Eat Pray Love: the success 11 years later

I heard so much about this book that I became sick of it. People were falling in love with India, Italy and Bali because of it. There are even guided tours that allow the curious to see exactly where the scenes in the movie were filmed in Bali and in Rome. It was (and is) beyond me. I had to at least check if the book deserved all the attention it was getting. I went further than necessary: I read the book and saw the movie.  Here is what I thought of it. 

The book

Quite irresistible. The author, Elizabeth Gilbert, is so likable that I just wanted to follow her. I found myself compulsively turning the pages of my ereader, smiling a lot.

What I liked best was her humanity. Her self-deprecation. I'm not religious, and my hair tends to stand on end when God is mentioned, but she had a way of making me laugh by talking about it (unheard of to this day). She also got me with my uncertainty about having children, with her beautiful reflection about marriage, children and the responsibility of begetting: she got married, then divorced. She never had children, but she feels the pressure from everyone to have them, or at least to feel bad about not having them. And she wrote about it, and it's beautiful.

Her travels are mind-blowing. Italy is the pinnacle: it is there that the author rebuilds herself with food, which seems to die for, and with the "most beautiful language in the world". There too, a very nice reflection on weight gain. She felt healthy, happy, she had fun with her elephant look, or at least hippo, or all kinds of animals, as she tries to make the saleswoman spit. India is beautiful in all its misery. And Bali is simply heavenly.

The movie

First snag: Julia Roberts. This anorexic doesn't look at all like a food lover, whereas it is the center of Elizabeth Gilbert's character. She is beautiful and a pretty good actress, but I would have imagined a Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) in her place.

Second problem: the crying. There is too much of it. While the book was full of humor and joie de vivre, the movie is dramatic, full of existential revelations. It doesn't do justice to Liz's joyful character.

Perk: Javier Bardem, who embodies love (or at least passion) at the very end of the journey...

Is it worth it?

Absolutely. For one, so you can talk about it with the many people who cross your path. Two, because it makes you laugh and dream. We all need it.