It is a very enlightening and entertaining book by Elizabeth Gilbert in which she describes her life as she undertook the journey to India, Italy and Indonesia while batting personal problems such as divorce as well as panic, weight loss and confusion. The book Eat Pray Love is also the story of how she regained her balance in life.
Italian Language Is a Pleasure
Initially she speaks about her experiences in Italy where Elizabeth Gilbert finds the local language a pleasure and she also enrolled herself in language classes to submerge her personality there. She does all the fine things in life such as having Gelati in the morning, relishing the best pizza in the country and sharing with friends the finest Sardinian wine. Elizabeth Gilbert also watched a soccer game there and found out how the local people dealt with a defeat. Expectedly, she walked out of the country depression free and she gained the weight back what she had lost earlier.
She Learnt Devotion in India
Her next destination was India where she practiced meditation at the Ashram of her Guru. She did not publish the name or location of the Guru or the Ashram deliberately, but she thanks him profusely in the beginning of the book. She expresses her Indian experiences only from the personal point of view, and she talked about the start of meditation with endless of train of thoughts moving around in her mind, which turned to silence and peaceful thoughts as she practiced meditation there for hours. She now believes the God can be found within oneself and there is no need to go out to look for him. She has told her experiences about India truthfully and beautifully.
She Found Love in Bali
It was in Bali where Elizabeth Gilbert found love, in the form of an Indian medicine man Ketut whom she told she wanted to enjoy the delights of life, but she also wanted to connect with God. He told her that she needs to have her feet firmly planted on earth, though she needs to look at the world through her heart, rather than head, then only she’ll find God. He invited her to Indonesia to teach him English and he would tell her in return everything he knew about life.
She Can Make Friends in No Time
She also talks about her negative points during the travel such as her physical appearance didn’t allow her to merge with the local people, though she could make friends with almost anybody within no time. She was not that great with the research part and also suffered from digestive difficulties.
Likable and Readable Prose
The way she writes her prose is immensely likable and readable. She displays all the good qualities in her writing – wit, intelligence and exuberance not witnessed elsewhere. Her previous work was also nonfiction and she managed to reach the finals of the National Book Award in the year 2002. In the book Eat Pray Love, she herself is the subject of the book and her trip to Italy, India and Indonesia was financed from the advance she was paid to write the book.
Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
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