I usually like to write dreamy, if somewhat ambiguous, introductions in relation to some vague idea or imagery mentioned in the book that I’m discussing before plunging in any expression of my personal opinion about it. Quite frankly though, I don’t feel capable of doing this about this book because the truth is simple: I have really mixed feelings about it.
On one hand, I don’t think there is anything particularly special in it to justify the enormous amount of publicity it’s received in the past few years. It’s simply a traveling book. I had quite a bit of troubles reading it, as for a very long time (and I mean, pretty much until I reached its final section) I found it too whiny and shallowly emotional… or maybe to an extent even not emotional at all. The writer in me was constantly struggling to ignore the obvious braking of one of the golden rules of writing – show, don’t tell – as in many cases the book only got me to hear what the author experienced rather than feel it for myself, which quite frankly was somewhat frustrating. Again for a large part of the book, the most interesting thing in it for me were the fun facts provided about the different countries, or cultures, or languages, or religions, which personally I don’t think it is a particularly good thing when we are talking about a piece of literary writing as opposed to a guide book or an encyclopaedia.
And yet on the other hand, there was something that kind of endeared me towards this book. I think the idea of such a complete personal makeover quite appeals to me, so seeing the results of this year-long journey in the final section of the book really made the whole difference for me. I wish the author had allowed me, the reader, to experience her journey along with her, but even though, disappointingly, I can’t say this happened, I was still quite pleased with its beautiful, if somewhat corny, conclusion.
I think the publicity around this book may have led me to create high expectations of it long before I even got a hold of it, and expectations undoubtedly can lead to disappointments. But if you are thinking of reading Eat, Pray, Love, just do it. It’s nothing particularly special, in my opinion, but it can be quite enjoyable nevertheless.
On one hand, I don’t think there is anything particularly special in it to justify the enormous amount of publicity it’s received in the past few years. It’s simply a traveling book. I had quite a bit of troubles reading it, as for a very long time (and I mean, pretty much until I reached its final section) I found it too whiny and shallowly emotional… or maybe to an extent even not emotional at all. The writer in me was constantly struggling to ignore the obvious braking of one of the golden rules of writing – show, don’t tell – as in many cases the book only got me to hear what the author experienced rather than feel it for myself, which quite frankly was somewhat frustrating. Again for a large part of the book, the most interesting thing in it for me were the fun facts provided about the different countries, or cultures, or languages, or religions, which personally I don’t think it is a particularly good thing when we are talking about a piece of literary writing as opposed to a guide book or an encyclopaedia.
And yet on the other hand, there was something that kind of endeared me towards this book. I think the idea of such a complete personal makeover quite appeals to me, so seeing the results of this year-long journey in the final section of the book really made the whole difference for me. I wish the author had allowed me, the reader, to experience her journey along with her, but even though, disappointingly, I can’t say this happened, I was still quite pleased with its beautiful, if somewhat corny, conclusion.
I think the publicity around this book may have led me to create high expectations of it long before I even got a hold of it, and expectations undoubtedly can lead to disappointments. But if you are thinking of reading Eat, Pray, Love, just do it. It’s nothing particularly special, in my opinion, but it can be quite enjoyable nevertheless.