Elizabeth Gilbert
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia (2006)
Author: Elizabeth Gilbert
Genre: Nonfiction (Memoir)
Book Summary:
Elizabeth Gilbert has just gone through a nasty divorce. In her 30's she's decided that she doesn't want to have a child, but her husband was ready to start a family. To make matters worse she's realized that her new boyfriend is never going to be the man she needs or wants so she decides it is time to think about herself. She goes on a year long journey to Italy, India, and Indonesia. She starts in Italy where she learns Italian, and enjoys Rome. After then she travels to India where she lives in an Ashram and focuses on her sprituality. Lastly she goes to Bali where she seeks to learn meditation from a medicine man. SPOILER: She meets Felipe, at the end of her journey. Not only does she hit it off with Felipe, but they end up dating and according to her website they are still together.
Geographical Setting: New York, Italy (Rome), Indiana, Indonesia (Bali)
Time Period: 2001/2002
Appeal Characteristics:
The setting is a large part of the appeal in this novel. Elizabeth Gilbert brings aspects of each of the countries into her writing. Making it easier to understand what she is doing there. The chapters are short an organized in a way that, although, the story is not fast paced it is compels the reader to keep reading. Eat Pray Love is primarily a memoir and therefore the reader gets an inside view on the mind of Elizabeth Gilbert and her motivations for doing what she does. The characters are all real people and very believable.
Read-alikes: Reader's that enjoyed Elizabeth Gilbert's style of writing might also enjoy some of her other works. The Last American Man is another nonfiction work that is a biography of Eustace Conway who lives in the Apalacian mountains in a Teepee. Another novel of interest might be Daring to Dream: Reflections on the Year I Found Myself by Kren Ely. Another non fiction novel, this tells of the author's year of finding herself after the end of her marriage. For those that enjoyed the travel aspect of the novel might also enjoy Worldwalk by Steven Newman, about a 28 year old that walked around the world and traveled to over 20 countires. For another non fiction story about an American in Italy, try A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlena de Blasi, which tells her story of going to Italy and after falling in love with an Italian moving to Italy to start a new life. Reader's might also enjoy Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World by Rita Golden Gelman, which is the story of Rita Golden Gelman and her life traveling the world. It starts in Mexico where she has to learn to live in her new environment. It is on this journey that she, like Elizabeth Gilbert, starts her new life.
Red Flags: There are mentions of sex.
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