Eleanor and Park

Details

Title: Eleanor and Park 
Author: Rainbow Rowell 
Publisher: St. Martin's Press 
Publication Year: 2013 
Language: English 
Genre: Young Adult, Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Chick Lit 
Rating: 7.5/10 
Continuation: No continuation yet. 
Pages: 328

Review 

Eleanor and Park is a romance novel set in the 80s, around the lives of two misfits - Eleanor and Park as the name of the novel would suggest - who find romance in an unusual situation. Eleanor's the weird new girl every school has, who draws attention to herself through her bright red hair and her comical dress sense. Park's the guy no one ever messes with and the guy who takes pity on Eleanor and lets her sit next to him on the bus. This situation soon turns to friendship and then to romance between two 16 year olds trying to navigate their way around high school and their complicated personal lives. 

This novel has been so hyped in the book community that I wasn't even sure I would like it, as is the case with most YA novels that receive a lot of fangirl attention. That's perhaps why I was pleasantly surprised at the style of writing and the unorthodox story line. I have to give Rowell credit for finding the rare story line the YA genre hadn't explored. I was expecting the cliche of two perfect teenagers falling in love, with their minor conflicts becoming the primary concerns of their perfect lives. Instead, what I got was a radical approach to the usual teenage romance. Eleanor comes from a broken family with an abusive step-father, a submissive mother and four younger siblings to share her cramped room with. Park becomes the only person she can depend on and his home becomes her sanctuary. I personally found Eleanor's character to be interesting, despite her being slightly depressing or making irrational decisions which were hard for the reader to follow. 

The character development, I believe, was excellent, with equal attention being given to the characters' personal lives, personality quirks and their interactions with each other. I found that I had a holistic view of the characters and a better understanding of their behaviour. I found it easy to relate to the characters as Rowell is able to draw the reader in and have him empathise with her characters without needing them to have ever experienced anything similar. While Eleanor's voice can sometimes be annoying, overall, I enjoyed listening to her story. 

Being set in the 80s, when technology wasn't quite as advanced, this book also makes an interesting social comment on our dependency on technology for communication and interaction. Eleanor faces simple struggles like not having a telephone and not being able to listen to music because she doesn't have batteries for her Walkman - problems we would be highly unlikely to face in the world of social media and advanced technology we live in today. The romance between the characters is limited to face-to-face communication, which further increases something I'd like to call the 'star-crossed complex'. YA novels tend to often have romances between star-crossed teenage lovers and this is further exaggerated in Eleanor and Park through the hurdles the lovers must get through just to meet each other. Personally, I was disheartened by the way the story played out in this context, especially after Eleanor's criticism of Romeo and Juliet. Eleanor believes that the story of the Shakespeare classic is ridiculous and Shakespeare is making a mockery of young romance. I was in definite agreement with this outlook on the classic, which is why Eleanor and Park's story morphing into a Romeo and Juliet one was so disappointing. 

The one major criticism I would give this book is its weak ending. After going on an exhilarating journey with the novel's unusual characters, I was heavily disappointed when I turned the page and it came to an end. The book ends on a cliffhanger, which I assume is done purposefully to make the reader think about the progression of the story and draw their own assumptions. While I thought the cliffhanger itself was clever and insightful, what bothered me was the lack of clear motive behind Eleanor's actions in the last chapter. Accustomed to understanding the characters and their behaviour, I was baffled at Eleanor's illogical decision to severe all communication with Park when she separates from him towards the end of the book. 

Eleanor and Park is a thought-provoking novel which is likely to make you appreciate the privileges you have and understand the life of those who don't. Despite it being classed as chick-lit, I would recommend it to both male and female readers simply because the story isn't trite and predictable. If you're in the mood for a feel-good, I would definitely recommend this but do expect to, perhaps, be slightly underwhelmed with the conclusion.