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Books like Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
by Gail Honeyman
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine follows a lonely, rigidly routined woman whose careful surface starts to crack when small kindnesses find her. Gail Honeyman writes it very funny and then quietly heartbreaking. If you want more books that pull that exact switch, these are the picks.
The shortlist
What to read next
A Man Called Oveby Fredrik Backman
“A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman 2012 review. A fifty-nine-year-old Swedish curmudgeon plans his suicide until a young family moves in across the courtyard. Backman's debut.”
Anxious Peopleby Fredrik Backman
“Anxious People by Fredrik Backman 2020 review. A failed bank robber takes a Stockholm apartment-viewing hostage. Backman's structurally most ambitious novel and the basis for the Netflix limited series.”
The Maidby Nita Prose
“The Maid by Nita Prose 2022 review. A neurodivergent hotel maid finds a guest dead in his suite and becomes the primary suspect. New York Times bestseller and the basis for the Florence Pugh film.”
Lessons in Chemistryby Bonnie Garmus
“Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus 2022 review. Elizabeth Zott, a chemist pushed out of academic research in the early 1960s, becomes the unlikely host of a hit cooking show. A debut novel that became the basis for the Apple TV+ adaptation with Brie Larson.”
The Thursday Murder Clubby Richard Osman
“The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman 2020 review. Four Kent retirees who discuss cold cases weekly land an actual murder in their retirement village. Canonical contemporary British cozy mystery.”
Beartownby Fredrik Backman
“Beartown by Fredrik Backman 2017 review. A small Swedish forest town stakes its identity on its junior hockey team. An assault by the star player splits the town. Backman's most ambitious novel and the first of the Beartown trilogy.”
FAQ
Common questions about Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine read-alikes
- What is the closest match?
- A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. A prickly, isolated person is slowly pulled back into life by the people around them, funny until it is suddenly moving. Eleanor and Ove are the two books readers most often recommend as a pair.
- I want the same voice with a mystery attached.
- The Maid by Nita Prose gives you another socially literal, big-hearted narrator, this time solving a murder in the hotel she cleans. Same lovable-outsider appeal, with a whodunit to pull you along.
- I want a warm, funny, feel-good ensemble.
- Anxious People and The Thursday Murder Club both surround you with flawed, endearing people and end up unexpectedly touching. Perfect if you loved how Eleanor's world slowly filled with friends.
- I want a smart woman refusing to shrink.
- Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus centers a brilliant, blunt scientist who will not soften for anyone, funny and furious at once. It shares Eleanor's refusal to perform normal, in a different key.
The original