There was a lot of potential...., August 18, 2006

There was a lot of potential...., August 18, 2006

By	A. E. Floyd (San Francisco, CA)

This review is from: Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia (Hardcover)

I picked up this book after rave reviews from a book club and for the first half of it I could not figure out why they liked it so much. I felt the author came through as extremely immature and somewhat shallow- I found the section on Italy read a lot like the diary of a girl who just graduated from high school going to see Italy before she went off to college. Oooh, cute boys, drinking wine, do you think that cute boy thinks I'm cute?However, there were some really lyrical and amazing passages sprinkled in with this so I kept on reading. You could really see how she developed as a person as she went through India and on to Bali. Her account of the ashram and how it changed her was interesting, I could totally sympathize with her difficulties getting her mind to shut up during meditation! While it was somewhat enjoyable to see that progression I didn't find her interesting enough to keep me enthralled with the book.
And she really did give short shrift to places she had been. I know this book was not supposed to be a travel guide but more of her personal journey but as someone who has been to both Italy and Bali (funny enough I was there in Ubud the same time she was!) I don't think she did any justice to the beauty and magnificence of either of these places which is what I found most disapointing. To only concentrate on the food in Italy is such a pity considering the beautiful architecture, and to not talk about Balinese food more...I just felt there was so much more to be conveyed! It really was like reading a 20 something's diary and as I've often felt when I have looked back on my own journal entries, they aren't all that interesting to people other than you. There were a few sections that really grabbed me so overall it was a worthwhile read but not a strong recommendation.
One last thing I would like to mention in response to the person who didn't like the political references, I actually felt she really downplayed the prevalance of these discussions. As soon as anyone, fellow travelers and locals alike found out we (my travel buddy and I) were Americans, ALL they wanted to talk about was the election and the war. It was really exhausting after a while.