it's gonna get rough. This is going to be long, blistering and a total projection of my peeves and idiosyncrasies. The language will sometimes be brash since when my passion rises about something my vocabulary becomes somewhat flowery. My intention is not to hurt or anger any who loved this book, but this is what her book inspired in me and my reading of it. I didn't want to read this book, I hate these types of books, again projecting my peeves, wahhh wahhh I need to find myself my life is so tough. I have a hard time with people who can't handle life's hardships and we all got em. Truly I never would've picked the book up, I noticed it, but then saw the trailer with Julia Roberts and that sealed the deal. I can't stand her, that's why I can't read The Last Song by Sparks, I can't stand Miley Cyrus and her putzy parents. See, told ya, there's gonna be a lot of projecting here, but I digress, my sis-in-law started a book club and I belong, but the 1st meeting was held while I was on vacation, so I wasn't there to protest very loudly in my big New York accented stubborn Italian voice that I don't WANNA!!! There might be some story give-aways here, can't quite call em spoilers since I don't think this type of book really qualifies for one of those, but a heads up, so fasten your belts and here we go....
Eat Pray Love
Elizabeth Gilbert
Paperback 352 pgs
Penquin
In my opinion this gal ultimately wanted to do what she wanted to do with no consequences. She wanted out of her marriage, she wanted her boyfriend to just wait for her while she gallivanted, and she wanted a Deity who's mantra is "if it feels good for you, do it".
Gilbert opens with herself hysterical crying on the bath room floor that she doesn't want to be married anymore. For weeks she's been doing this and her husband has been watching her meltdown and not knowing what to do. I know what she wanted, since she's a coward, her hope was he would say "I can't take this" and split. Then she could be the martyr, saying he left me while I'm in crisis. The woman literally made herself mentally ill over this and needed meds for a time afterward. She finally gets the stones to leave, her side of the bed is barely cold and she get involved and moves in with another man. She doesn't understand why her husband is being so mean about this whole divorce thing. *said in a cute baby Betty Boop voice* I don't understand, I wanted to be all Gandhi about this and not even have a lawyer. He could have the Manhattan apt. and the house on the Hudson. Well the old saying nothing worse than a woman scorned goes for men too. They can be bitches when crap like this goes down, except we call them pricks, and quite frankly who could blame him. His world was crumbling as well and not by his choice.
We did agree on some things, love of the Italian language and the fact that Americans do work way to hard. The part about the Italian man cursing up a storm at the soccer game was very funny. I could also relate to being in love with a pizza pie. That part made me think of the pizzeria in Coney Island that only makes a certain # of pies a day and closes at 3, best pizza in Brooklyn.
Her few political swipes ticked me. Boohoo, the man that Love Story was based on and invented the internet wasn't successful in his bid to steal the election. And it wasn't necessary to interject how her sister's only concern about the birth of her son was if he would grow up Republican, and at Luca's birthday party how grateful one was that we'd be voting for a new President....not!
In the midst of her turmoil she did still travel. After meeting Linda while on assignment in Bali, they hook up again and go to Costa Rica together, oh my, my heart is just breaking for this poooooor woman. In the sack with another man, and still traveling, sniffle sniffle so very sad.
I find her a cafone (asshole) and like one of those television preachers that claim God talks to them she is as full of shit as the day is long. The crap she slings about her time in the meditation hall is unreal. What was funny was the Monk telling her to do what she doesn't want to do (pray the geet). Imagine that concept Miss Liz, and the fact of controlling your thoughts. Is she really such a simpleton? Push the negative out, but she has to think this constantly. Such high maintenance, thinking thinking thinking.
This broad has some big ones. I think she may really be a man. Her happiness and being guilt free rides on her ex's forgiving her. Not only does she hurt him she wants his blessing too. Her time in India wraps up in a very telling manner. Alas, cherry pick through the Religions till you find one that feels good and fits you. and her friend who says he can no longer go to the Catholic Church knowing what he knows now really knows nothing. As Monsignor Fulton Sheen said - "There are not more than 100 people in the world who truly hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they perceive to be the Catholic Church."
It is very sad that her friend Yudhi from Bali is separated from his American wife. 9/11 changed everything and the fact that immigrants had/have to suffer is a sad by-product. My brother, a retired NYPD, helped on recovery, not rescue, that means they were looking for body pieces friend, PIECES. He said it smelled worse than a butcher shop gone bad, just indescribable and these people worked tons of overtime for this, till they were emotionally burnt out. Maybe she should have been in the middle of that for a few months. Her pushing of political views sickens me.
Elizabeth Gilbert went through a divorce. Something, sadly, people do all the time, and was her choice to begin with. This huckster managed to parlay her bullshit into a book got an advance to travel the world for a year, and now a movie as well. I feel about this book the way she did the geet, can't figure out why so many love it. All this time I could've been reading Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris.
I won't even waste one of my beautiful cannolis on this!
What do you think you'll read next?
by Karen Marie Moning! I am dying to read this book especially since the ending was the most wicked cliffhanger an author has ever dangled her readers from!!!
