#7 Elizabeth Gilbert's "Eat, Pray, Love"


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I've finally done it.  I finished Eat, Pray, Love.  I don't know what my problem with this book was!  I actually did enjoy it (for the most part), but I really struggled to get through a lot of it.

That being said, let me tell you my thoughts.  Like I said, I enjoyed this book, for the most part.  I love the idea of this book, but I am still very skeptical of a lot of it.  I understand that Gilbert went through a huge "bad" spell in her life before the content of the book, but the story (where the novel picks up) just works out to perfectly for me.  Yes, there are still struggles for her throughout the book, but... I don't know.  I'm not at a loss for words as that last sentence makes me out to be, but I am at a loss for thoughts.  Mixed feelings.

Let's break this book up in to three parts.  We'll call them, fittingly, "eat", "pray", & "love".  These sections will be from her time spent in Italy, India & Indonesia, respectively.


Eat
  I liked this portion of the book.  I love Europe.  I love food (especially pasta).  I love the romance languages.  I'm sure all of these things helped in my liking this portion of the book.  I don't have a lot to say about this section though other than that I just liked it. 
     *I will add, however, that I got really annoyed by her sob story leading in to Italy.  Not that I don't like a good tale of sadness and despair; she just bordered on pathetic a lot of the time.  I also recognize that she was most likely looking for the reader to see that side of her life though.*

Pray
  This part is where I struggled the most.  I am not an overly religious person, but I am not an atheist either.  I have always been very interested in learning about different religions, but consider myself to be agnostic, because honestly, I don't know.  (And, as I've mentioned, I'm a huge skeptic.)
  I don't know if my reason for having difficulty getting through this book had anything to do with this being the more "religious" section of it, but I REALLY struggled through this portion.  When I read stories like this and I hear stories similar from people, or I meet someone with a really strong faith, it always makes me feel the same way.  I wouldn't say that I am jealous of these people, but I definitely am in awe of them.  Don't get me wrong, I have faith.  I have faith in my friends and family and I usually have faith in humanity, in general.  I am talking about religious faith.  There are some things in this world that I can never be sure of and religion is one of them.  I've tried.  I really have.  I've learned a lot of my values and morals growing up in a Christian based family and growing up with the church and I am proud of that fact.  I would change nothing about that fact.  It's made me who I am.  I also want to raise my children in a similar manner, giving them the option of having religion be a part of their lives. 
Sorry, I'm getting off track.   This is supposed to be a book review, but it has turned in to a religion argument.  I will save that for my other blogStay tuned...
Back to the book... well, I think you get a feel for my thoughts on this section.  More power to Gilbert and good for her.

Love
  This is probably the section of the book that I enjoyed the most.  Maybe it's because I'm a sap.  Maybe it's because I love my friends and family and this is the section of the book where you see a strong sense of friendship and the beginning of a family for Gilbert.  I also think some of it is because I love some of the characters you meet in this section.  I love Ketut Liyer (the adorable medicine man) and his complete disregard for time.  I love Wayan, and even more so love her daughter, Tutti.  And let me tell you about my love for Felipe.  (I don't think that it helps that I know Javier Bardem plays him in the movie version... all I have to say about that is YUM.)  I know that I am a hopeless romantic and that only makes me love Felipe more... Gilbert makes him out to be that "perfect" man that only exists in the movies... and books, of course.
  The only part of this section that I was completely liking was Yudhi.  Don't get me wrong; I liked Yudhi.  I did not like the way that they converse with each other... most importantly the "your mother" jokes.  Come on.  Everyone knows that they are "your MOM" jokes.  They don't ring the right way if you say "mother".  :)

Over all, I did like the book.  Consider it RECOMMENDED.

Sorry that this review kind of turned in to a novel, in and of itself.

Here's your first line teaser from it:  "I wish Giovanni would kiss me."

Next up:  Dress Your Family in Corduroy & Denim by David Sedaris.

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