There’s a movie

I really enjoyed this book.

Eat, Pray, Love is Elizabeth Gilbert's meditation on accepting loss, realization and transforming in the process. She is determined to remedy the loss of her newly recent separation and impending divorce by embarking on a globe-trotting adventure. Instead of lamenting and wishing for an alternative ending to what was years of what she considered an enriching, intellectual relationship she makes vows for self-help, self-improvement and proposes a theory of learning about others ways' of life and culture as holistic, spiritual fulfillment. Her narrative is straight-factual, comical, insightful and makes for a clear, easily discernible read. She decides to use her primary American culture as a measure of comparison as she experiences other cultures. In Italy she seems ecstatic in their ways of simplicity, admires the beauty of Italian countryside and emphasizes their proliferation of local Italian traditions whether it's savoring gelato or admiring Italian Renaissance architecture. She seeks authenticity as she hones her use of Italian and learns more about one of civilization's most recognized romance languages. In India she is awe of vistas and the reverence of native, Indian people who truly appear to value and respect human life with their intense devotion, praying rituals, vegetarian feasts, welcoming nature and emphasis on modesty and community. She appears to learn the art of pluralism versus individualism, or the idea of placing value on the community and society's collective wellbeing versus the individual's priorities. In her journey of exploration she also happens to meet a new friend who becomes a love interest and she learns to appreciate their distinct perspectives in a more appreciative manner given her newfound independence and freedom. Eat, Pray, Love became a book club cult favorite for women seeking personal and intellectual growth in the midst of an interpersonal crisis such as navigating heartbreak and grief; it overall makes for an interesting read and musing on travel during such a personal epidemic and female soul searching. - Review Written by Danielle

“Eat, Pray, Love?” I remember that. It’s by the woman who found her husband, then wrote a best-selling book about commitment, then dumped him when she self-discovered she was a lesbian and wrote a best-seller about that. I’d rather take spiritual advice from a fortune cookie. It does serve as a bad example.

“Eat, Pray, Love?” I remember that. It’s by the woman who found her husband, then wrote a best-selling book about commitment, then dumped him when she self-discovered she was a lesbian and wrote a best-seller about that. I’d rather take spiritual advice from a fortune cookie. It does serve as a bad example.

“Eat, Pray, Love?” I remember that. It’s by the woman who found her husband, then wrote a best-selling book about commitment, then dumped him when she self-discovered she was a lesbian and wrote a best-seller about that. I’d rather take spiritual advice from a fortune cookie. It does serve as a bad example.

Ugh! Unrealistic, selfish, rich, self absorbed....I do not like the woman at all. Not a good book. Do not take any advice from this woman. She does not live in the real world and is delusional. I can't believe all the hype on this book.

Welp, I had heard about this book had become very popular among older ladies, and I had also been moved by the author's TedTalk on artistic work ethic and inspiration. But I was very disappointed by this book. In the beginning, she is looking at her feelings in hindsight after she got divorced and was traveling to find herself. Okay, that's understandable I suppose. But then she starts sulking. Or at least it seemed like it, it seemed very dishonest how she was talking about going on a spiritual and intellectual journey by learning new things in new countries, but then starts talking about how she's drooling over the idea of having physical relations with her language tutor in a different country. It wasn't because he was smart or funny, from all I could see, though I may be wrong, she was attracted to him because he was "exotic". It was gross. But it's hypocritical to say that you don't require physical things, such as a man's love, that you are independent and derive wirth from intellectual and spiritual journeys only to become a woman who cannot get her mind away from fantasies of an adult nature. Not inspiring, self-indulgent, self-pitying and just boring and sad. I would not recommend the book.

Really took away the monotony from my morning commutes. I was led on a journey all across the world with Liz to find out who she is and wants to be, and in the process I find myself asking the same questions. Pretty cool.

After an embarrassingly long time reading this book (only because it was so terribly uninteresting) I finally managed to finish it. The first section - Italy is the best part of the book so if you find it hard to get through, then take my advice and put this book down....forever. The second part of the book- India is best likened to the Gurugita (182 verses of meditation) and I pushed through it to get to the third section in Indonesia because now I was more than half way through and the book couldn’t possibly be any worse right? Wrong!