It's a group review: three in one!
Sarah's view:
I don’t know what it is about Elizabeth Gilbert. Maybe it’s
her razor-sharp
wit - she makes me laugh out loud. I’m lucky enough that she answers my e-mails.
With just one line, I’m giggling. Her articles in the New York Times Magazine
are
hilarious. The new book, Eat, Pray, Love, will keep you reading just
because
you know there will be a one-liner just a few minutes away.
Maybe it’s her generosity with her experiences; honesty is something we
sometimes avoid so we don’t feel pain. Not Elizabeth. She bares it all. I can
feel the cold tiles of the bathroom floor, the darkness of the night when she is
kneeling and crying and feels stuck. Then when she goes to a friend’s apartment
and discovers he has a "spiritual advisor," she's envious and remarks, "I want
my very own spiritual advisor," I know exactly what she means.
Maybe it’s because she was raised to be a strong woman, able to take on
responsibilities for everyone without even knowing she's doing it. She’s one of
a
generation of women: completely capable, independent, but not knowing enough
that it’s okay not to be invincible or even to make dependency a choice. Like
Jill
Connor Browne recently opined from the stage at the Orpheum, "It’s a nice life
if you can get it, ladies - getting waited on - just know that you can do it
yourself." Liz never got this kind of advice. Neither do many women. Finding
herself stuck, over-dependent and miserable... the very short version is that
she
took a year to deconstruct her life. Eat, Pray, Love is the result.
When I finished the book, I thought: "I just love her and her book; I have a
better life because of it — and I think you will, too. That's what it is
about Elizabeth Gilbert.
Review by
Sarah Bagby
-
Meridith's view:
I was handed a copy of Eat, Pray, Love during a time in my life that was
very
similar to the one author Elizabeth Gilbert was in when she began her journey -
lying on a bathroom floor, asking for help from a source greater than herself. I
recognized that scene because I had lived it. I'm only being so forthcoming
because Gilbert had
the courage to be. The raw honesty she shows while fighting through her despair
is commendable and appreciated. A private moment she has while in Italy, where
"depression and loneliness have found her again" brings profound words that have
stayed with me: "So be lonely, Liz. Learn your way around loneliness. Make a map
of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience. But
never again use another person's body or emotions as a scratching post for your
own unfulfilled yearnings."
With the honesty she allowed herself, Gilbert's story also has moments of
triumph. She isn't afraid to wrap herself in the new cultures and the human
connections with new friends. It is an amazing story of self-discovery that
often had me laughing and teary eyed. Admittedly, it is a pleasant surprise for
someone as cynical as I am.
Review by Meridith Jones
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Beth's view:
I, too, loved reading Eat, Pray, Love – but for different reasons than my
compatriots. I absolutely love the way Elizabeth Gilbert writes. Gilbert’s
storytelling ability is beyond compare, Whether it’s this book about a year of
finding herself, or a newspaper article describing a yoga class in Tennessee, or
an article in Real Simple about the perpetually lost who use maps and ask
for directions, .
Elizabeth Gilbert has self-deprecating humor that brings her from the
untouchable-author level to a personal level where the reader can totally relate
to what she's saying, and moreover, where the reader believes that Liz Gilbert
is speaking only to her. Gilbert says in her new book that she can make friends
wherever she goes. Well, I’m here to tell you that Liz Gilbert can make friends
wherever her words go. Her writing is that powerful.
I remember when I first started reading The Last American Man, a work of
creative non-fiction and finalist for the 2002 National Book Award. I was in the
Immediate Care waiting room, and I shocked myself by laughing out loud 7 times
in the first 10 pages. (Remember, my friends tell me my Native American name
should be "Laughs on the Inside.") I did not think that I would have even a
remote interest in Eustace Conway, this rough nature-lover living off the land
and so on, but her writing sucked me in. Toward the end of the book, I was even
fearful that Gilbert would not be able to tie all of the loose ends together.
But when I got to the part where she exclaimed to Conway, "Walk-in closets?!" I
knew she had accomplished the feat.
I also enjoyed Stern Men, Gilbert's sole novel to date. Gilbert explained
to
us the last time she was in Wichita that she had had a novel deal with a
publisher, but had not yet given a topic when she received the "what’s the
topic?" call while she was on the coast of Maine. She said something like, "How
about a novel of Maine lobster men?" And she pulled it off, delivering a great
story and one of the best sex scenes I’ve ever read (or experienced). I firmly
believe that you can give Liz Gilbert any topic, and she’ll create something
extremely readable.
So in Eat, Pray, Love, the topic is "Elizabeth Gilbert." Once again, she
delivers a topic that is very readable as our heroine is on a journey of
self-discovery. On this journey she allows you in as her companion. Remember,
you are her self-proclaimed "best friend" along for the ride. And don’t be
surprised if along the way you discover something about yourself. It might be
that you feel the need to discover the divine in yourself, or you might realize
that you, too, love pasta and wine. This is a great book, and here's one thing
I’ve discovered along the way... I will read anything that Elizabeth Gilbert
writes. You should, too.
Review by Beth Golay
