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Reviews:
NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
“If a more likable writer than Gilbert is currently in print, I haven’t found him or her…Gilbert’s prose is fueled by a mix of intelligence, wit and colloquial exuberance that is close to irresistible, and makes the reader only too glad to join the posse of friends and devotees who have the pleasure of listening in.” by Jennifer Egan
TIME MAGAZINE
“An engaging, intelligent and entertaining memoir…her account of her time in India is beautiful and honest and free of patchouli-scented obscurities.” by Lev Grossman
LOS ANGELES TIMES
“Gilbert’s journey is full of mystical dreams, visions and uncanny coincidences…Yet for every ounce of self-absorption her classical New-Age journey demands, Gilbert is ready with an equal measure of intelligence, humor and self-deprecation…Gilbert’s wry, unfettered account of her extraordinary journey makes even the most cynical reader dare to dream of someday finding God deep within a meditation cave in India, or perhaps over a transcendent slice of pizza.” by Erika Schickel
SEATTLE POST-Intelligencer
“This is an intriguing and substantive journey recounted with verve, humor and insight. Others have preceded Gilbert in writing this sort of memoir, but few indeed have done it better.” by John Marshall
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
“Fine, sometimes startling…Gilbert doesn’t wear spirituality like a fresh frock she hopes will make her pretty, but nurtures the spiritual seed within herself to find the beauty and love in everything.” by Sarah Peasley
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
“A” – “This insightful, funny account of her travels reads like a mix of Susan Orlean and Frances Mayes…Gilbert’s journey is well worth taking.” by Jessica Shaw
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
 Gilbert (The Last American Man) grafts the structure of romantic fiction upon the inquiries of reporting in this sprawling yet methodical travelogue of soul-searching and self-discovery. Plagued with despair after a nasty divorce, the author, in her early 30s, divides a year equally among three dissimilar countries, exploring her competing urges for earthly delights and divine transcendence. First, pleasure: savoring Italy’s buffet of delights — the world’s best pizza, free-flowing wine and dashing conversation partners — Gilbert consumes la dolce vita as spiritual succor. ‘I came to Italy pinched and thin,’ she writes, but soon fills out in waist and soul. Then, prayer and ascetic rigor: seeking communion with the divine at a sacred ashram in India, Gilbert emulates the ways of yogis in grueling hours of meditation, struggling to still her churning mind. Finally, a balancing act in Bali, where Gilbert tries for equipoise ‘betwixt and between’ realms, studies with a merry medicine man and plunges into a charged love affair. Sustaining a chatty, conspiratorial tone, Gilbert fully engages readers in the year’s cultural and emotional tapestry — conveying rapture with infectious brio, recalling anguish with touching candor — as she details her exotic tableau with history, anecdote and impression.” Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
LIBRARYJOURNAL.com
A Starred Review. “A probing, thoughtful title with a free and easy style, this work seamlessly blends history and travel for a very enjoyable read. Highly recommended.” by Jo-Anne Mary Benson
BOOKLIST
A Starred Review. “Gilbert, author of The Last American Man (2002) and a well-traveled I’ll-try-anything-once journalist, chronicles her intrepid quest for spiritual healing. Driven to despair by a punishing divorce and an anguished love affair, Gilbert flees New York for sojourns in the three Is. She goes to Italy to learn the language and revel in the cuisine, India to meditate in an ashram, and Indonesia to reconnect with a healer in Bali. This itinerary may sound self-indulgent or fey, but there is never a whiny or pious or dull moment because Gilbert is irreverent, hilarious, zestful, courageous, intelligent, and in masterful command of her sparkling prose. A captivating storyteller with a gift for enlivening metaphors, Gilbert is Anne Lamott’s hip, yoga-practicing, footloose younger sister, and readers will laugh and cry as she recounts her nervy and outlandish experiences and profiles the extraordinary people she meets. As Gilbert switches from gelato to kundalini Shakti to herbal cures Balinese-style, she ponders the many paths to divinity, the true nature of happiness, and the boon of good-hearted, sexy love. Gilbert’s sensuous and audacious spiritual odyssey is as deeply pleasurable as it is enlightening.” by Donna Seaman
Alan Richman’s take on “Eat, Pray, Love”
“Spilling out of this funny (and profound) circus car of a book are dozens of mesmerizing characters, people you’ll envy Liz Gilbert for finding, valuing, loving and, I couldn’t help noticing, joining for irresistible meals. I’ve never read an adventure quite like one, where a writer packs up her entire life and takes it on the road.” — Alan Richman.
Anne Lamott on “Eat, Pray, Love”
“This is a wonderful book, brilliant and personal, rich in spiritual insight, filled with sorrow and a great sense of humor. Elizabeth Gilbert is everything you would love in a tour guide, of magical places she has traveled to both deep inside and across the oceans: she’s wise, jaunty, human, ethereal, hilarious, heartbreatking, and God, does she play great attention to the things that really matter.” — Anne Lamott
Jack Kornfield says about “Eat, Pray, Love”
“Elizabeth Gilbert takes us on pilgrimage, with the humor, insight and charm that only come with honest self-revelation and good writing.” — Jack Kornfield
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Thanks SurfaceEarth. I’m always looking for a good read. I like Anne Lamott too. 🙂
Sounds like a great read. I’ll have to look it up.
If you enjoy Anne Lamott (oh no, I’m sounding like a librarian), you might also enjoy a book called “girl meets god” (can’t remember the author). It’s about an unobervant Jew who became Orthodox, then converted to Christianity. She tells her spiritual journey with a lot of sensitivity and faithfulness.
Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll check out this site often. Check mine out as you have the chance.
Did I really write “unobervant Jew”. I guess that’s a Jewish person who poses no obstacles to the faith. I meant “unobservant”.
We too hate when the keyboard develops a mind of its own!
Hello –
I read it – it’s been a few months I suppose. It’s a good read and for me, it was a peek into a very different life than my own. I don’t actually think I’d like Elizabeth Gilbert as a *friend* if that were possible, but I did buy her book and liked her insights. I also heard the review on NPR, but this was a while back.
Pete:
I don’t believe I read that book. I do have the capability to read books and forget both titles and authors and not recognize that I’ve read it until the first few lines. I’m copying the link below, sounds like the book you are referring to:
http://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/0812970802.asp
P: Thanks for jumping in. It is quite a good read. I actually think Ms. Gilbert would make a delightful friend, if for no other reason, her soul searching and ability to call herself out. I did not hear the review on NPR, but am assuming it was a good presentation.