An enjoyable read with an engrossing story

books:


	• Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia Elizabeth Gilbert Penguin (Non-Classics), 2007 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 1494 reviews view larger image
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AMAZING!

I really enjoyed Eat Pray Love, Gilbert's writing is wonderful. I ate the book up in less than 5 days.

Chill out, people!

I am almost finished reading this book and thought someone needed to throw in a positive comment since most of the recent ones are so negative.
I have read reviews on other sites as well and a lot of people, myself included, have said they could really relate to some of her relationship experiences and were truly inspired by her journey and travels. This is her life for crying out loud, so to be so opinionated about her experience is baffling!
How can you fault her for her "American self -absorption?" Of course we have a different perspective that other countries. And I'm not saying that's a good thing, it just is. So, if other cultures have a better outlook, why not travel and learn other better ways to be?
She readily states that she was in a time of deep emotional crises and so like most of us, keeps having all the repetitive "Why me's?" that keep coming up at times like these. Yes you question yourself, over everything, over and over and over again. It's the human condition, people.
And so, whoever finds fault with the process she had to go through, well, "Congratulations on the Enlightenment, Sister. Happy for ya!"

I have been studying Buddhist meditation for 3 years. It is a hard thing to do and not just some woo-woo, hippy-dippy dancing around the Maypole exercise. Sitting with your thoughts in silence for days on end is not pretty. It is hard, cathartic, and can be liberating if you are dedicated to the practice. I'm betting most of these naysayer's wouldn't last 5 minutes attempting this!

It's too bad the folks who didn't bother to read past the first few chapters, as they missed her passage into peace, happiness and compassion.
Of course, it was all directed inward at first that was the whole point! That was her inspiration for setting off on this journey and the fact she was already a successful writer and was given a book advance gave her the means to do this. Which she says was the not case with her travels in the earlier in her life.
Just prior to this I read "Three Cups of Tea" a truly amazing book about another person's experience coming through trials and tribulations to a place of peace and helping others. The co-author David Relin, was also criticized for his writing style which myself and others found to easy to read, considering all the drama Greg Mortenson found himself in.
I cans see that her writing style can be almost too conversational at times, with lots of things in parentheses and caps, but again she was emphasizing her life and the torrent of thoughts during this time.
It's one thing to just not have an interest in the storyline but quite another to be so ruthless about someone sharing their innermost journey.
I'm betting all those nasty folks would never have the balls to publish their life story and then have your personal struggles bashed by the whiny self-righteous public!!
Go back to reading trite bodice-ripper's if you don't want to hear all the raw, messy, beautiful stories of another person's REAL life!

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An enjoyable read with an engrossing story

So many of these reviews have been missing the forest for the trees. Ms.Gilbert is excellent at doing exactly what she has promised to do: describe HER story of her travels over the course of the year. I personally found the story a wonderful read, with excellent, rich descriptions of her experience. Yes, at points, I found her narrative to be a bit too self-involved, but getting past those points, I did thoroughly enjoy the rest of her story. I definitely reccommend it to anyone who can focus on the story she shares, not what they expect the book to provide.

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A memoir worth reading

I could relate to this memoir - everyone is dysfunctional in their own way, but Gilbert isn't afraid to put herself out there. I admired her writing style, her wit and ability to laugh at herself. She is poignant about issues that many people face everyday. Interesting perspectives on three different cultures which richly contrast with American life.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

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.

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