I have to say that this book isn’t the kind I normally review here, but I read it and loved it and thought I’d share. It is about a woman, so it’s in the realm of what I review, at least.

Eleanor is thirty and has a job as a finance administration assistant at a graphic design firm, something she’s been doing since finishing college. She doesn’t really get along with her coworkers because she’s totally socially inept and doesn’t care at all to overcome that. In fact, part of her ineptness is not caring. Rightfully, her coworkers think she’s weird. But when she and a coworker help an old man in the street, it sets off an interesting and unexpected chain of events. She wasn’t interested in helping the guy:

Even alcoholics deserve help, I suppose, although they should get drunk at home, like I do, so they don’t cause anyone else any trouble. But then, not everyone is as sensible and considerate as me.

But Raymond—her coworker—has a very different outlook on things. They help the man and Raymond convinces her to visit him in the hospital, when they meet and befriend his family, against her better sensibilities. Raymond becomes an agent of change in her life, helping her make herself a totally different person by the end.

There’s also quite the mystery because we know something really bad happened to her when she was young, but we—and she herself, actually—don’t know what it is. It’s a pretty engaging storyline that will keep you guessing, even though once you find out, it feels fairly obvious. But in a good way.

Anyway, I really liked this book. It’s very unusual because of the character so if you’re looking for something quite unique, pick this one up.