I started reading “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert because, of course, the movie is about to come out in theaters. I guess I should have realized that this wouldn’t exactly be a peppy, upbeat book because she is dealing with the end of her marriage and going through a tough divorce. With that said, this isn’t exactly a book I want to pick up and read so it’s slow goings for me so far. . .
And to avoid getting too long winded I’m going to split up my “review” into at least 2 parts but potentially 3. The book obviously is divided into three parts but if I make enough progress by next Monday you’ll get the next last portions in one review.
As I began reading the “Eat” or “Italy” portion, I was excited. The notion of leaving your current life behind to go explore the world or at least another city has always been a dream of mine. I regret never having studied abroad in college or moving off somewhere and trying to live somewhere other than Dallas. Not sure what it is but I’ve always felt tied down here, maybe its fear, maybe responsibility, maybe family, but maybe one day I’ll be able to muster the courage to try it.
I was disappointed that the book opens with such a bleak picture of Gilbert’s life leading up to her year of traveling. It was also surprising to me how much history she provides on the city, currency and population of Rome as opposed to elaborate descriptions of her exciting journey into the unknown.
I am about 20 pages away from the end of this first section, surprisingly so far the focus really hasn’t been food. She has talked about the large quantities of pasta and pizza that she has consumed, oh and she has become quite a gelato fan. I think she’s up to 3 times a day?
To be honest the loneliness of this section makes me nervous to keep going because Italy was the section I was most excited to read. But I keep reminding myself that this book has received a lot attention (and Julia Roberts is even playing the main character), so with that in mind I will press on and persevere.
Have you read this book? What did you think? Were you disappointed? What was your favorite section?
Katers… I only liked the “eat” part of the book! Naturally 🙂 I ended up leaving the book on the plane when I was done. However, I do think that it will be a better movie than book… for once! Don’t give up… power thru it sister!