I had been hearing the buzz for weeks about Eat, Pray, Love and I was curious as to the premise when I first started reading it. A woman who goes through an awful divorce decides to spend a year finding herself, spending four months in three different countries. She’s pursuing the perfect balance between the physical, the spiritual, and the emotional. So she spend four months eating in Italy, four months praying in India, and four months loving in Bali.
The book is a splendid read, with a very conversational tone to it. The vivid language that Elizabeth Gilbert uses to describe her journeys, her insights, her struggles, and her soul mates allows you to feel as though you are walking next to her down a cobblestone path in Italy or a dirt road in India. Some of the most colorful characters in the book include Wayan the Healer from Bali and Richard from Texas whom Elizabeth meets in India.
Throughout her various paths, Elizabeth comes to find that balance isn’t in the external, but it is in the internal abyss of the soul. It is not something that you “get” but something you develop. And your biggest enemy in attaining that level of balance is yourself. The people she met along the way and the lessons she learned in the most unexpected places have captivated millions who decided to take the literary travels with her.
In general, I really enjoyed the book. There were times that I thought the lessons were “too” simple, but aren’t the best lessons really quite simple in concept? I struggled with certain portions of the book that felt too forced in their tone. The biggest culprits were the months spent in India. How do you explain personal spiritual experiences to an audience you haven’t met? The deep meditations that Elizabeth delved into were difficult for me to follow, although I admit I longed at the time for those moments of deep internal reflection and peace. I felt that the ending was a bit anti-climatic, however in all honesty, I’m not sure what I actually expected.
The book really is wonderful, oscillating between the spiritual and superficial which I can identify with in my own life. Elizabeth is an extremely talented writer who is able to capture a variety of emotions within her chapters. Like most women who read this book, I certainly wanted to go on my own self-finding quest for a year, but I settled for buying a CD to learn how to speak Italian instead.
The movie rights have been bought by Paramount. Julia Roberts will star in the movie and the release date is still to be determined, but is slated for release this year.
Readers Turn:
Have you read this book? What did you think?
How did it impact your life if at all?
If given the opportunity would you take a journey similar to Elizabeth’s?
What three countries would you visit and what you would you pursue there?
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I got the audio book of this from audible.com. Generally I don’t like audio books unless they are self development or teaching audio books. However, this one I think was GREAT on audio. The author read it and she did such a great job. It was like she was talking to me.
A movie would be great.
Great book!!
Roxanne
I loved this book! The most difficult part of her journey, for me, would have been the months she spent in India. All that meditating, day in and day out, would have driven me crazy! If I had to choose three countries to visit, I would love to visit India, but I would travel around and get to know the people. I got mad at the author when she turned down the opportunity to do that! I would also visit China. A friend of mine visited many of the “off the beaten path” cities of China, and loved it. And, for some reason, I’ve always wanted to visit Australia. The people there just seem to have that pioneer spirit that I would love to learn more about. If I had the opportunity, like Elizabeth, to make a similar trip, I would do it in a minute. I’ve always been fascinated by different cultures and people. If more people explored them, I think they would be just as surprised at our commonalities as they would be by our differences. We all want to experience happiness, love and fulfillment in our lives, regardless of our environment.
I “read” the book via my MP3 player. I LOVED it!
It made me realize anyone can do anything and create the life they desire.
I absolutely would take the chance to take a year off and travel while getting deep into knowing myself fully and completely.
India: yoga- meditation, inner peace/calm (pray)
Africa- safari, get truly in touch with raw nature (love)
Some tropical, deserted island- to eat incredibly healthy tropical fair and get all the skin cancer I could handle (eat)
I’m in a book club and this was our September book. I didn’t finish before we got together for the review. After listening to some of the comments from the members who didn’t enjoy the book, I’m skeptical about finishing.
I’ve enjoyed what I’ve read so far. I’m finding India a little hard to get through. I also have a hard time empathizing with her. It was difficult to read her complaints knowing this was something she a) chose to do and b) had already been paid for.
Overall I enjoy it. I like the writing style and tone of the book.