Would be zero stars if I had that option!

Would be zero stars if I had that option!, October 1, 2007

By	C. Quinn (Washington, DC)

 

Despite a great title and a decent premise, this book is both disappointing and aggravating from beginning to end. The author is self-absorbed and irritating, and her 'insights' into the people she meets and the places she goes are shallow and annoying. The endless reflection on the horror of a marriage that didn't seem that horrible to me, and the quest for spirituality that has Gilbert chatting with God in India made finishing this book a torment. Finding out that she got the book advance before heading out on her journey made total sense; the trip fit into the book proposal rather than the other way around. The fact that her giant spiritual journey to learn how to be alone ends with her pairing up with a Brazilian expat was the final straw; I certainly don't believe she grew or learned anything at all about herself on this quest. Get this book from the library if you have to read it; I'm seriously annoyed that I helped fund this venture by spending money on this drivel!

Gee Whiz, Ms. Liz!, January 2, 2008

Gee Whiz, Ms. Liz!, January 2, 2008

By	Elisabeth Hallett (Hamilton, MT USA)

Dear Liz Gilbert, I asked for your book as a gift, and read it almost non-stop. I thoroughly enjoyed the first part and much of the rest of it too. Yet now that it's over I find the final effect is a sort of hollow thud.

The first sinking feeling of something not-quite-genuine was with your announcement that you had an advance for the book before beginning your trip. I don't know what you promised would happen in your travels, but I imagine you had to by golly find God or bust. Did you pre-program your experiences to fit the pre-paid book?                

You are a good writer and some of your passages are beautiful and profound. Why go for the cheap effects? I don't want to know that you fantasize about Bill Clinton while masturbating! And isn't it tacky to reveal the exact moves of a man who may or may not end up as your husband? And what's all this disingenuous nonsense about protecting the privacy of your ashram? Anyone who ever got near the guru trail knows exactly where you were, and would know it even if you had not dropped a staggering number of clues.

What disappointed me most was your claim near the beginning of the book that by the end of it you would be "very close to God, indeed." Somehow, it doesn't feel that way. It feels more as though you are awfully excited about being so darn cute and being able to attract so many people into your orbit. Well, you are young and you are talented, but maybe you could hold off on being a spiritual teacher for a few more years.

And in the meantime, will you please stop using "commenced" when you mean "proceeded"!