Jennie M. (calamityjen80) - reviewed on 5/23/2010 + 6 more book reviews

Not my cup of tea. This is somewhat highfalutin chick lit, and seeing as how ordinary chick lit is not my bag, pumping it up to a moderately sophisticated level wasn't going to do much for me. She is quite witty as a narrator and travel guide, but also self-indulgent almost to the point of being spoiled. While reading it, I was taken aback at times by what I suspect was unintentional snobbery, but snobbery all the same. I was also somewhat annoyed at her persistent cherry-picking of religions and various spiritual beliefs--taking the best, most interesting, most relevant parts for herself and leaving all the true reflection, understanding, and especially commitment, for the birds.

I also wondered how Gilbert had managed to organize such an endeavor; it all seemed so complicated, all this planning and traveling, and yet she seemed to handle most of it with surprising ease, considering her fragile state.

Then, once I finished the book and did a little research, I found myself wondering what a book like this would have been like had it not been written by someone paid $300,000 beforehand to live it and write it. Then I realized that only someone paid a great deal of money could reasonably afford to take a year off from life, travel the world, and then write about it. This knowledge colored my perceptions of her, of the book, of her true motivations, and made my post-read reflections of the book less favorable altogether.

But then again, this sort of thing is escapism at its best, and that's a cup of tea most people enjoy drinking. I suppose I just prefer a bit more realism in my escapism, and a little less sugar in my tea.

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