Eat, Pray, Love - by Elizabeth Gilbert (Book Review 23)

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Elizabeth (Liz) Gilbert has it all: at the age of 30 she’s already published three books, is an acknowledged journalist, popular with her friends, married for eight years to her long-term boyfriend, co-owner of a nice house in the suburbs of New York. The next item on the list is a baby. Yet, one night she finds herself crying and praying on the bathroom floor. She suddenly knows that she has to get out of the marriage and that a baby is out of the question. She loves the sound of the Italian language and wants to learn it so that she can converse freely. She knows an Indian guru whose teachings she follows in a circle of devotees in New York. A journalistic assignment takes her to the island of Bali where she meets an old medicine man who tells her she’ll be back, learn his craft and teach him English. What have all these events to do with each other? In order not to go under Liz decides to take one year as time out. She divides it orderly into three parts: four months in Italy, four months in India and four months on Bali. Eat, Pray, Love is the autobiographic account of this year abroad. Liz Gilbert claims that her travelling skills are meagre. She’s tall and blonde, doesn’t blend well physically in most places (certainly not in the countries she intends to visit), she’s lazy on research and prone to digestive woes. “But my one mighty travel talent is that I can make friends with anybody. I can make friends with the dead…“ She takes a room in Rome, attends a language course, but drops out when she’s learnt the basics as she thinks she can learn more by talking to people directly. What does she do then all day long besides chatting up the locals? She eats! She gains 23 pounds in four months. She approaches people in the street, asks them where they’d advise her to eat and then has the most delicious meals on her own in no-name, hidden trattorias. Liz’ next stop is an Ashram in India where she hopes to find enlightenment. One critic writes, “… surprisingly, the Pray section turns out to be the most interesting part.“ ‘One man's meat is the other man's poison‘ is all I can say. This is all so not me! So the middle section flops for me? Here I have to say something about the style. Liz Gilbert is a wonderful writer. She knows the language well, she’s educated, witty, funny, ironical. She can pull her own leg. It doesn’t really matter what she describes, reading her is a pleasure. When her time in India is over, she’s already found the balance she wanted to look for in Bali. This means she’s not so engrossed in her own problems any more. She can now fully concentrate on other people. “Is there no man in Liz’ life?” you may wonder. She vowed to stay celibate when she set out on her journey. She had had it with men, but there is a fascinating specimen in Bali who makes her forget her vows. The outlook for her future? A transcontinental love life covering America, Australia, Bali and Brazil; A A B B, for her the perfect harmony. This brings me to the end: who is the book for, who are the target readers? According to a review on an American site ‘the entire female American population’. ----- Made into a film starring Julia Roberts. ----- If you're interested in my other book reviews, click on the green line at the top of the site (Malus Book Reviews)