by Kristi Jenkins

Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love is, like many memoirs, the story of a traumatic event that spurred an exotic, introspective vacation. But, while the premise may be common, Gilbert's prose makes this a unique and gripping story.

In her introduction, Gilbert introduces the reader to the japa mala, a string of beads worn by East Indian yogis and their devotees. The japa mala have 108 beads, and, like the Catholic rosary that derived from the japa mala, the beads are used for prayerful meditation; each bead representing a repetition of a mantra. She goes on to explain that the book is grouped into 108 tales, one for each bead, and further divided into three sections to represent her time in Italy, India, and finally, Indonesia. It's a very effective tool to focus attention on the most significant events and revelations from her travels, and to cut out much of the extraneous fluff that can clog a memoir.

Book One begins with the Italy section, Gilbert's first step on her journey to discover pleasure, devotion, and the art of balancing the two. She opens the first of the 108 tales with a meeting with her "Tandem Exchange Partner," Giovanni. They meet frequently to practice Italian and English conversation, "a lovely evening of new idioms and fresh mozzarella." Things quickly take a darker turn as Gilbert reflects on the events that led her to Italy. The painful revelation that she wanted to end her marriage. The bitter and prolonged divorce that followed. The passionate affair that couldn't survive the turmoil of divorce, and over it all, a crushing mix of anxiety and depression that drove her to seek professional help.

The prose is wrenchingly personal, and both hard to read and absorbing in equal measure. Reading about a person's descent into depression should be about as much fun as hearing nails on a chalkboard, but Gilbert peppers the prose with witty observations and wry comments that make her darkest hours surprisingly engaging. Anyone who has ever been through the dissolution of a relationship will find much to relate to here, and the stories give the reader a clear insight into Gilbert's need to start her journey abroad. While the subject matter is bleak, she manages to inject a bit of life and fun to the prose, and it's a surprisingly smooth read.

One of the best parts is her description of depression and loneliness catching up to her a few days after she arrives in Italy. She anthropomorphizes them into a Good cop, Bad cop routine that brings a much needed touch of humor to the grim topic. While these "characters" have strong personalities, Gilbert is careful to downplay the characters of her husband and lover, choosing instead to focus on her internal emotional experience. While I would like to know more about the people in her life, I appreciate the tight focus she achieves by taking this approach.

The first 50 pages encompass 17 anecdotes which cover everything from her divorce to her first meal in Italy. It's a lot of material to cover, but Gilbert gives readers all the information they need to keep up without crowding the stories with unnecessary detail. She is obviously a seasoned writer and uses her skills to give readers a very absorbing, entertaining look into her journey to find spiritual balance. I'm a little concerned that 91 stories remain (it seems like an awful lot), but if the narrative voice stays this strong and focused, the stories should be a pleasure to read.