it was Perry to leave the possibility open to more. 7y

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MinDea

Little Fires Everywhere | Celeste Ng

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Here is question 4. @Jess7 just posted question 3.

#botmBuddyRead #LFE ReadAlong @bookloo @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @MrsV @TheBookHippie

Valeka I think Mia knew that she and Pearl weren‘t meant to stay in Shaker Heights. I feel like the photos were a way to show the family that an outsider knew and understood them better than they knew each other even though they lived under the same roof. The photos were reminders of their greatest weaknesses and strengths. Mia SAW them in ways that they didn‘t see each other. I could write an essay about this part of the book - so much there!! 7y

Redwritinghood This part was interesting. It showed them that the can‘t hide their true selves from everyone. Mia saw them for how they really were. It may have brought some relief to know that there‘s someone they didn‘t have to put up a perfect front for. 7y

AmyG @Redwritinghood Good point about hiding their true selves. Maybe they even hid a bit of themselves...from themselves....not wanting to face that part of themself. Mia gave them something personal for them to consider and for the others to know. They are family complete with imperfections. (edited) 7y

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TheBookHippie I agree that she was showing them I see you...do you see you? I think she taught them a lot and probably changed them for the rest of their lives .. 7y

cathysaid @Valeka Yes! I agree with all of this. I, too, thought that Mia meant for the viewer to see a truer perspective. 7y

cathysaid I also think it was a direct dig at Mrs R, especially the way the pics were left, it's as if Mia was telling her that a virtual stranger could connect better with her kids than Mrs R, because Mrs R refused to see anyone as they truly existed; instead, she twisted reality to fit in the mold she chose for them. (edited) 7y

cathysaid And finally...I couldn't help but hear this song in my head thinking of Mrs R and Shaker Heights! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VUoXtddNPAM 7y

Redwritinghood @AmyG Yes, they may not have been able to confront those parts of themselves until Mia identified them@in a picture. A lot of people in the community seemed to lie to themselves and others about their lives. 7y

MinDea @Valeka well said! Yes, this scene could be a dissertation paper all on it's own. So deep, so much symbolism and so much to say! 7y

ChasingOm This was one of my favorite parts of the book. I love the images @Pronounced_ing left the characters (and us!) with. 7y

Jess7 So I was talking to someone IRL about this book, and I think she brought up an interesting point that I had failed to consider. I accepted without question Mia‘s wisdom and ability to see the Richardson family for who they really were, but I wonder if Mia‘s character in real life would have had the ability to see all that she did given her lack of real connections with anyone for many years. Her life experiences were pretty limited. @MinDea @Redwritinghood 7y

Jess7 I loved the photos in the book too. I like @cathysaid ‘s take about Mrs. R. I agree with that statement 7y

MinDea @Jess7 why do you feel that Mia had limited life experiences? I'm not sure if that is true... she traveled all over, did art in all the places she lived, went to school, worked jobs to fill in for money... 7y

Jess7 Limited life experiences in terms of connections with people. She had never been in love with a man or woman. She had never stayed in one place very long to develop connections with anyone besides maybe her parents, her brother and maybe her teacher. I just thought the person I discussed it with made a fair point that the amount of wisdom and ability to pick up on a lot of things might not have been as inherent in Mia‘s character IRL. @MinDea (edited) 7y

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Jess7

Little Fires Everywhere | Celeste Ng

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“Sometimes you need to scorch everything to the ground, and start over. After the burning the soil is richer, and new things can grow. People are like that, too. They start over. They find a way.” ― #CelesteNg, #LittleFiresEverywhere |⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 stars| #QUOTEABLE - #SPOOKYOCTOBER |#MustRead |#ReadThisNow | #Recommendsday | #LFE | #JPFavorite |
I‘m excited for our final #BOTMBuddyRead | #LFEReadAlong discussion Sunday! Are you? Join us! 🤗

TheBookHippie, MinDea, MrsV, Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks, Jess7, bookloo

AmyG This quote speaks volumes. 7y

TheBookHippie The quote is perfect!!!! I‘m ready!!!! 7y

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