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162 of 174 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing book...some people may be missing the point, 24 May 2008
I just finished this book and have to say it has had a profound effect on me, it was a fantastic account of one woman's journey to find herself. Admittedly its a great 'story' in itself, but its more than a story about a woman who got her heart broken, ate some food and then *skip the Ashram bit* found love in Bali. Anyone who treats this book like that is somewhat missing the point. I'm not a religious person at all, I have no religion, and I agree the Ashram section wasn't an easy read and I found some resistance to it, but that's exactly the point, her time in the Ashram wasn't comfortable, and we are made to feel that too. You can't gain anything from this book by skipping the middle section, it's only through her experiences in India that she learned to accept herself, find inner peace and strength and have the self knowledge and love to be ABLE to move on in Bali. That's the whole problem with this society, and that's exactly why she has laid herself out here as a guinea pig, an example. Rushing in life for the 'happy ending' will get you nowhere. Or it will get you divorced and suicidal at 34 looking for answers. The whole point of this book - and many others like it - is a forewarning that you will have to go through the struggles she did (albeit in not necessarily in India) if you're going to be truly happy. EAT PRAY LOVE the book is called. not EAT and LOVE. As a society we need to open our minds a little I think.
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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funny, clever, facinating and a must for travellers, 26 Aug 2007
The title says it all - Liz Gilbert has the wonderful talent of making you feel like you are walking in her shoes. Her descriptions of the food in Italy made my mouth water. Unlike some other readers it was the early part about the divorce I could have skipped - I found all the rest of the book wonderful including India. I had no idea what a (genuine) Indian Ashram might be like before reading this and though I'm not particularly religious myself, I found it facinating. I also found it very refreshing that someone can write honestly and passionately about religious experiences without losing her common sense and sense of humour, or in any way try to tell the reader what they should believe.
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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Self-pitying rubbish, 12 Nov 2009
I LOVE books, am a voracious reader, and I approach everything with an open mind, but there are no words to describe how much I disliked this book!
The book was recommended to me during the breakdown of my own marriage. I could definitely sympathise with the lead character in her first moments of despair (chapter 1), but thereafter I just wanted to give her a good shake and tell her to stop whining and wallowing in her own self-pity! I imagine this book might appeal to smug happy people, who can take a positive message of love and hope from it, but for anyone in a similar situation it is a big pill to swallow to feel sympathy for someone self-indulgent enough to get over her marriage breakdown by getting an all-expenses paid (publisher's advance) 12 month trip around the world!
In summary, "I'm married to a lovely man, live in a lovely (big) house in New York, have a good career and a family who cares for me but somehow this isn't enough for me so I feel I should destroy it all and nip off to eat my way around Italy and lounge around in Bali for a bit", does not endear you to a reader in my opinion.
I appreciate that this may sound like the rantings of a bitter woman, but I just wanted to offer an alternative review, as I know many people rave about this book. Call me cynical, but I'm pretty sure that anyone could find inner peace after a 12 month holiday! Unfortunately some of us have to come up with slightly more pragmatic ways of dealing with lifes ups and downs!
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