Book 11: Eat, Pray, Love

TITLE: Eat. Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
AUTHOR: Elizabeth Gilbert
STARTED: April 25, 2010

FINISHED: May 5, 2010
PAGES: 334
GENRE: Memoir

FIRST SENTENCE: When you're traveling in India - especially through holy sites and Ashrams - you see a lot of people wearing beads around their necks.

SUMMARY: [From Amazon.com] Gilbert grafts the structure of romantic fiction upon the inquiries of reporting in this sprawling yet methodical travelogue of soul-searching and self-discovery. Plagued with despair after a nasty divorce, the author, in her early 30s, divides a year equally among three dissimilar countries, exploring her competing urges for earthly delights and divine transcendence. First, pleasure: savoring Italy's buffet of delights - the world's best pizza, free-flowing wine and dashing conversation partners - Gilbert consumes la dolce vita as spiritual succor. "I came to Italy pinched and thin," she writes, but soon fills out in waist and soul. Then, prayer and ascetic rigor: seeking communion with the divine at a sacred ashram in India, Gilbert emulates the ways of yogis in grueling hours of meditation, struggling to still her churning mind. Finally, a balancing act in Bali, where Gilbert tries for equipoise "betwixt and between" realms, studies with a merry medicine man and plunges into a charged love affair. Sustaining a chatty, conspiratorial tone, Gilbert fully engages readers in the year's cultural and emotional tapestry - conveying rapture with infectious brio, recalling anguish with touching candor--as she details her exotic tableau with history, anecdote and impression.

THOUGHTS: I could easily love this book, but I can't get around the fact that I'm not sure I like the author as an individual. There are moments I fell in love with Gilbert's story and writing, but there were other times I found her selfish and overbearing. In some ways, Gilbert felt bipolar. The story of Gilbert's journey is quite fascinating, but somehow I felt a disconnect between the author and her story. I guess it feels like Gilbert could not have possibly written this book. I don't know how to explain it, but there was an inherent separation between journey and author that makes the book feel slightly standoffish.

If I appreciated anything about this book, it was that Gilbert was truly introspective and honest about herself. In her favor, Gilbert understands that people may not "get" her. It is clear throughout the book that Gilbert knows people may not like or respect her or her needs. The whole point of the book is that Gilbert sets out on a journey to find herself. It sounds cliche, but the whole journey of the book actually works. Gilbert's time in all Italy, India, and Indonesia is beautifully explain in emotional prose and narrative. There are moments of emotional (or philosophical) clarity  that I wish I could create or encounter. Gilbert has a dry sense of wit and a keen knowledge of her own shortcomings that lends this book a feeling of (I hate to say it) authenticity.

Additionally, Gilbert has a way with words. Throughout the book she discusses her love of language and this passion shows in her writing. More than once I Gilbert made me crave the food she was discussing. I need that pizza from Naples, gosh darn it. I think the words lush and vivid would aptly describe her ability to write and describe scenes, people, and emotion. I can see why this book is being turned into a movie - it's very heavy on imagery.

Sadly, my inability to fully like the author makes this book just an okay read for me. If I had liked her, I have a feeling I would gush praise about this book to anyone who would listen. Gilbert's journey is fascinating and extremely well written, I'm disappointed in my own ability to get over my dislike for the author herself. I wanted to like her, but too many times it felt like she was leeching off the emotional stability and insights of those around her.


There is just one other thing about this book that irritated me. Gilbert clearly states that she decided to write the book before she went on the year-long journey. She even had a book deal in place. This bugs me because it leads me to believe that Gilbert could have fabricated parts of her story. I have a feeling she didn't, but the fact that her trip had a financial and professional incentive rubs me the wrong way.


I read this memoir for book club and here is what a fellow member thought.


RATING: 6/10 [Good]