Eleanor: A Novel

Poetic prose and vivid imagery make this a great read about the struggles of a family dealing with a horrible tragedy. The reader cannot help but mourn and hurt along with the flawed characters, and hope for healing.

Although I read quite quickly, I usually spend less than an hour reading in bed before giving in to sleepiness, so a medium sized novel such as this will last for a week or two under normal circumstances. However, yesterday evening (while I skipped the intro' excerpted on Gurley's website), I made a start; awakening this morning to the glow of my iPad screen, more than half-way through. I grabbed breakfast with one hand, and my iPad with the other continuing right from where I'd finished last night. By lunch time I had reached the end of the touching and beautiful book, only pausing for sleep and food from the moment I opened it to the moment I closed it.

The story flows easily, and somehow manages to be heartbreaking and uplifting at once. I will let it sink in for a week or two, and then read it again. Eleanor is my new favorite book, and I'm not in the least surprised to see the glowing reviews stacking up!

This was a quietly powerful book. It hauntingly beautiful and emotional and still managed to be a page turner. The description and characters are beautifully penned. I can't recommend this book enough.

Couldn't seem to put it down. Each chapter leaving mysteries of its own, I stayed up way too late each night just trying to find a good stopping point. It's different than anything I have ever read but perhaps that's why I liked it.

I discovered Jason Gurley at the beginning of this year when Hugh Howey mentioned Jason's newest short story The Dark Age. Since then Jason has become one of my favorite authors. He hits the mark again with this book. It is a great story. I don't feel like I can add much to what has already been said about this book. The characters are great and so is the story line. I really enjoyed reading this book and I believe you will to. The book made me think about how I treat people and wondering if I am making the best of every day. And just like every other Jason Gurley story I am left thinking about what happens later on after the story is over.

It makes you feel. Sad. Happy. Curious. Hurt. It reminds you of yourself, and altogether someone else. Eleanor is one of the best books I've ever had the pleasure to read. It's worth the emotion, and it leaves you with sadness- only because it's over.

This book is an incredible story of life, love, and an unwavering pursuit of happiness. I was captivated by the characters and pleasantly surprised as the story unfolded in such a way that kept the pages turning and the revelations riveting! An emotional roller coaster in the best possible way!

This independent author is one of my absolute favorites--I discovered him last summer and have devoured his every word. This book and its popularity gained him significant ground, and I am very much anticipating his next work.

The combination of a story grounded in our world and also in science fiction is fascinating. You must read this book. Gave it to my wife and she's now hooked and can't put it down. Can't say enough good of Jason gurley's writing and imagination.

Everything I've read of Jason's has been incredibly hard to put down, this was no exception. Let's start by saying this book may not be for all but with that, I loved it. It not only walks you through an amazingly crafted journey, it allows you to feel the parts of life we often ignore or pretend aren't there.

I thought the book was well written. However, the Mea chapters were a bit periphrastic and probably could have been shortened to an 1/8 of their length. Same with a The Keeper chapters. I am, admittedly, though, not a fan of Sci-Fi generally. So, keep that in mind when reading my evaluation. For me to have posted this as 5 stars, it would have needed to cut most of the "other-world" (I don't want to talk about/ give away any part of the book... So don't read "other-world" literally) part of the novel and kept only the most vital pieces. Sorry, like I said, I normally don't go for Sci-Fi. This was a book club pick.

Deeply sad, mysterious, very visual- breathtaking in the final chapters. "Eleanor" is full of dark currents to carry you off to both otherworldly and deeply interior places. I found it impossible to put down.

After reading all of the great reviews, I thought I would really like this book, but I didn't. It was dark and confusing, and I never connected with any of the characters in the book because it jumped around so much. I do feel the book was well written, and Jason Gurley has a way with words. I read his book Greatfall, and really liked that book so I was hoping I would enjoy this book as well. I just thought it was strange and depressing.

Finally a book that really is impossible to put down. This is the most compelling book I have read in a very long time. I completely lost myself in the varied worlds and was sad to reach the end. So happy Mr. Gurley persevered for so many years.

This author is an excellent writer, I can see his skill even through the gloom of this novel. Although the book is well written and superbly edited, I found the subject matter so depressing that I struggled to finish reading it.

This author is an excellent writer, I can see his skill even through the gloom of this novel. Although the book is well written and superbly edited, I found the subject matter so depressing that I struggled to finish reading it.

This is a bizarre and frustrating book. The concept, language and characters never really held my attention, but since I had already paid for it (more's the pity) I finished it. And promptly got rid of it.

The writing style Jason Gurley uses in Eleanor, especially the smooth and literary nature of the prose, kept me reading if only to watch a master at work. It wasn't until I was a few chapters in that the story of Eleanor really grabbed me. This is a well-told, surreal, emotional, and deeply moving tale that I hear it took the author 13 years to write. The time and the effort definitely shows. Whether you're a fan of literary fiction, time-travel stories, or just compelling characters in vivid and surreal situations, I would recommend this one.

There were times when I was quite engrossed with the story but at other times it wandered too much and so just too fantastical to allow me to accept what was happening. It lost me Ali g the way as the 'unreal' sequences were too drawn out and repetitive. Did not like the 'reset'. You'd have to read it to understand that. That seemed unnecessary and a 'cop-out' .