This was the book,I wanted to read since long time..but to be frank I was greatly disappointed after finishing it....In one line,I describe it as an "Autobiography of a pirate woman"...There is no such interesting thing to hold us but I appreciate the author's boldness of revealing almost every thing about her life ( Especially being a woman)
After breaking up with her marriage she travels to Italy (?) Just because she loves the language..there she finds the pleasure in eating (cooking food then having it,not just buying it)...... I grew up in a place where there is a crowd of four or more the women are in the kitchen and the men are elsewhere...So I'm unable to understand the kind of pleasure she experienced ...:-) We Indian women cook with love...Daily...But now I came to know that one can write a book on it too....lol....She is a very good writer.....But i'm only crossed with the message she tried to spread....While reading some parts we feel like we are travelling with a selfish,impatient and a spoiled woman..In some areas the book seems to be against womanhood....To like the book I have to come out of the feminine principles of a typical India woman...:-) I can enjoy her writing as a human being but can not do so as a woman.
Anyways coming to the good points,The Italian culture where people know the ""Sweetness of doing nothing"" is very impressive..From Italy she travels to India (Her view of India is only limited to the Ashram she stayed) where she does yoga....And from there her journey ends with Indonesia finding her love 'Felipe'...The book is all about the emotional grounds of a human being...It is a nice travel book I can say...She introduced the Italian and Balinese cultures very nicely....
A nice quote from the book : "Never forget that once upon a time, in an unguarded moment,you recognized yourself as a friend."
 |
| Copy right A Homemaker's Utopia |
After breaking up with her marriage she travels to Italy (?) Just because she loves the language..there she finds the pleasure in eating (cooking food then having it,not just buying it)...... I grew up in a place where there is a crowd of four or more the women are in the kitchen and the men are elsewhere...So I'm unable to understand the kind of pleasure she experienced ...:-) We Indian women cook with love...Daily...But now I came to know that one can write a book on it too....lol....She is a very good writer.....But i'm only crossed with the message she tried to spread....While reading some parts we feel like we are travelling with a selfish,impatient and a spoiled woman..In some areas the book seems to be against womanhood....To like the book I have to come out of the feminine principles of a typical India woman...:-) I can enjoy her writing as a human being but can not do so as a woman.
Anyways coming to the good points,The Italian culture where people know the ""Sweetness of doing nothing"" is very impressive..From Italy she travels to India (Her view of India is only limited to the Ashram she stayed) where she does yoga....And from there her journey ends with Indonesia finding her love 'Felipe'...The book is all about the emotional grounds of a human being...It is a nice travel book I can say...She introduced the Italian and Balinese cultures very nicely....
A nice quote from the book : "Never forget that once upon a time, in an unguarded moment,you recognized yourself as a friend."
14 comments:
Hey Nag,
I liked the quote which you mentioned from the book. Good to know that you are reading books. I too will try to read. Once upon a time I used to read books. Now there is no time, grooming up 2 kids.. :) anyways.. keep going.. Happy Reading.. :)
thanks yaar...I liked that quote becz I experienced it..Yep even I stopped reading after marriage..After these many years now only getting little time for my old hobbies...It will be really nice if you too read and share some stuff with me...I strongly believe we are like minds dear..:-)Thanks buddy for ur encouragement...:-)
Haven't read this book..
but film i have watched :)
good messages will be there !
Read commented voted :D
@ Dee,I haven't seen the movie..There are so many concepts described in a great way..But I feel the writing is very much against feminine values..But quite a good read if we ignore the gender feelings..:-)..Thanks for the comment..:-)
Nice review Nagini! Nice quote too. Sounds interesting, will try to pick this one up sometime soon :-)
Thank you Arti..:-)Yaa a one time read and a nice travel book too.I hope you will enjoy it..:-)
Lucky for me, I read this after I read "Committed" by the same author. By feminine values do you mean the author's choice about wanting to have children? Both "Eat Pray Love" and "Committed" are good to read not just because she is so brutally honest about herself but also because they deal with the ongoing struggle in a modern woman's mind. Her lifestule is totally unfamiliar to me too. At one point of time, may be in my college days, I wouldn't have been receptive to what she is talking about.
Even when the book came out and movie was being made, and when my friend suggested it, I did not think I would like to read it. Then I read Committed. The life of her mother and grandmother is not so different from that of many Indian home makers. All those and the modern so called 'freedom' of choice for women have an influence on her.
The freedom that allows her to make choices does not come cheap to her, although she would have that along with freedom rather than the absence of the present day freedom of choice. Even in the so called modern culture, her choices to be not married (uintil she committed) or when she kept pushing the idea of being a mom farther, werenot easy to make. Within her circle, she felt isolated by her choices.
I'm sure many of us have a lot if internal struggles and the book helps to help us acknoledge them and try to understand them. Even the friend who suggested this book to me differed very much with me on the concept of her not wanting to be a mother. I still think the choice she made for her is better even for the 'child' whom she is afraid of committing herself to bringing up.
That said, being as loving and caring as an aunt as she seems to be, she is not any less feminine than a lot of mothers in my opinion. If she became a mother even though she thinks she cannot manage motherhood, she might have been in a for a surprise. Most of us don't know what we are getting into when we get married and much less an idea of what we are getting into when we enter parenthood. All of us fear something. She feared something about her own nature that made her think a little too hard about being a mother. When she went to Italy just because she wanted to learn Italian, she had a book assignment too. She was making life changing decisions. She was fighting depression. She was trying to make sense of life and fulfilling certain longings she had since childhood, including the spiritual aspect in "pray". So, it seems to me that is is ajourney I might not dare take but could appreciate reading about. It is not that hard as long as it was some one else's choice to go that route and the reflections on that path are for all of us to see and spend sometime thinking about.
Thanks for letting me share my opinion. It may be different from yours but no disrespect is meant to your opinion. As I said in another comment, I'm glad I stumbled upon your blog and enjoyed reading your posts.
Wow Lalitha..Thats a great insight in to her internal struggle..:-)Really enjoyed reading..
Not only her decision about kids,there are some other aspects which are against womanhood,like she immediately getting in to a relationship with David after divorce..I think,If she is really honest she won't do that.And I can not think about a woman who is in search of pleasure with out having kids.The pleasure of life including caring,sharing,
responsibility, attachment and patience will be taught by kids only..Felt like she is running from further responsibilities by choosing not to have kids..This book strongly portraited the ruined lifestyles of selfish western countries..Thats why I mentioned that I appreciate her work as a human being but can not do so as a woman..
For two people,Its not necessary to have the same openion on same book.I'm glad that you shared your thoughts here..And I respect them very much..:-)Thanks for taking time to review my blog..Pls keep visiting ..Yet more to come..Have a nice day...:-)
As for David, please read "Committed" :)
I will be visiitng your blog often.
Yeah sure...Will read it..Thank you..:-)
I think I am spamming your comments box :) My sister read this long time back and kept telling, read it..somehow, I could not. Then I got a chance to watch the movie and I felt, it could have been made a lot better. As I already knew the story, not felt like reading the book again :)
Hi Found in Folsom,
very nice to have your comments in my mail box..:-) Thank you so much for taking time and reviewing my blog..If we watch the movie first, naturally the book is no more interesting thing..:-)
I have a different take on the book than yours. I would call her more lost than selfish. She was facing emotional crisis. And when one is in this situation, one becomes unreasonable and people start calling her insane.
We have been brought up in indian culture which is very different from the American culture of families. Lets just say, whether an Indian woman is happy or unhappy in a marriage, she would still give it a shot because we think divorce is a social taboo. But that's just how we have been brought up. Elizabeth Gilbert, despite being an American, still tried to make her marriage work but her emotional hollow took the better of her and she decided to leave.
Then she goes to Italy. It wasn't like she wanted to go to Italy specifically. Her intention was to travel and like she says at one point to "marvel" at something because she does not feel the happiness from within.
The only part where I feel she was overselling her experience was when she started believing that she was enlightened while in India.
There are layers to a human's mind. She's done a good job explicating hers. And about her decisions and wills and aspirations and expectations from life, lets just say "to each his own". One who's living it, will know it.
@ Shivani,
That's a good take on the book Shivani.Thanks for the detailed comment..:-) Pls keep visiting..:-)
Post a Comment