Her writing pleases me. However, it is her articulate, endearing, and engaging manner that pulls me in close and keeps me interested. She is an unvarnished connector. When I recently explained to someone the basis for her appeal, I stated plainly, "I just really like her way."
She became wildly famous for her 2006 memoir, "Eat, Pray, Love." That work was my introduction to this funny, searching, facile writer even though she had authored three novels and multiple magazine articles prior to EPL.
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| Elizabeth Gilbert taking questions at St. Joseph's College in Brooklyn, NY |
Appropriately, her command of analogies was one of many questions tossed her way at a book signing event in Brooklyn this week. The author unblinkingly answered the query with a metaphor and then burst out laughing at her own unintended joke. This undisguised manner placed us at her conversational table.
For 90 minutes, Liz candidly answered questions from moderator/author Rebecca Mead of New Yorker Magazine as well as from the intimate audience. She also read an excerpt from her latest novel, "The Signature of All Things," marking its paperback publication debut on that first night of a mini-book tour.
When asked about a statement Liz has repeatedly made about how fiction writing reveals more about the author than non-fiction writing, her reply rustled with truth, and, of course, an analogy. "Non-fiction writing is still very curated," she explained. "There is nothing in "Eat, Pray, Love" that I didn't want revealed; it's like a crime scene with everything swabbed and wiped clean so you receive only what I want to send out." In her current 19th century fiction, Liz said with hand motions, "my hair and fingerprints are all over it!"
One question about story ideas triggered Liz to take a quick breath and lean into her thoughts. She queried, "we're all friends here, right?" before launching into firmly rooted belief. Liz sees ideas as things that float around all of us all the time, somewhat like the innumerable stars in space. Ideas present themselves and challenge us to take them on. If we don't take them on, they move on to other possible takers, always making themselves available to a willing receptor. If we accept and begin to formulate too many ideas, we are left with may starts and few finishes. Her choice is to take on one or two ideas, deeply attend to them, and let all others float away.
This "magical thinking" (her words) theory is one she is pursuing for a future novel, along with another story idea about Broadway showgirls from the 1940s.
The mostly female, multi-generational audience well represented the author's readership demographic. My twenty-something year old daughter (and transplanted Brooklyn-ite) joined me at the event making for a rich conversation afterward. I loved hearing what did and did not resonate over the ages, but most especially appreciated how it triggered thoughtful connection.
The same was true last Fall when the author kicked off her novel's hardcover publication at the Philadelphia Library. My friend Rosalie and I attended that event, appreciating Liz's candor, love of language, and dedication to research.
She is also a generous Facebook and Twitter participant with posts/tweets that entertain and challenge readers. My favorite, so far, is about her love of bawdy language and a well chosen expletive.
In the ever changing game of musical chairs at my fantasy dinner table of past/present guests, there's a place card with Liz Gilbert's name on it.
Here is the link to the NYTimes review of "The Signature of All Things" in September, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/30/books/elizabeth-gilberts-novel-the-signature-of-all-things.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%5B%22RI%3A5%22%2C%22RI%3A17%22%5D
Greenlight Bookstore (http://greenlightbookstore.com/) partnered with St. Joseph's College (http://www.sjcny.edu/Giving/Press-Release/520) to bring in authors as part of the school's Brooklyn Voices series.
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