This beautifully written, heartfelt memoir touched a nerve among both readers and reviewers. Elizabeth Gilbert tells how she made the difficult choice to leave behind all the trappings of modern American success (marriage, house in the country, career) and find, instead, what she truly wanted from life. Setting out for a year to study three different aspects of her nature amid three different cultures, Gilbert explored the art of pleasure in Italy and the art of devotion in India, and then a balance between the two on the Indonesian island of Bali. By turns rapturous and rueful, this wise and funny author (whom Booklist calls "Anne Lamott’s hip, yoga- practicing, footloose younger sister") is poised to garner yet more adoring fans.
I am in the middle of this now, and enjoying the read. I am not a spiritual "seeker", as is the author, but it is enjoyable nonetheless. She has a great self-deprecating humor that runs throughout in spite of the serious nature of her quest. Others that have read it have told me they enjoyed it too.
I don't understand all the hoopla over this book. I have tried two different times to get through it and CANNOT. It's so boring. People rave and rave and say it's fabulous but I just don't understand. I've only made it to India and can't stay awake. And I read and LOVED LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA which was slow...but good, intriguing, had a plot. So I can get through books others find boring. I gave it two stars because I didn't finish - one star is a freebie for the part I didn't read.
I really wanted to like this book. As someone who loves to travel internationally, I bought this book hoping she'd have first hand accounts and great stories of traveling to three such wonderful places as Italy, India and Indonesia. Unfortunately I am over half way thru reading it and am struggling with every page. This book is a whole lot of fluff. It is painful for me to read. The author is extremely self absorbed with her own issues which to me, seem completely pointless. I don't see the point of this book,unless you are a whiny woman who wants to read about another whiny woman.
