I never thought I would be caught reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s, Eat Pray Love. It seemed one of those giddy, fashionable girl books that are adored by...moreI never thought I would be caught reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s, Eat Pray Love. It seemed one of those giddy, fashionable girl books that are adored by Oprah Winfrey and the multitudes of all women book clubs. But, I am reading it. I’m reading it willingly and thoroughly enjoying every wonderful page of it.
Gilbert is a smart, literate and a completely engaging writer (if not a bit self-absorbed. But, hey, I wend through a bitter life changing divorce too)and I find my enthusiasm for her work matching the critical and popular acclaim afforded the book. Eat Pray Love works on a couple of levels. It can be read as a travelogue to the ancient and enduring cultures of Italy, India and Indochina.
I have to admit that after reading the section regarding the author’s travels in Italy I was ready to learn Italian and go on my own “no carb left behind tour” as one of Elizabeth Gilbert’s friends teased. This is the earmark for quality writing. It makes you want to scoot off the couch and have your own adventure.
Eat Pray Love is also the spiritual memoir of an affable, neurotic, intelligent women who woke up one day and found that everything she ever wanted wasn’t what she wanted at all. Woman or man many of us can relate to this existential malaise of our hypercompetitive post modern world. I love the spiritual memoir genre. I find the personal stories and experiences of others to be far more instructive and insightful than most of the books you will find in the New Age, Spirituality and Self-Help sections at Barnes and Noble.
However, not all spiritual memoirs are created equal. Gilbert has something genuine to offer. She never evangelizes or takes on the haughty air that many a spiritual seeker often adopts. She never assumes that somehow she is “spiritual” or a better person than her reader. In fact, despite her career achievements and adventures she never comes across as anything but an “everywoman” attempting to make sense out of her divorce and attendant existential pain and heartbreak. (less)
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