PeaceBang
The manic mind of the minister -- Auntie Mame Meets Cotton Mather. Blogging about Unitarian Universalism, UU Christian spiritual practice, occasional cultural and political ravings, and the inner life of ministry. PeaceBang is the alter ego of a small town pastor serving an historic New England Unitarian Universalist congregation.
"Eat, Pray, Love" A PeaceBang Review
March 26, 2007 on 11:04 pm | In TV/Movies/Theatre/Book Reviews | One of the nice things about being confined to bed is that you get to actually read uninterrupted.
I was taken down a nasty stealth flu bug on Sunday afternoon — one of those bugs that comes on like the character Cato in the Pink Panther movies, where you walk through the door with your bag and coat and it jumps out from behind the couch going HI-YAH!
So I finished Elizabeth Gilbert’s much-celebrated travelogue memoir, Eat, Pray, Love: One Women’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia in bed this afternoon, and I must say I have very mixed feelings about it.
The book is divided into three main sections named for the countries Gilbert fled to in search of healing and spiritual growth following a harrowing divorce. Her 108 chapters are a secondary organizational device chosen in honor of the 108 beads of the japa mala, or the beads used in prayer by devout Hindus and Buddhists, and which were adapted by Europeans as the rosary.
I loved the first two chapters of this book. Gilbert is an honest, warm and engaging narrator, and although she initially seemed to me to be over-dramatic and self-indulgent about her man woes, she dresses up her very common pains and fears in beautiful prose and appealing earnestness. I could easily forgive the excessive processing and wailing; haven’t we all been there?
Gilbert decided to take a year off and to travel. She clearly understands the privilege that allows her to do this and goes to great pains to say how lucky she is, which kept this reader, at least, from bitter envy.
First, Gilbert goes to Italy for four months to experience the pure joy of learning Italian (a language she loves but has no practical use for), to eat a lot of pasta and fill out her heartbroken-starved body, and to soak up sun and la dolce via. I enjoyed reading about her enjoying herself.
Then, Liz goes to India to enter into four months of extremely rigorous spiritual practice at an ashram of a spiritual teacher she refers to only as her Guru. In this chapter, she takes on the very difficult task of sharing the path to enlightenment — and actually tries to describe a bona fide mystical experience of pure transcendence. It was approximately at this point in the book that I decided that I didn’t genuinely like Liz Gilbert as a person, but that I appreciated both her desire to write about her spiritual work and her talent in communicating the inner struggle of the yogic path. While remaining emotionally distanced from her as a narrator, I could still cheer her on and say, Right on, kid, when she wrote of her highs and lows in meditation and in the difficulty of peeling away the ego. Without being fond of her, I was eminently interested in her and her terrific writing.
The big problem that began to emerge for me in this chapter is that Gilbert relies heavily on the use of dialogue spoken by other people, and that dialogue read to me as increasingly inauthentic as the book wore on. This is a memoir, and therefore, we are asked to believe that all the dialogue is a fair report of actual conversations between actual people. In the character of Richard From Texas at the ashram, though, I lost the sense of “actual people” and began to feel that the conversations reported were really more Liz Gilbert’s literary take on conversations rather than the words of real people. Does anyone really go around speaking totally in folksy aphorisms? Do golden nuggets of wisdom really fall out every time anyone opens his or her mouth? This, Liz Gilbert would have me believe, and I don’t buy it.
It also occurred to me in this chapter that Liz Gilbert had an awfully easy time being befriended by intensely attentive men on every leg of her journey and yet for all her self-awareness, never seems to intuit that her being a great-looking, young American blonde has anything to do with that. I read a lot of travelogues and can’t help but notice that global harmony is apparently a lot easier to personally experience when you’re not a short, chunky Jewish professor with frizzy hair, or a middle-aged British man with a beer gut and a walking stick, or a Puerto Rican lesbian with a bad leg.
Gilbert seems not to be able to get through one day of her spiritual search without the promise of male attention at some point during, or at the conclusion of it. I couldn’t help it — I soon began to smirkingly think of this book as “How I Re-Affirmed My Addiction To Male Attention Across Two Continents And Three Countries!”
By the time she gets to Bali, Indonesia, Gilbert is personally happy and serene, but — bad news for her readers!! — her prose has degenerated into something precious and treacly. She finds a perfect house and moves in! She becomes reacquainted with the darling medicine man who read her palm two years ago and prophecied that she would come back and tutor him in English! She wins the heart of the medicine man’s ornery wife! She … gets a hot Brazilian boyfriend!!
What a surprise! Here’s a woman who started out her year of travel with the intense desire to free herself from love-addiction (her own characterization of her overwrought style of being in relationships), and who winds up back in love just in time for the end of the story. This is where the writing gets really bad*, and where Gilbert’s fine sense of perspective and context gets sloppy and clueless.
It’s one thing to share with a western audience the genuinely interesting and rare journey to conquering inner demons and being able to comply with ancient yogic disciplines. It is another thing entirely to write about sex after a time of celibacy with the same sense of gee-whiz-folks uniqueness. Any reader who has had a rapturous sexual experience can only read Chapter 99 with a sense of embarrassed humility, yes, Liz, we know. We remember. It’s great. We get it. Yes, sex can be a transcendent experience. We’re glad you and Felipe are so very, very special. Can we please stop hearing about how exquisitely beautiful you are now?
I can’t imagine how these chapters read to someone who hasn’t ever had a rapturous sexual experience. I suspect one would need either a barf bag or a bullet to bite. Or perhaps a tomato to throw.
Reading the final pages of this saga, I had to laugh at the lack of self-awareness from this woman who has just spent 250+ pages proving to us how self-aware she is. When her Brazilian lover Felipe describes seeing Liz from the back at a party and thinking to himself, “That’s it. That’s my woman. I must have that woman,” it doesn’t occur to Gilbert to add, “Yes, what a surprise. The only tall American blonde at the party, and one of the few white women on the entire island of Bali. It’s amazing, is it not, that this man from the most macho of nations would be immediately drawn to a woman who looks just like the ideal of femininity peddled across the globe by the unbiquitous forces of American capitalism and cultural hegemony.”
I’m sorry to keep harping on this point, but I think it’s the great blind spot of the memoir. Any writer who wants to write about cultural differences then fails to locate herself culturally should be prepared to be taken to task for it.
But there’s an even worse, and more clueless blooper in this chapter, which is also, to my ears, rife with inauthentic and overly-precious dialogue that makes the Balinese natives sound like characters from the “It’s a Small World After All” ride.** In this chapter, Liz Gilbert sets herself up as a saint, the Great White Savior of a poor Balinese women she befriends, and then has the nerve to viciously dish that friend when she fails to accept Gilbert’s great, magnanimous gift in a manner appropriate to American cultural values.
There is something extraordinarily ugly in the way that Gilbert uses the story as a way to cement her own position as a Spiritually Advanced Person at the expense of her friend, the far more delightful, real and likeable medicine woman Wayan. Gilbert frets and fumes and fusses prettily, and shows us how she and her boyfriend Felipe totally have the goods on these backasswards Balinese (but all the while making soft liberal protestations that that’s not really what she’s doing at all), but never for one minute takes her harsh journalistic lens off the characters (ostensibly friends!) she’s exploiting for the purpose of writing an interesting book.
Yes, Gilbert raises $18,000 for her friend and provides a home for Wayan and her three children. That’s wonderful. And yet, how much more wonderful if Gilbert hadn’t used the complexities and the misunderstandings of the transaction as further evidence of how enlightened and mature she has become, all at the expense of a real person who is fully capable of reading– or hearing about– her book.
Gilbert has been compared to Anne Lamott, and I’m afraid it’s true. As Lamott never hesitates to exploit her own son by airing his personal business all over her books and articles — she’s the favorite literary Mother Vampire writing in America today — Gilbert similarly sucks the life blood out of all the lovely people in her path in order to serve them up as side dishes for our consumption, always with herself as the clever, delicious main course.
And after the first two chapters, I could no longer swallow it.
* from page 288,
“What I mostly remember about that night is the billowy white mosquito netting that surrounded us. How it looked to me like a parachute. And how I felt like I was now deploying this parachute to escort me out the side exit of the solid, disciplined airplane which had been flying me during these few years out of A Very Hard Time in My Life. But now my sturdy flying machine had become obsolete right there in midair, so I stepped out of that single-minded single-engine airplane and let this fluttering white parachute swing me down through the strange empty atmosphere between my past and my future, and land me safely on this small, bed-shaped island, inhabited only by this handsome shipwrecked Brazilian sailor…”
** According to reviews on Amazon.com, it appears that Gilbert’s rendering of various dialects in the book-on-tape version of Eat, Pray, Love is extremely offensive. I am not surprised.
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Wowwwww ….
I read this post with great interest, trying to decide if this book could really degenerate as you said it had, and then I got to that last paragraph and read it. My first thought was, “What the f—-?”
I only hope to goodness that it sounds all right within the context of the whole chapter or book, but wow! WOW!
I really need to find and read a travelogue by a non white woman from a not European or Western nation.
I love to travel, but I hate when “natives” are exoticized by visitors.
Comment by LaReinaCobre — March 27, 2007 #
(((I felt like I was now deploying this parachute )))
Was as far as I got before the snickering started.
CC
Comment by Chalicechick — March 28, 2007 #
The thing is, I want both of you to read it to hear what you think!!!! Waaaa!
Comment by PeaceBang — March 28, 2007 #
I didnt have the same take on the book, as evident in my own review. Then again, I hardly have the background in this area (religion, spirituality, etc) that you do and experiences will shape perception.
Still, although I enjoyed the book (and I actually didnt mind the parachute part, though I admit all this time later, most the content has become vauge to me), I certainly respect the arguments you put forth and think your review, while the contrary view to mine, was beautifully written.
Comment by Amy — March 28, 2007 #
The thing is, I want both of you to read it to hear what you think!!!! Waaaa!
Hahah … hmm … well, erm. Ah - I have to wash my hair … so busy in next few months …..
Comment by LaReinaCobre — March 28, 2007 #
Oh for the love of sweet baby Jesus. I had this book on my Amazon wishlist and…it’s coming off, Rev. SistahBang. Thanks for the review. We are here for so little time after all.
I disagree with you a bit about Anne Lamott; she’s a lot more self-aware than this woman seems to be. However, that’s no excuse for being insensitive.
I’ll chew on my thoughts some more.
Comment by Stephanie — April 12, 2007 #
Your review of Eat Pray Love oozes with jealousy. OOZES. In my opinion, someone’s intention is more important than the words they use. And her intention is beautiful. Not only did she have the courage to take on a magnificent journey of self-discovery, but she chose to share it with others. Her own private pain. Who cares if her writing (that you made fun of) is a bit flowery? At least it’s not infused with bitterness over someone else’s happiness. However, if you’re even half as “self-aware” as this amazing author at whom you spent hours looking down your nose, I’m sure you’ve already noticed your pessimistic pattern of double-standard labeling and are looking inward to find out why you do this.
Your assessment of Gilbert’s “clueless blooper” ironically reveals your own bigotry. She has said in interviews that she wrote constantly, the whole time she was traveling. So the conversation she shares with us were most likely written down the same day they happened – meaning that the words she chose were as authentic as possible. For you to say that her Balinese friends “sound like characters from It’s A Small World” is such a sad statement about who you are as a person. Who are you to decide that she’s “exploiting” these people? They were her friends. Apparently, they sounded weird or exotic to you, so you chose to label them and their friendship with Elizabeth, rather than try to understand how a Westerner and an Easterner could possibly become friends. For someone as closed-minded as you, I imagine that sounds like a stretch. But the Balinese “natives” (as you call them) are perfectly sound-minded adults who chose to befriend Elizabeth. To relegate it to any other status denies the equality of both parties in the friendship - which Elizabeth never did. You are the only one judging it. How sad for you.
In this same vain, you judge her for gently taking Wayan to task for, basically, taking complete advantage of her. She and Wayan had become close friends. She went out on a limb for this woman – and let herself be lied to for weeks – before she even began to question if something funny was going on. It turned out Wayan was basically sitting on the $18,000 Elizabeth raised for her and trying to get even more! That is nerve. Exploitation at it’s most manipulative. And I know you would agree in principle, seeing as you thought Elizabeth’s mere inclusion of these individuals in her book was somehow “exploiting” them. Come on now. Has the glare of your double standard hit you yet? You may be able to accuse Gilbert of being a bit naïve, but your assessment is so far off base, I question what “harsh lens” you were looking through as you read the book. Unless, that is, your readers are to believe that you would let your friends play you for a fool to the tune of $18,000, and anyone who doesn’t let their friends do this to them is “extraordinarily ugly”. Just curious.
I think it takes a magnanimously generous spirit to go about it as nicely as Elizabeth did.
So she took the situation personally. Who doesn’t take affronts by friends personally? She handles it not just in a “manner appropriate to American cultural values” but in a manner appropriate to friendship. What Wayan was doing was wrong. Just because she is Balinese and “exotic” (again your quote) does not mean she is perfect and any American who disagrees with her must be stupid or ignorant. Elizabeth treated her the same as she probably would have treated any of her friends. She just took her to task in a gentler, less-confrontational way, because she was respectful enough to communicate her disagreement within the confines of the culture. I can’t imagine anyone being okay with being disrespected and lied to like that. Some people would’ve walked away from someone like Wayan. I guess Elizabeth Gilbert’s heart is a little more generous than most though.
No matter what, Elizabeth Gilbert was always true to herself and her values. Even if it meant not playing the role of the self-degrading American tourist who assumes the I’m-too-stupid-to-even-begin-to-understand-the-country-I’m-in-so-I-should-just-smile-and-nod-at-however-they-treat-me attitude. No. Friendship is a two-way street between equals, no matter what country you are in. Elizabeth Gilbert obviously understands that. You are very prejudice if you think Elizabeth is wrong here. You are the one looking at the Balinese as nothing more than “backasswards” natives*. Read deeper. She shared such a strong friendship with Wayan that she wasn’t going to let herself be taken advantage of by her – Balinese or not. Elizabeth respects Wayan. But she also recognizes that she (Elizabeth) is a human being just as worthy of respect as Wayan is. To have let Wayan just take advantage of her generosity and chalk it up to backwardness of a native would have been too closed-minded and bigoted for someone as classy as Elizabeth Gilbert.
Go back and read Eat Pray Love again. You could learn a lot from it. But first be sure to take off your defensive lens of judgment and self-importance. Just let it sink in.
*I do find it interesting that all the racially-charged words were yours. Not quotes from the book.
Comment by yogalover — May 28, 2007 #
YogaLover, I’m glad that you so desperately need to love this deeply flawed book as to write this impassioned, yet not-at-all persuasive defense of it.
Having read another of EG’s books since having finished “Eat, Pray, Love,” I gotta say, I stand by every word I wrote. And then some. Girlfriend has serious and pathological need for male attention and to let the world know what a sexpot she is. I think it really, really undercuts her considerable journalistic talents.
Comment by PeaceBang — May 28, 2007 #
P.S. If you’d like to know what books actually DO make me OOZE (OOZE, I tell ya!) with jealousy, here’s a few of them:
The Peabody Sisters, Megan Marshall
Apostle of Culture, David Robinson
In The Heart of The Sea, Nathaniel Philbrick
A Terrible Love Of War, James Hillman
The Mind on Fire, Robert Richardson
Those are all authors I actually admire. Some other people whose work makes me sigh with admiration and envy: Barbara Brown Taylor, Fred Craddock, Annie Dillard, Ralph Waldo Emerson, gee, I could go on…
Comment by PeaceBang — May 28, 2007 #
i still strongly disagree. but hey, it’s your blog. i do appreciate the fact that you left my comment up even though you disagree. i think that is open-minded of you, so i respect that. thanks for taking the time to read what i wrote. : )
Comment by yogalover — May 28, 2007 #
Yoga, If you’re a lover, I’d hate like hell to run into a “hater.”
Comment by PeaceBang — May 28, 2007 #
that’s ok. just one question…is elizabeth gilbert a “total stranger” to you? or have you met her personally? or did you just judge her on her very personal memoir?
my apologies…how peaceful of you.
peace out. and may you find the ability to simply see the good in something without searching for a reason to hate it.
Comment by yogalover — May 29, 2007 #
Why, of COURSE I would spend $24 on a book with the intention of hating it! I do that ALL the time!
Comment by PeaceBang — May 29, 2007 #
I haven’t completed Gilbert’s book yet, but I already had some of the same impressions that you shared in your review about her interactions with men. I just put the book away because with all the
“intensely attentive men” swarming around her, I wasn’t able to really relate to her search for self.
Comment by Kstar — July 20, 2007 #
Wow! Very heated dialogue - I think it’s great that EPL evokes such emotive female debate!
I read it and I did became uncomfortable with the Indonesia section. In saying that, when I become uncomfortable these days, I work at not judging my state of repulsion. I believe that I was uncomfortable with myself - my own memories of just such a state of innocence, that is child-like, and that comes on after I have weathered a tough transition.
I lived in the Middle-East for 7 years, so I also get the cross-cultural conflicts that arise between friends whose lives are shaped by alternate paradigms - it is inevitable and there always comes a time when acceptance meets a boundary that is either scaled or re-routed.
I came undone during my first couple of years as an ex-pat living overseas. I was completely removed from the institutions and perceptions that I had not realized, so defined me in the West. It was unnerving and it was soooooo very uncomfortable to be so “new” in my mid-30’s!! As disconcerting as this experience was, it was completely liberating and with it came an increased sence of my inherent identity and my devine energy as a human being in female form. As un-done as I had become and as loopy as I felt at times, I slowly began to feel a sense of completeness and stability within myself that was not associated with all the definitions I had adopted in my culture. I felt an amazing vitality and a new committment to live as much in the moment as I can.
I totally get EG’s passion and desire, but I had to let go and accept her wonder and naivete exuded in her cavaliere expression of desire, as she took her first steps into a new period of her life after a time of sadness and longing and release. I was able to continue my read with compassion.
By the way, I don’t think we are addicited to men or woman because we have the desire to be in a relationship. I think the acceptance and comfort EG felt within her self when she arrived in Indonesia had elevated her passion for life and so, why not for Felipe too! I also met the man I will be marrying while overseas as well - never imagined anything or anyone like this!!
Comment by KC — September 6, 2007 #
Elizabeth Gilbert was chosen by marketers apparently, “follow the money” Coyote Ugly- how did that get chosen for publishing I wonder? Uma Thurman, Julia Roberts chosen for movies of her works- Gawd! I watched the oprah interview and felt like that guy at the end of 2001 who could just lie on the floor on the side of his face and just barely blink as he saw all the dimensions of the universe exploding in front of him- I hated this crap! (But it’s pure jealousy, I’d do the same crap if I could.
Thats how high an opinion I have of American culture
these days- just find a way to rip it off is all its good for basically.
Cool you like Hillman, I like him too. Section on the Renaissance in “Revisioning Psychology” I thought particularly good.
Have you ever heard of Marguaritte Young? Theres
a female writer you can really respect!
I’m taking a course on women writer’s and just starting to realize, the voice of female authors is just the female version of the male voice- isn’t that a weird thing to realize? It’s like, if I were a woman, this is what I would say too- (my inner female ala D. Hoffman I guess, haha)
Anyway, I’m interested in your blog, I usually don’t bother but I’m looking at this one.
Thanx!
Cam
Bethesda md.
Comment by Cam — October 6, 2007 #
Gah, I had to caption “Oprah” this morning and she had this woman on as a guest. I thought my head was literally going to dissolve into a plate of mush after listening to Gilbert’s glazed-eyed drivel. However, it was rather amusing to listen to the women who were “changed” by this book. One now spends an hour of alone time in a closet to avoid her irksome kids and another “found God” after 25 years of atheism following her discovery of this book. Wow, taking time out of your stressful life can have benefits? That’s almost as much of a revelation as the notion that eating McDonalds every day will give you a fat ass. Books like this only add to the dull argument that one can live a better life by sitting quietly and thinking about ocean waves…yet another piece of popular crap on the junk heap of self-help books. Nope, I haven’t read the book, nor do I ever plan on it. But I do know that this woman who so graciously shared her story of self-discovery is a very rich woman because of it. Mustn’t have been that hard.
Anyway, an interesting review…and one of the few negative ones I could find. Well done. [Why THANKS!! My favorite piece of hysterical irrational hate mail for daring to give the book a negative review was from a woman signing herself “Yoga Girl.” I thought that was so great in an ironic kind of way. - PB]
Comment by Agaric — December 4, 2007 #
I think the original post is too critical of the book and judgmental of the author. Please read the book and see for yourself.
I had a great time reading about Gilbert’s turmoils, travels, acquaintances, spiritual thoughts, and even ultimately her romance with Felipe. She is a very gifted writer. You have to remember, though, this is a book about her experiences told in her voice - which naturally means it is shaped by who she is - her looks, her humor, her bluntness, her philosphy and her critical honesty most of the time (maybe not all the time).
I think I understand the poster’s criticism. Gilbert comes across as very perceptive and honest about who she is - but never says I am a person who would rather be with a man and for whom male attention is very important. She says early on about the downfall of her last relationship (with David) was that she wants/needs too much from a man. It seemed like at the end of the story she would have reached the conclusion (like she did about it being okay that she was not a quite reverent person) that it’s perfectly fine if she wants/needs attention from a man provided she is not trying to force a bad relationsip. So, she found in Felipe a male who wanted to give her the attention that she likes.
And yes Gilbert does gloss over the fact that a lot of her experiences may have been influenced by the fact that she was a good lucking blonde traveling alone. But I think most readers could tell that her experiences were influenced by who she was both inside and out with out her having to tell us.
Comment by Belinda Keller — December 9, 2007 #
Are we really going to be this judgemental to someone who stepped away from their everyday life to try and find happiness? Is she not allowed to find happiness or enjoy male attention because she is a pretty blonde American? Please. Perhaps it was her attitude of being open that attracted people to her. Maybe the fact that she was trying to learn a new language. Do we have to be that cynical? [Writing a review requires judgment. That’s what a review IS. - PB]
At least she had the courage to try something new instead of wallowing in her sorrow. I think that if we all spent a little more time doing that instead of envying other people’s happiness than we might all be a little better off. [I couldn’t agree more. But let’s not make leaps of logic that assume critiquing someone else’s writing equates “envying their happiness. - PB]
Comment by garganoad — December 9, 2007 #
Your review doesn’t deserve a comment…I wish I had not wasted my time reading it. I feel bad for all your sheep….
[JuditNeil@hotmail.com, I don’t have “sheep.” I work in ministry with intelligent human beings who can think for themselves. What a bizarre comment. I hope you won’t visit this blog again if you’re so offended by someone having, and expressing, an opinion. Yikes. –PB]
Comment by Jn — December 31, 2007 #
I’m actually offended by the way you have responded to some of the others who took time to read your ‘review’ and commented… Show a little respect!!! And don’t worry I came by your site by accident. It won’t happen again. [Judit, I believe it is a sign of respect to engage in a detailed and energetic manner with people’s opinions. It gives them the attention that they obviously desire. I’m sorry you’re so easily offended and bon voyage! - PB]
Comment by Jn — January 1, 2008 #
First of all, I liked the book and found it to be a humerous, enjoyable read that fell just a bit short of the “life-changing” memoir it was touted to be. However, this review hit the nail on the head re 3 issues that bothered me a little during the book.
First, the male attention thing. I mean, she always had men doting on her. Everywhere she went, constantly. And in my experience, men don’t dote like that unless they are encouraged, regardless of how pretty one is. She reminded me of girls I knew as a teenager (and at times, myself) who had a gift of flirting just enough with all males to keep them swooning around without flirting too much to give them the wrong idea. Which is fine until the girl begins using him to fulfill her needs. There was a little of that in this book.
Second, the dialogue. I found myself asking SO many times “come on, did that character really say that?” If so, she not only has a knack for attracting men but also very eloquent, profound, poetic, wise and delightful people who never seem to phrase anything at all in a less than humerous or insightful manner. I mean, did she meet a single person who wasn’t extremely eloquent or funny or did she really just write in her own words and assign it to them? This gave me a hard time with the believability of the entire book. I mean, if she’s embelishing here, where else might she be embelishing?
Finally, Indonesia and her “friend” Wayan. Regardless of who was right or wrong and who misunderstood who (which I’m still not sure I have a hold on), why would you ever publish a book that makes your self-professed “friend” seem like a manipulative, sneaky, gold-digger. If that were true, then why is she your friend? If she is your friend, well, she isn’t anymore after reading what you wrote about her. Who sells out their good friends for a buck? And all those people who gave you money for her, those people who you were SO worried about finding out that this friend of yours wasn’t being up-front with you, how do you think they feel about her now? If I had donated, I would harbor some regrets about my money going to this woman charactized (perhaps incorrectly so) as “sneaky, manipulative, and greedy.” So this story does them no favors either.
All in all, I’m glad I read it. I did get a lot out of it - especially the meditation discussions.
One last comment, while I feel some posters on here are misguided, I feel that the author’s responses are a bit rude in some instances and in that sense, equally misguided. So, why don’t we just stick to the book and stop attacking eachother?
Comment by HSO — January 14, 2008 #
Well, I’m glad I wasn’t the only one to read this book and be dissapointed. The first problem I found with it was the fact that Gilbert was actually paid to go learn how to eat, pray and love. There’s no way this book could’ve been true profound and honest learning experience, when this woman had cash dangling in front of her.
Then there’s the indication she never went through the experience of not get it her way. Once she got rid of the house she didn’t want anymore, she got the book deal and was able to travel, just as she wanted. I guess having David dump her was a real shocker, so she whines about her sorry life throughout the entire book - even as she’s a week shy of leaving the place where she is supposed to have found spirituality and inner peace. That only goes away once she finally rolls in the sack with her over-the-hill Brazilian friend. I am from Brazil, and guys with all the “this is how I’m going to please your body” thing are all over the place - take your pick. Not a pretty picture, think Will Ferrell in those SNL “professor and his lover” skits. Corny and grotesque. Plus the Portuguese she used in the book was down right crude. And ironically, this independent, self proclaimed feminist falls for the macho type. Go figure.
To sum it up, what I got from this book is that it’s a very damaging thing to always have things your way, have lots of cash to throw around, and no purpose to fulfill. You end up traveling all over and thinking you learned something, when in reality the only difference is that now you whisper when you talk.
[*sound of PB applauding*]
Comment by Clarisse — April 15, 2008 #
Hey
Great review — I agreed with everything you said, except for the fact that I stopped loving teh book after the first chapter and not the second. After I read it I looked up reviews on the internet and was sickened to find that everything that initially came up was just dripping with praise. I disliked this book before the end, but I hated it when Liz’s oh-so-impressive journey of celibacy turned out to last…what…10 months? All I have to say is good luck Felipe! [I hadn’t thought about the celibacy commitment at all but that’s a good point. She was so desperate for male attention throughout her entire journey that I don’t think she kept the commitment in spirit for even five minutes!! - PB]
Comment by Erin — May 19, 2008 #
Wow. I literally just finished reading the book within the last hour. I have to say I really enjoyed it. I’m shocked at the response you and some of the other readers have had to, what I consider, an honest and interesting memoir. Alas, what one person connects to is an individual experience and can’t be expected to be shared by all.
It didn’t do it for you.
I thought it was moving.
Potato, Potahto
Comment by Genevieve — June 20, 2008 #