I hate to admit that I completely agree with Angela on this one. I've been trying to read this book for well over a week now, and normally a book this size takes me three days... or one whole night if I get too much into it! I find myself glaring at this book -- not sure I want to pick it up and continue reading it. I've made it to page 30 and I find myself completely detached from the writer. The only things I like in this book so far are the random tangents she takes where she talks about history, or random facts.
I don't find her character convincing. I don't feel sorry for her because she messed up her own life. I don't feel sorry for her at all. I feel horrible for her husband, the man who thought she loved him. The man who woke up one day and realized that the woman who was supposed to love him could so easily walk away from him. I don't see him as the bad guy. I don't see him drawing out the divorce for a few years as a bad thing. I think it was him trying to have hope that she would change her mind and change the things that she was doing so much to ruin. I know what it feels like to have someone who is supposed to love you walk right out of your life -- and I'll never feel sorry for someone who can do that to someone else.
I don't feel the need to feel sorry for this character at all. Okay, fine, you feel that you don't know yourself -- but -- there are so many things I wish she'd explained. There is just not enough emotion and information in the first 30 pages for me to find her story convincing. I want to know why she felt the way she felt, and more details. I don't want to be told, I want her to use her words and show me a lot more about this character.
I saw the movie, and I have to say that this lovely artist who she shacks up with in the book is not the crazy, dead beat character they made him out to be in the movie. I have begun to wonder if they made him less likable to make her story more credible, because it lacked a bunch of credit for the reader to feel as though they felt for her in any way.
Anyway, I'm going to take another stab at it, and I'm going to try to find something I like about it!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
I Just Don't Get It....
(Angela)
Ok... So I was really excited to start this book. I have heard nothing but wonderful things about it, and I refused to watch the movie until I had read the book.
Now... lets note the keyword in the above sentence..'WAS'. I have been reading for almost two weeks now and I have not even passed Part One. That is unheard of for me! I usually get engrossed in a book and I can't put it down. Reading has never taken all that long. Now.... This can be because I have had a lot on my mind with my getting ready to move to Indonesia for two years. That is actually very possible, But I have to say that I really think it is just how the book is written and the main character. .
Now for everyone who loved this book, just hear me out! I am having a very hard time sympathizing with the main character. I believe for me to understand her and like her, I need to know more about where she is coming from. In Part One *Spoiler*(if you have not read the book and don't want anything ruined don't read on), she is beside herself in grief because her husband wants to have a baby and live the dream life, and she decides that is not what she wants. She decides that she no longer wants to be married to her husband. But we were never given any real explanation to understand her reasoning. To understand why she decides to leave. We are never privy to this information. How can I say "OMG. I understand what she is going through" when the author doesn't share it with her readers. We are just left to accept her decision no matter what. Ok.. fine... and then, before she even is divorced she is in and out of a relationship with this gorgeous artist. Now I could be missing something... her compulsive relationship hopping could be the reason for her journey (Remember I have not finished the book) but at the moment all I am seeing is a woman who had a midlife crisis and left her husband for apparently no good reason.
As a compulsive relationship jumper myself, I find myself wanting to connect with the author. I want to say 'I understand completely why you decided to make your decision'. But I keep coming up way short and unable to connect. I just don't get it.
I am going to trudge forward with this book and hopefully make a surprising discovery that it gets better, but to be honest, at the moment, my feelings about what I have read so far make me not want to pick the book up again.(This really is unheard of for me).
Here is to hoping for light at the end of the tunnel.
(Please feel free to let me know if I have totally missed something that would enable me to like this book!)
Ok... So I was really excited to start this book. I have heard nothing but wonderful things about it, and I refused to watch the movie until I had read the book.
Now... lets note the keyword in the above sentence..'WAS'. I have been reading for almost two weeks now and I have not even passed Part One. That is unheard of for me! I usually get engrossed in a book and I can't put it down. Reading has never taken all that long. Now.... This can be because I have had a lot on my mind with my getting ready to move to Indonesia for two years. That is actually very possible, But I have to say that I really think it is just how the book is written and the main character. .
Now for everyone who loved this book, just hear me out! I am having a very hard time sympathizing with the main character. I believe for me to understand her and like her, I need to know more about where she is coming from. In Part One *Spoiler*(if you have not read the book and don't want anything ruined don't read on), she is beside herself in grief because her husband wants to have a baby and live the dream life, and she decides that is not what she wants. She decides that she no longer wants to be married to her husband. But we were never given any real explanation to understand her reasoning. To understand why she decides to leave. We are never privy to this information. How can I say "OMG. I understand what she is going through" when the author doesn't share it with her readers. We are just left to accept her decision no matter what. Ok.. fine... and then, before she even is divorced she is in and out of a relationship with this gorgeous artist. Now I could be missing something... her compulsive relationship hopping could be the reason for her journey (Remember I have not finished the book) but at the moment all I am seeing is a woman who had a midlife crisis and left her husband for apparently no good reason.
As a compulsive relationship jumper myself, I find myself wanting to connect with the author. I want to say 'I understand completely why you decided to make your decision'. But I keep coming up way short and unable to connect. I just don't get it.
I am going to trudge forward with this book and hopefully make a surprising discovery that it gets better, but to be honest, at the moment, my feelings about what I have read so far make me not want to pick the book up again.(This really is unheard of for me).
Here is to hoping for light at the end of the tunnel.
(Please feel free to let me know if I have totally missed something that would enable me to like this book!)
Friday, January 14, 2011
Welcome!
(Emily)
We are, as the profile says, Emily and Angela. We met at college during a well planned group assignment in a literary class. We teamed up, and never parted. We've been out of that class for over five years and we've stayed in touch.
We're both writers, and avid readers. This is our book blog. Recently Angela found out that she was accepted and assigned to the Asian sector of the Peace Corps. She deploys in late April. She will be missed, so dearly by me that I am not sure what I'll do when I can't talk to her on a daily basis. She's been one of my closest friends, and one of the people I most trust in my life. We are very good together and have always loved talking about the books we read. So, we figured the best way to stay in touch when she leaves is to make our book blog so we can keep up with each other and do the thing we love most -- talk!
This all came about because we both really wanted to read Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. We wanted to talk about it all the time, but phone minutes are scarce and we're into talking for hours and having very deep conversation. So, welcome to our blog, please consider reading Eat Pray Love with us.
We are, as the profile says, Emily and Angela. We met at college during a well planned group assignment in a literary class. We teamed up, and never parted. We've been out of that class for over five years and we've stayed in touch.
We're both writers, and avid readers. This is our book blog. Recently Angela found out that she was accepted and assigned to the Asian sector of the Peace Corps. She deploys in late April. She will be missed, so dearly by me that I am not sure what I'll do when I can't talk to her on a daily basis. She's been one of my closest friends, and one of the people I most trust in my life. We are very good together and have always loved talking about the books we read. So, we figured the best way to stay in touch when she leaves is to make our book blog so we can keep up with each other and do the thing we love most -- talk!
This all came about because we both really wanted to read Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. We wanted to talk about it all the time, but phone minutes are scarce and we're into talking for hours and having very deep conversation. So, welcome to our blog, please consider reading Eat Pray Love with us.
We are very excited to read this piece. I have already seen the movie, and have been told numerous times that the book is very very good -- better than the movie. I'm ready to find out. Let the journey begin!
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