“Chow Down, Meditate, Feel the Love” Queen Hits Pause on Russian-themed Novel 📚⏸️🇷🇺
TL;DR;: Elizabeth Gilbert, the creative brain behind the hit memoir, “Eat, Pray, Love”, has abruptly decided to stash her latest book, “The Snow Forest”, into the literary freezer 🥶❄️🌲. Set in 1930s Russia, the story follows a family seeking isolation to resist the Soviet government. Despite its scheduled release in February 2024, Gilbert’s novel has attracted an avalanche of one-star reviews even before hitting the shelves! Critics are split, questioning whether she’s succumbing to self-censorship 🤔📖.
Once upon a time in the world of words, a literary queen known as Elizabeth Gilbert decided to write a new tome titled “The Snow Forest”. This tale of survival and resistance set in the chill of 1930s Russia was planned to hit the bookstores like a Siberian blizzard in February 2024. But who would have thought that an avalanche of criticism would come her way even before the snowflakes of her story could settle? ⛈️📚
“The Snow Forest”, exploring the journey of a Russian family disconnecting from society to resist the iron fist of the Soviet government, has amassed an army of one-star reviews on Goodreads, and not even a single page has been officially turned yet. But who’s launching these snowballs, you ask? Well, some internet keyboard warriors seem uncomfortable with the book’s Russian setting and characters 😟🌨️.
When Gilbert dropped the bombshell of pulling her book, the literary universe went into a frenzy, wondering if she was choosing to self-censor. In the eloquent words of writer Rebecca Makkai on Twitter, “Wherever you set your novel, you’d better hope to hell that by publication date… that place isn’t up to bad things, or you are personally complicit in them.” Now, isn’t that a brain freeze of a thought? 😵❄️
Gilbert, our “Eat, Pray, Love” superstar, whose work was turned into a movie starring Julia Roberts and Javier Bardem, has been silent about her decision. A spokesperson from Riverhead Books, her publisher, confirmed the delay but didn’t shed light on whether the novel would undergo any revisions. They only promised it’s getting an indefinite chill pill for now. 📖💊❄️
Circling back to our question, is this decision an act of self-censorship, or just a wise retreat from a storm of controversy? As the debate continues, we can’t help but wonder: Should art distance itself from geopolitical crises, or is it our duty to face it head on?🎭🌍🤷
And lastly, for you all eager bookworms out there, should Gilbert thaw out her novel for us to judge, or should it remain frozen, locked away in the snowy depths of the literary forest? Let’s get the discussion rolling like a snowball! ☃️🗣️
