Eat, Pray, Love in DC Public Library

Dec 06, 2017 Jennifer rated it liked it

Gilbert's journey of self-discovery through Italy, India and Indonesia is alternately hilarious and pretentious. Some of the people she meets along the way don't seem real - they read more like caricatures rather than humans.

There are many moments that are refreshingly candid, but some that needed editing (specifically the Indonesian bit). I can see why this book struck a nerve with readers, particularly those on a spiritual quest. But it didn't resonant with me. ...more

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Nov 13, 2007 Laura rated it liked it

I really enjoyed the first two sections of this book, when the author is in Italy and India. I enjoyed reading about Italy (since I've been there), and about meditating and yoga in India. I kind of lost interested by the time that the author gets to Bali. I don't know, there was a little bit of "holier than thou" attitude by the end. I actually put this book down for a about a week, and then came back to it. ...more

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May 01, 2008 Meg - A Bookish Affair rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, memoir, 2009

This is a really fantastic book. I loved it from the very first page. Elizabeth Gilbert travels in Italy, India, and Indonesia in order to put herself back together again after a messy divorce. She finds spirituality and this idea is at the core of her journey. Gilbert writes in a way that keeps you reading.

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Apr 19, 2010 Megan Reichelt rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, adult, spiritual

This is a memoir of Liz Gilbert, a 34 year old woman who just suffered through a horrific and drawn out divorce, and then an intense relationship with a rebound guy. She realizes she has never been on her own, she has always clung to a man, and so she embarks on a voyage of self-discovery. She explores pleasure (mostly in the form of food) in Italy, prayer and meditation in an Ashram in India, and balance and love in Bali.

So I went into this book thinking I was going to hate it. We read it for b This is a memoir of Liz Gilbert, a 34 year old woman who just suffered through a horrific and drawn out divorce, and then an intense relationship with a rebound guy. She realizes she has never been on her own, she has always clung to a man, and so she embarks on a voyage of self-discovery. She explores pleasure (mostly in the form of food) in Italy, prayer and meditation in an Ashram in India, and balance and love in Bali.

So I went into this book thinking I was going to hate it. We read it for book club and I thought it was going to be vapid and self-indulgent. But I was actually very touched and impressed by it. I was a bit annoyed with Liz at the beginning whenever she expressed her depression, but I believe it was partially because I often felt the same way, but didn't want to recognize it in myself. So it was easy to be all judgey-judge outside of the pain, rather than mid-pain, when it is easy to sink into a mire of malaise. The descriptions of the pain and confusion she felt were a great advantage to the book, however, because she let the story run its course: she was in pain when she felt pain, and she was transcendent when she was transcendent. It allowed her a complete journey without "oh if I had known this meditation when I was feeling this pain I could have blah blah blah."

Because I had a hard time letting myself relate to her when she was in pain, I reveled in her descriptions of other people. She has a gift for making characters jump off the page with a few crisp well chosen words. I also loved the historical and cultural tidbits that she stuffed in the corners of her narrative, like how the Italian language we know today was chosen as "official" Italian because it was the dialect of Dante's Inferno, and the most beautiful of the options. Or what the hell an Ashram is and the different types of meditation. Or just how awesome Bali is.

And the wisdom that she gleaned from this journey rang true with me almost every time. I kept having moments of "omg I never realized that!" And the grace that she worked her ass off for inspired me every time.

I admire the sheer tenacity of this woman who took a year off (granted she had the money) and committed not to this decadent vacation, which is what I thought it would be, but to a rigorous, and often grueling quest for happiness.

I recommend it to all women who are unhappy with their lives, so you can be inspired to find a (less expensive) way to seek that solid core of happiness that everyone deserves, and those who are happy with their lives so that you can sit back and appreciate the happy. ...more

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Jan 21, 2009 Alison rated it liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, bookclub

I have to admit, I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. Based on the title and what little I knew about it, I expected that I would find it to be very new agey. But, Gilbert's retelling of her quest for balance and spirituality is balanced by her New England personality - pragmatic, skeptical, sarcastic. Perfect. There were definitely some times when I laughed out loud, and I really enjoyed reading about her journey. Even during the most intensely spiritual parts of the book, she still ...more

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Feb 02, 2010 Lorrie rated it really liked it

I expected this book to be self-absorbed and annoying, to my surprise I actually liked it, even though most of the "action" is interior. I didn't think I could read about another person spending several months meditating but it managed to be an engaging reed. ...more

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Sep 08, 2009 Adrienne rated it liked it

I didn't want to like this book (I never respond well to peer pressure) but I did really enjoy reading it. The narrator is candid and real about her journey, even the dark parts. She is funny when you least expect it.

The book didn't make me want to meditate or move to Indonesia, but it made me laugh and every once in awhile made me think, "I want to remember that phrase."

...more

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Oct 10, 2009 Keets rated it did not like it

a little too preachy-find yourself for my tastes...

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Mar 10, 2008 Christina rated it liked it

Shelves: 2008

I liked the Italy part of the book but got bogged down in Indian and Indonesia. I really wanted to hate this book and this author because it seemed trite and too popular, but the author does have a certain charm. I've never been interested in meditation, but her descriptions actually helped me understand more why other people like it. ...more

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Feb 07, 2008 Jeanine rated it liked it

Shelves: memoir-biography

Parts are interesting, other parts are agonizing. You have to get through the first 60 or so pages before it gets better and truly becomes about her travels.

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