September 17th, 2009 | By
A few people have asked me about whether or not
Eat, Pray, Love is worth reading. Perhaps, it’s the self-discovery portion that they do not like. “Mumbo Jumbo,” they say. I don’t think
Eat Pray Love is a must read for everyone, but it is a good read.
Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir Eat, Pray, Love is about her journey through Italy, India and Indonesia. She had gone through a divorce where her husband was extremely angry with her for destroying the marriage. But, she felt she would have been destroyed had she stayed. She picks up her advance for writing her future adventure and embarks on her journey to the three countries. She’s doing what she’s always wanted to do, travelling and seeing the world.
Gilbert starts in Italy. This section is really about travelling, learning new things, and best of all… eating. India is where she really starts seeing herself. It is her mirror. She really came to understand that sometimes, it’s just best to let things go. She was going on and on about her unsuccessful marriage and post-divorce relationship, but she wasn’t understanding that she could simply let that go and move on. Then, Indonesia was her test. When she moved there, she brought her learned lessons to life by being more open and not taking things so seriously. Of course, part of her whole ‘let things go’ almost cost her a lot of her friends’ money. She had to set limits and boundaries. In the end (a very quick wrap up in the book too), she finds what she’s looking for.
Her experience, though not unique, is interesting. Her perspective is fresh, interesting and honest. There are great passages that I actually re-read, my favourite one being the one about soulmates.
I could relate to some of the things that she felt (best part of narrative perspective). The feeling of being lost in an ideal (in her case, her marriage) that is not meant for you. It’s almost difficult to breathe.
Reading the book did make me think of how indulgent we are at times. We complain about ‘not being happy’ because we don’t like the way our life is going, when really we can make the decision to change things. Yes, there are hardships and obstacles that come with the decision, but really it’s fear and habit that keep us in place. We look to external forces to keep us content; but at some moment, this crutch breaks down and leaves us to pick up the pieces.
Personally, I have no interest on visiting India or Indonesia… and the desire did not kick in after I read EPL. I did feel very hungry when reading Italy and constantly wanting to be eating pasta and gelato… hmm Hollywood Gelato, I’ll be making a visit very soon.
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