I am usually fairly good at spotting books I’m just not going to like without reading them, but I try to keep an open mind. Sometimes I am surprised if I do read one, as I was when I read Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. Sometimes I am not.
Nora Seed’s life started out with a lot of promise, but for one reason or other she quit doing all the things she’s good at. Haig begins with a countdown of days and hours before she decides to commit suicide. Having taken an overdose, she ends up in a library of all the lives she could have had, free to try some of them out.
I kept my patience and read through the first alternative life, about a quarter of the book. Then I quit.
Why didn’t I like it? Let me count the ways:
- The horrible sprightly tone with which it discusses a character who is so miserable she is suicidal
- The choppy rhythm of its writing. Almost every sentence begins subject verb subject verb, more like a children’s book than an adults’.
- The lack of character depth, or really any personality at all
- The lack of any kind of depth or subtlety
- The confused and poorly thought out working of the library
- Pretty much everything else about the book
What? Me Read? 
I’ve been (very) mildly interested in this novel and, by coincidence, just had it highly recommended to me. Thanks for the review — I knew there was some reason I was hesitating!
Well, lots of people thought it was wonderful. I’m just not one of them.
I’m not questioning your judgment at all! Just the reverse, in fact, as it confirms my own assessment. I’ve taken this book off the shelf during at least three bookstore browses, looked at it, thought of all those people who raved about it and . . . . went on to something else!
LOL!
I really agree with you and I did not finish this book. Drove me crazy.
Sent from my iPhone
>
Ha ha, thanks, Lucie! And thanks for making a comment instead of lurking! I would post a winking face, but I don’t know how from this interface.
I’ve read the Kindle sample. It seemed a little superficial to me in tone so I hadn’t decided to buy or check it out to read the rest. The author himself suffers from depression and has written about it so his treatment of a depressed character is interesting…
I don’t remember him spending much time on her depression.
I had my suspicions that this might not be a book for me, but now you’ve totally banged in the last nail on this book’s coffin for me. No way would I enjoy this one. Thanks!
I’ve accomplished my mission.
You certainly have!
I know Matt Haig’s books are very popular, but I’ve never felt tempted to read any of them as I can usually tell when I’m not going to like a book too. It sounds like I was right to avoid this one!
Maybe so.
At least we got to read a fun review!
Thanks!
Sounds dire! I’ve always been put off by the fact that it was about someone contemplating suicide and yet sounded as if it was supposed to be amusing, so you’ve pretty much confirmed my expectations of it, and I will continue to avoid it!