Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Eat Pray Love

by Elizabeth Gilbert

A transformational journey through Italy, India, and Bali searching for pleasure and devotion—the massive bestseller from the author of Big Magic and City of Girls.

This beautifully written, heartfelt memoir touched a nerve among both readers and reviewers. Elizabeth Gilbert tells how she made the difficult choice to leave behind all the trappings of modern American success (marriage, house in the country, career) and find, instead, what she truly wanted from life. Setting out for a year to study three different aspects of her nature amid three different cultures, Gilbert explored the art of pleasure in Italy and the art of devotion in India, and then a balance between the two on the Indonesian island of Bali. By turns rapturous and rueful, this wise and funny author (whom Booklist calls “Anne Lamott’s hip, yoga- practicing, footloose younger sister”) is poised to garner yet more adoring fans.

Reviewed by jeannamichel on

4 of 5 stars

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Elizabeth Gilbert just got a divorce with her husband. Then she broke up with her boyfriend. Deeply depressed- she longs to find solace with God and maybe get some balance in her life. Liz decides, in order to do this, she must drop her job and life in New York and travel for the year in search of ultimate peace.
First, she travels to Italy and starts her journey by eating the best food in town- she slowly begins to recover from her depression. Then, she goes to India and finds peace with God, living in an Ashram. Then over to Indonesia where she has visited once before.
This novel holds a wonderful structured concept, but by the end seemed a bit too personal to me.
Have you ever had a feeling that you are reading something that was way too "grown up" for you? Well, that was my feeling by the end of this novel. I really want to see this movie- so I vowed that I needed to read the book first. These sort of books should come with warnings: I am nonfiction. Beware of real people and real events. This is NOT a work of fiction.
I only found it was nonfiction about half way through, reading the copyright page. It totally took me by surprise. Besides required reading from school- I barely touch nonfiction. I was actually proud of myself for finishing the entire book.
So, what was the "grown up" part? Well, after I found out how it was nonfiction, then all of this was real. That this work of art (because this novel was an amazing work of art) was actually someone's life. After it got into Elizabeth Gilbert's sex life, I started thinking that that was a bit too personal to be reading about. Besides that, which is only in the end part, I enjoyed every minute of it.
This book makes me want to travel the world and find these people and get their autographs. I loved this book that much! It makes me inspired to do something, anything! I loved it!

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 16 January, 2011: Finished reading
  • 16 January, 2011: Reviewed