Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #820347 in Books
• Published on: 1998-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 271 pages

Customer Reviews

What all nature writing is trying to be
Annie Dillard is more alive than anyone I have ever known including myself. Her words are captivating as they create images of a natural world that pulses with spirituality even in its moments of raw cruelty. She does not pontificate about nature, admitting that she is only writing as an observer. Nonetheless, her writing is wise, reminding us that events as simple as changes in the light or the unexpected sight of a muskrat for a second is like a gift from the universe. For the first time in my life, a warm fuzzy feeling of wonder and gratitude for simple existence filled me when I read this book. And I know I will feel it again every time I open Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. As a wannabe environmentalist who has read as much nature writing as I have been able to get my hands on in my 16 years, I would place Annie Dillard right up there with Rachel Carson at the top of my list.

I keep coming back to this book...
I first read Pilgrim at Tinker Creek as an undergraduate at Southwest Missouri State University, in an exposition class. I loved it then and I love it now. I am currently taking a graduate seminar on approaches to teaching literature and have been given the opportunity to design my "dream course." Annie Dillard's Pulitzer Prize-winning literary journey is at the top of my list. I am disappointed to read the few comments from readers who didn't enjoy this book--I suspect they have not taken the time to fully explore Dillard's vision. The work is rich with details that are not just there for the sake of description. It is a carefully crafted prose narrative that delves into theology, existentialism, transcendentalism, and natural history, addressing the relationship between man and God. I would recommend reading Linda L. Smith's book, entitled Annie Dillard (one of Twayne's United States Authors series), for an enlightening analysis of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, and other works by the author. If you are willing to open your eyes and mind wide enough, you will surely discover Pilgrim at Tinker Creek's treasures.

My theme book...
This book has become a comfort book for me, espcially since I'm originally from southwest VA, where Dillard wrote Pilgrim. I'm in NY at school now and reading it is cathartic in a way...it takes me home.

But over and above that, it's a meditation on the Divine and on Nature and how the two relate that still resonates deeply with me. I have yet to find "the tree with the lights in it," which constitutes a large part of her discussion of Seeing. But the book itself is like a tree with the lights in it, at times. The lights of Divine inspiration.

Read this book slowly and let it bring the broken parts of you back together...you won't regret it.