Cover of The Last American Man
So I guess you could say that I’m a hesitant fan of Elizabeth Gilbert. I read and enjoyed Eat, Pray, Love and Committed and (to a lesser extent) Stern Men, and I adore her TEDTalk, but there’s always been something I’ve found to be…slightly narcissistic and off-putting about her. But I just read her book The Last American Man and it is WONDERFUL. TLAM is a study of modern-day wilderness man Eustace Conway, who left home at seventeen to pursue an authentic life, living solely off the land. In what could have been an overly romanticized portrait of a rapidly dying breed, Gilbert manages to convey all of the complexity and contradictions of Conway – a man both fanatical and charismatic, perfectionistic and deeply flawed. It is a testament to Gilbert’s skills as a writer that Conway is so precisely drawn in his particular eccentricities and manias – even at his most idealistic, he is unmistakably human.
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Diary of a Teenage Reader 
I’ve not read any of Elizabeth Gilbert, but after watching her TEDtalk, I was wholly intrigued. Thanks for the link! I shall have to delve into her work and see for myself…!
Yeah, definitely give her a try! She’s written quite a variety of works, so hopefully there’ll be something you like!
Hey, thanks for the link back. I haven’t read her yet, but I too loved her TED talk. At the same time I was a bit reticent about it. I wonder if the answer couldn’t work with a more scientific slant, but then I wonder if I want a full answer at all. I like that she cautions the artists against the dangers of arrogance when it comes to the question of genius. As for the privileged narcissistic thing. Yeah, I have that same nagging feeling, much as I want to read her.
No problem! I completely agree with what you’re saying about her TED talk. I think the idea of thinking of a “genius” as a separate entity would save artists both from arrogance, as you said, and also from feeling burdened and overwhelmed by the pressure to produce something magnificent.
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