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 enlarge | Author: Elizabeth Gilbert
Publisher: Viking
Category: EBooks
List Price: $15.00
Buy New: $5.20
You Save: $9.80 (65%)
Rating:  1736 reviews
Sales Rank: 67
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Dewey Decimal Number: 910.4
ASIN: B000PDYVVG
Publication Date: April 11, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 Boring and Uninspiring November 6, 2008
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
I have heard so many positive things about this book, so I decided to buy it for my sister-in-law as a Christmas present last year, without reading it. What a mistake. I was given the book recently and was very excited to read it, but my excitement faded with every page. The endless sob stories and self reflection was just boring. Every other page, I found myself caring less and less about what this self absorbed, whining woman had to say. I partially blamed it on the fact that I had just finished "Infidel" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, which is an amazing story about one woman's ability to overcome poverty, genital mutilation, arranged marriage, political chaos, etc... It is a tough jump from that book to this one. One reviewer criticized those of us who said we couldn't finish it. I honestly tried, but after I was half way through India, I found myself skipping through sentences and entire paragraphs due to lack of interest. I don't think any strong, happy, independent, positive person could enjoy this book.
 Shockingly Great November 6, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I was completely amazed to see any negative feedback about this book. It was honestly one of the best book I have ever read. I loved the author's honesty and openness. She was funny, real, and relateable. I wrote so many of the things in her book down and look over them for inspiration. I especially loved how I cheered from her and got to see her progress. It made me want to read the sequel with then next year of her life!
WELLLLLL WORTH YOUR TIME!!! November 3, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
It's seems funny to me that all these negative reviews start with "I didn't finish the book" You can't critique what you haven't read. This book is soooo amazing, it gets better with each page. I hated to see it end. It's so real and endearing. I love this woman, this journey is so like my own. My husband also read it and loved it. I can't wait till the movie comes out!!!
Avoid like the plague! November 3, 2008
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
This is a really terrible book. The first part, about Italy, is still fairly readable although you start to realize very early on that the author doesn't seem to have much of substance to say. Her writing confirms that just because a person decides to write about her emotional life, it doesn't mean that the description is going to be insightful or intelligent or, most importantly, even readable. A lot of the writing is of the personal journal kind--one section that immediately springs to mind is when she writes an analogy about loneliness and anxiety; the analogy reads like something written by a 10 year old child who is trying to explain to herself in baby-talk these emotions in an effort to deal with them--and who is also learning to write at the same time. That was the first time I wanted to stop reading the book.
There is something quite false about her account regarding her improving mental health in the Indian ashram, the subject of the second part of the book. She gives the impression that she is making rapid strides in the spirituality department as if it is some exam she is preparing really well and frantically for. Contrary to her claims, it doesn't sound like she is achieving her goal of becoming a calmer person. Then there are these encounters she has with a Texan at the Ashram. These descriptions really made me cringe: the fact that not only does she admire the kind of intrusive, judgmental, condescending and cliched remarks this guy makes about her--the book is autobiographical and you really have to wonder how intelligent a person our author is to give so much credence to this random guy--but also the way she writes about them as if they're these out-worldly pearls of wisdom she is oh-so-lucky to have received and is eager to share with her hapless readers. I think I decided to finally stop punishing myself by reading this book when she started describing her dreams: some really boring, commonplace dreams which belong only to her journal--to reiterate--and no other place. Please don't waste your time on this book, there are many smarter and more insightful things to read out there.
 Deeply revealing and compelling November 2, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Gilbert posesses a unique voice that brings her readers into an intimate journey alongside her. This book captures what it is to be a woman who seeks more than materialism in these modern times.
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