Eat, Pray, Love

I finally finished Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.

I say finally not because it was bad, but because it took so long. I also think that I didn't read it at the right time. I'm a firm believer that there are books that deserve to be read at certain times, be it seasons, or vacations, or even places. This book was not a "hectic, back-to-school" autumnal kind of book. This is more of a summer vacation book. The fact that I had so little time and that the book was so content heavy is probably why it took me so long. 

A word about the story: this is an autobiography about Elizabeth Gilbert, known as Liz. She lived in New York as a writer for several years, but then realized that she desperately needed a change of life. So she got a divorce, and ended up traveling to Italy, India, and Indonesia for several months. In Italy, she learned about pleasure. In India, she learned about prayer. In Indonesia, she sought balance and ended up learning about love. This book is an account of those months spent traveling and re-discovering herself. 

That was something I liked about it though: not a word was wasted. This book is well written, thought out and planned but not constricted. I liked the format, the 180 chapters or beads, relating to the beaded prayer necklace. 

Honestly I began reading it because under the pressure of school the only thing I wanted to do was pack my bag and travel somewhere far away from standardized tests and college fairs. When I began reading it, the Italy section of the book really spoke to me. But once she hit India it became heavier and much more personal, as is to expected from the section of the book dedicated to prayer. However, I find self-discovery to be a fascinating idea, so I enjoyed reading it. I enjoyed reading the whole thing, but I wish I had had more focus than I did.

I may have mentioned this in a previous post, but when I re-read it, I'm going to buy my own copy and write things down in it, and underline passages because there were so many that I really liked and couldn't highlight because it was a library book. 

So, in conclusion to my mess of thoughts, I do recommend this book, but I recommend it if you know you will have chunks of time to dedicate to it, because it is a thought-provoking book and it deserves to be explored to the fullest. 

I realize this was not really a review, but I hope it convinced you to read it.

Have a great week!