Eat, Pray, Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert
Penguin Books
334 pages, $18.50
“Hmph – Oprah’s book club,” I thought to myself after
stumbling across a copy of Elizabeth Gilbert’s, “Eat, Pray, Love.” I casually
dismissed the book and continued to browse through the shelves crammed full of
vast tomes (does this make me a literary snob?). I had recognized the cover
that was being heavily touted on television, and in all honesty, was probably
also a bit put off by the word “pray” in the title.
I’m not exactly the most religious or, perhaps I should say,
spiritual person – I’ve actually been known to laugh during yoga class if
the instructor tries to incorporate too many spiritual elements into the
workout.
Now, this certainly isn’t to say I don’t want to learn more
about different religions. I’m an ‘80s-baby-cum-lapsed-Catholic, and I’m very
interested in hearing about other people’s perception of God, whoever or
whatever he or she may be. But it’s a subject I prefer to talk to friends
about, preferably over a drink or two, as it can make for some heavy and dull
reading material.
But I’ve been hearing some good things about this book, and
as it turns out, “Eat, Pray, Love” isn’t full of dry religious theory and
history. Rather, it’s the memoir of Elizabeth Gilbert, an accomplished American
author.
Basically, Gilbert experiences a bit of mid-life crisis
after she decides at the age of 31 to divorce her husband. As part of an effort
to pull herself out of a deep depression she heads to Italy, India and
Indonesia for a year to recover from the emotional turmoil.
Gilbert writes honestly and openly about her personal crisis
— a difficult, daunting feat for any author — and at some point the
descriptions of her frequent episodes spent curled up on the bathroom floor,
sobbing uncontrollably, come across as a tad whiny. Maybe it’s simply that I
can’t relate to the grief Gilbert is experiencing. In any event, she eventually
moves on, opting to alleviate her suffering through a year-long spiritual
journey.
In addition to revealing intimate details of her personal
life, Gilbert also delves into her spiritual beliefs, which are integral to the
journey she eventually makes. At the beginning of the book Gilbert tackles the
touchy subject of God and religion with grace, finesse, and a touch of humour:
“In the end, what I have to come to believe about God is
simple. It’s like this – I used to have this really great dog. She came
from the pound. She was a mixture of about ten different breeds, but seemed to
have inherited the finest features of them all. She was brown. When people
asked me, ‘What kind of dog is that?’ I would always give the same answer:
‘She’s a brown dog.’ Similarly, when the question is raised, ‘What kind of God
do you believe in?’ my answer is easy: ‘I believe in a magnificent God.’”
She breaks the book up into three parts, one for each
country she journeys to. In Italy she eats, in India she prays, and in
Indonesia she loves. Each section has 36 tales, which adds up to a total of
108, which is
the number of beads
on japa malas — a necklace used for centuries in India to help Hindus and
Buddhists focus on their meditation. This is just one example of the extensive
religious knowledge that Gilbert has obviously conducted in the course of the
research for this book.
Gilbert’s open and honest style of writing definitely makes
her an endearing character for the reader. It’s quite easy to imagine that she
is a simply a friend, writing a letter to let you know how her travels are
going, and it wasn’t long before I found myself laughing out loud at her antics
(which resulted in a few curious glances being cast my way as I sat and read
over a cup of coffee).
“I work hard at Italian, but I keep hoping it will one day
just be revealed to me, whole, perfect. One day I will open my mouth and be
magically fluent… I wish that Italian would simply take up resident within me,
but there are so many glitches in this language. Like, why are the Italian
words for ‘tree’ and ‘hotel’ (albero vs. albergo) so very similar? This causes
me to keep accidentally telling people that I grew up on ‘a Christmas hotel
farm.’ Instead of the more accurate and slightly less surreal description:
‘Christmas tree farm.’”
With or without Oprah’s seal of approval, “Eat, Pray, Love,”
is an inspiring, realistic story of love, healing and hope.