Eat, Pray, Love
As I mentioned to a couple of my sisses, this definitely won't make it on to my top 10 list, but it I think the author (Elizabeth Gilbert) accomplished her goal of writing a spiritual journey memoir through a year of travels, and it did offer a lot of personal and spiritual insights that hit home for me.Things I liked:
1) The personal, and accessible narrative offered through her diary-esque memoir. As the reader, I felt like I was looking intimately into someone's life that I have never met, knowing and understanding things that only her dearest friends should know. In that way, I felt a bit of a connection to her personal journey, and felt like her experiences are the same as everyone's experiences.
2) The section in India. Since Elizabeth Gilbert planned to spend 4 months in each of the three countries (Italy, India then Indonesia), she wrote the book in equal thirds, as well. The middle third was what I enjoyed most. For one, it had less personal drama and more personal reflections and insights, which may be what I'm craving more right now. And, this is when the author really comes to rely on her own strengths and depend on herself, balancing her mind (full of self-deprecating thoughts, as we've all experienced) and her heart (which she comes to understand is her biggest supporter and life-saver). I found that idea comforting; an understanding and state of being which I can aspire for.
Things I didn't like:
1) I felt like her writing style, as accessible as it was, wasn't worthy of the #1 New York Times Bestseller. Like I said, it was almost like reading someone's diary, or maybe just the way someone would tell you the story in person, complete with all the juicy details of personal drama. Though I did get a kick out of it at times, it just didn't seem well-polished overall.
2) The whole premise seemed a little too planned out for me. For being a spiritual journey memoir, it was a little extreme in the happily-ever-after ranking.
(I'm trying to go easy on it, because I think a lot of what I didn't like is actually personal and unfair judgements of the author, who's writing often rubbed me the wrong way, and who I couldn't help viewing as spoiled and arrogant. Though, like I said, they're unfair judgements, and I imagine a lot of what she wrote and revealed - if it's all true - is extremely hard to make public.)
That's all I'll say. I do want to say that if you were thinking about reading this, I recommend it, with about 3 out of 5 stars. :-)
posted by Mich at 11:25 AM
3 Comments:
Great review, Mich! I think you were very fair too. You confirmed my (heretofore unsubstantiated) impression that this is one of those books that is unworthy of all the attention it gets. Eat Pray Love is the new Ya-Ya Sisterhood!
I'm right in the middle of this book. Do you think she created her experiences because she already had the book deal or if her experiences created the book? I wonder . . .
Mich, I read this book after you mentioned it to me, and I have to agree with your entire assessment: A fun, chatty read, although not particularly artistic. Like you said, her journey to find God and herself encompassed some universal themes a lot of us can relate too. But by the end, all the self-indulgence, navel-gazing, and privilege took care of whatever empathy I began the book with. (I think that's the personal judgment you hesitated to pass on her...) Evenso, I was still happy that it all worked out for her in the end.
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