For those of you who have read Elizabeth Gilbert's fantastic book Eat Pray Love, you probably are as stunned as me to find that after her book was named the best selling book of 2007, there's been a bit of a Gilbert Backlash. The New York Post said that Eat Pray Love was "the worst in Western fetishization of Eastern thought and culture" and even went as far to say that:
"You may be a well-off white woman, but if you are depressed, the answer can be found in the East, where the poor brown people are sages."
Some writers have even gone so far to try and decide if the book would have been as equally loved if it had been written by a man. While the writer admits that most men wouldn't embrace a book about a man looking for spiritual enlightenment, they would enjoy such a book if the male protagonist found peace wrestling crocs and canoing. I'm not sure what his point was other than the fact that if Eat Pray Love were a different book, written by a a different author of a different gender then yes, men would enjoy it. Great point.
Eat Pray Love has been described as self obsessed, and as one blogger says to Elizabeth: "Nothing is more boring than your epiphanies." However, is any and every self help book self obsessed? Any book about "one woman's journey" is going to taste of self obssession and really, I don't see what's wrong with that. Humans are self obsessed, and any human looking to improve the Self and make the Self more peaceful is going to think of little else than THEMSELVES.
People can't seem to figure out what this backlash against Gilbert is all about. Is it because Oprah loves her? Is it because it naturally happens once someone becomes successful? Is it because she's a woman?
Personally, I just don't think people like other people to be happy. I think truly unhappy people don't like to believe that anyone else could be happy, and if they achieve happiness in an extraordinary way, well, it must be a scam! This just must be some rich white woman looking to "brown people" to find enlightenment! Yes, that's it! She's not happy, she's a racist!
This is a day and age of cynicism. I should know, as I'm one of the grumpiest cynics out there. Elizabeth and her book are getting backlash simply because she's successful, she stands out, and she found happiness by doing warm and fuzzy things other people could never possible do. For a miserable blogger or angry journalist who could never receive a large advance on a book deal to travel around the world, Elizabeth Gilbert is the devil, and the perfect target.
