Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (2006)
August 20th, 2010 | Categories: Reviews | 5 CommentsTagline: One woman’s search for everything across Italy, India, and Indonesia. 
Summary: In this memoir, Elizabeth Gilbert writes about how after her divorce and ensuing depression, she went on a year-long journey of self-discovery and her search for pleasure in Italy, devotion in India, and a balance of the two in Indonesia
5 Words/Phrases: Well-written; the countries are good backdrops for each of her respective searches; entertaining (but very, very one-dimensional) characters; hard to get through at times; skip the book and watch the movie instead
Most Impressed By: …nothing. Except for maybe Gilbert’s ability to secure a book deal to finance her year of travel before commencing said travels. (I should take note of this as it’s a great way to cover travel expenses!) And hop from man to man, yet always portray herself as the heartbroken victim.
Least Impressed By: Gilbert herself – she is whiny, she is self-absorbed; her ideas of transcendence often come across as elitism, which makes her quite hard to like. And liking the main character of any book is important, but in a memoir, it’s vital.
Comments: This isn’t a bad book by any means, but it’s definitely not very good. My main issue with it is Gilbert herself; it’s incredibly hard to read her story and like it when you don’t like her. I disagree with the majority of choices she made in this book (so, in her life, basically) and I find it hard to sympathize with a character who, more often than not, comes across as selfish and, well, stupid. I definitely do not think the book is worth all the hype and that the “Pray” section in particular got too bogged down with her wordiness. That was the hardest part to get through.
The only reason why I read this book was because I want to see the movie. Even though I haven’t seen the movie yet, I’d say skip the book and just watch the movie. At least the movie has Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem!
Overall Rating: 5/10
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Hi, I'm Manda. I'm a college student studying communications and languages. I like to read, shop, bake, and travel. I have a tendency to listen to my favorite songs on repeat for hours on end. Sometimes I catch myself thinking in a language other than English. 
Thank you! THANK YOU for finally being someone to say that this book isn’t the greatest thing ever written.
I hate this book, and it’s so frustrating when people say they are inspired by this woman.
Everyone I know who’s read the book says the same thing — Gilbert is annoying, she has an annoying writing style, she’s the poster child for first world and white girl problems, etc. I haven’t read the book, but the Liz in the movie isn’t likable at all either, and I’m so glad I only paid $5. The cute guys, Italian food, and Bali scenery made that $5 worth it.
This book has been sitting in my house for months now, but I’ve never really had any interest in reading it. I was going to give it a try because of the movie, but maybe I’ll just skip it like you suggested. I don’t really understand all the hype, since the plot doesn’t seem like such a big deal for me. There are much more interesting memoirs out there, in my opinion.
I’m pretty sure this book was featured on Oprah’s Book Club, which totally explains all the hype it got.
No wonder this didn’t look like a chick-flick. It’s not sappy and romantic – it’s a whiny, selfish woman who made some very good business decisions.