ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE

It’s no spoiler to reveal that she’s not in fact completely fine. Eleanor is a bit bonkers; she’s socially inept, and lonely and damaged in a way that somehow manages to be both heartbreaking and hilarious. And when Eleanor finally finds a little compassion, she ventures into a world that she has never encountered before. The first time she dances, to that party perennial Y.M.C.A., she quickly catches on – “Freeform jigging, communal shapes in the air; freeform jigging, communal shapes in the air. Dancing was easy.” But why people would sing about a “gender and faith-based youth organisation” does give her pause. There are many laughs on Eleanor’s journey, and you are left with a reinvigorated faith in the power of kindnesses.