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In 2000, Elizabeth published her first novel, STERN MEN (a story of brutal territory wars between two remote fishing islands off the coast of Maine) which was a New York Times Notable Book. In 2002, Elizabeth published THE LAST AMERICAN MAN - the true story of the modern day woodsman Eustace Conway. This book, her first work of non-fiction, was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award.
Elizabeth is best known, however for her 2006 memoir EAT PRAY LOVE, which chronicled her journey alone around the world, looking for solace after a difficult divorce. The book was an international bestseller, translated into over thirty languages, with over 10 million copies sold worldwide, and a movie version in the making, starring Julia Roberts. The book became so popular that, in 2008, Time Magazine named Elizabeth as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/eatpraylove.htmEat, Pray and Love was published by Viking, on February 2006. It comes as a hardcover or paperback with 352 pages. It was the American Booksellers Association Acclaimed Best Seller and number 1 on the Booksense Paperback Nonfiction List for over a year and there are over ten million copies in print. In terms of its retail price, when it was first published in 2006 it was 19.99 (hardcover) and 14.99 (paperback). Now it is available on Amazon New starting at $7.28 and used starting at $2.74. Barnes and Noble and Borders (maybe cheaper now that is closing) have it for similar prices as well.
Personally, I truly enjoyed reading this book. The day I bought it I was at the airport and needed something to entertain myself with; in case I did not like any of the movies playing on the planes. And I did. I loved reading about Elizabeth's adventures across the world in, having delicious food, wine and learning new languages, meeting new people and most importantly getting to know what she really wanted to do with her life.
Some great quotes from this book are still fresh on my memory and these are the following:
About Thoughts and Emotions:
"You need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way you select your clothes every day. This is a power you can cultivate. If you want to control things in your life so bad, work on the mind. That's the only thing you should be trying to control."
About God:
"Look for God. Look for God like a man with his head on fire looks for water."
You were given life; it is your duty (and also your entitlement as a human being) to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight."
"There’s a crack (or cracks) in everyone…that’s how the light of God gets in."
About Self-Esteem:
"You are, after all, what you think. Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions."
When it comes to relationships:
"When the karma of a relationship is done, only love remains. It's safe. Let go."
"Having a baby is like getting a tattoo on your face. You really need to be certain it's what you want before you commit." - Elizabeth Gilbert
Some authors praise Gilbert for her book such as Alan Richman and Anne Lamott. Magazines and Newspapers also have great reviews for "Eat, Pray and Love." Here are some listed on her website:
Alan Richman's take on "Eat, Pray, Love"
"Spilling out of this funny (and profound) circus car of a book are dozens of mesmerizing characters, people you'll envy Liz Gilbert for finding, valuing, loving and, I couldn't help noticing, joining for irresistible meals. I've never read an adventure quite like one, where a writer packs up her entire life and takes it on the road." -- Alan Richman.
"This is a wonderful book, brilliant and personal, rich in spiritual insight, filled with sorrow and a great sense of humor. Elizabeth Gilbert is everything you would love in a tour guide, of magical places she has traveled to both deep inside and across the oceans: she's wise, jaunty, human, ethereal, hilarious, heartbreaking, and God, does she pay great attention to the things that really matter." -- Anne Lamott
“If a more likable writer than Gilbert is currently in print, I haven't found him or her. ... Gilbert's prose is fueled by a mix of intelligence, wit and colloquial exuberance that is close to irresistible, and makes the reader only too glad to join the posse of friends and devotees who have the pleasure of listening in.” by Jennifer Egan
“An engaging, intelligent and entertaining memoir…her account of her time in India is beautiful and honest and free of patchouli-scented obscurities.” by Lev Grossman
LOS ANGELES TIMES
“Gilbert’s journey is full of mystical dreams, visions and uncanny coincidences…Yet for every ounce of self-absorption her classical New-Age journey demands, Gilbert is ready with an equal measure of intelligence, humor and self-deprecation…Gilbert’s wry, unfettered account of her extraordinary journey makes even the most cynical reader dare to dream of someday finding God deep within a meditation cave in India, or perhaps over a transcendent slice of pizza.” by Erika Schickel
"This is an intriguing and substantive journey recounted with verve, humor and insight. Others have preceded Gilbert in writing this sort of memoir, but few indeed have done it better." by John Marshall
“Fine, sometimes startling…Gilbert doesn’t wear spirituality like a fresh frock she hopes will make her pretty, but nurtures the spiritual seed within herself to find the beauty and love in everything.” by Sarah Peasley
"A" - "This insightful, funny account of her travels reads like a mix of Susan Orlean and Frances Mayes...Gilbert's journey is well worth taking." by Jessica Shaw
However, there are always people who dislike what has been told on a book or perhaps what the author portrays of its characters, places, topics, themes, etc. And here are some "not-very-nice" critics:
Katie Roiphe of Slate agreed with Egan about the strength of Gilbert's writing. However, she described the journey as too fake: "too willed, too self-conscious". She stated that despite the apparent artificiality of the journey, her "affection for Eat, Pray, Love is ... furtive", and that "it is a transcendently great beach book." The Washington Post's Grace Lichtenstein stated that "The only thing wrong with this readable, funny memoir of a magazine writer's yearlong travels across the world in search of pleasure and balance is that it seems so much like a Jennifer Aniston movie."
Jennifer Egan, on The New York Times Sunday Review published on February 26th, 2006 says:
"But wait a second — Gilbert is a New York journalist who has spent the prior several years traveling the world on assignment. In her chosen milieu, it would be unusual if she were married and raising kids in a house at age 34 — by her own account, she left her husband precisely to avoid those things. I'm willing to believe that Gilbert despaired over having failed at a more conventional life even as she sought out its opposite — complications like these are what make us human. But she doesn't tell that story here, or even acknowledge the paradox. As a result, her crisis remains a shadowy thing, a mere platform for the actions she takes to alleviate it."http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/26/books/review/26egan.html
Great work reviewing this book. Your judicious use of hyperlinks balanced with both other reviews and your personal thoughts made for an enjoyable and productive experience as a reader.
ReplyDeleteYour review might even get me to actually pick up one of the two copies that have been laying around the house.
By side-line-ing the fact that this book has been adapted into a successful motion picture, you've kept your reader's attention on the themes, setting and characters of the book. Good work. Quoting and linking to multiple reviews gives good context from which you've built a solid review. Great work!