Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat, Pray, Love”
I’m approaching Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love with scepticism because of all the hype.
But I love the first line: “I wish Giovanni would kiss me.” Such a plain sentence, but so full of longing.
Later she says, “It was my most sincere belief that when I left my husband we could settle our practical affairs in a few hours with a calculator, some common sense and a lot of goodwill toward the person we’d once loved.” I would never expect this of Iggy. His motto: “Don’t get mad, get even.” And when he starts a campaign to accomplish something, there’s no stopping him.
On p. 95, she writes, “The Bhagavad Gita. . . says that it is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live an imitation of somebody else’s life with perfection.” Right now I’m doing the former rather than the latter. That’s good. I just wish I could focus better on my work. I could accomplish so much more. Plus, I wouldn’t feel so guilty when I don’t work. I just can’t concentrate. Could I have an adult version of ADD? Luckily I am fairly productive during the moments when I do work.
I loved that book….
L
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Comment by Laura Matthews — December 23, 2007 @ 12:35 pm
I read that book this past summer. I had some reservations too, mostly that it was going to be self-serving navel-contemplation, which I don’t have much time for. However, it turned out to be a beautifully crafted book, wonderfully written, engaging and extremely insightful - even for someone who’s already been through the “30something” upheavals. There is a real richness to the book, and I hope you find, as I did, that you can take away from it what you want, and it will stay with you.
Comment by C.E. Murray — December 23, 2007 @ 9:40 pm