Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

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Summary: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek A Bit More Than a "Mental Ramble"
Review: In Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard there is everything from massive philosophical questions to three page anecdotes about mosquitoes feeding on snakes. Much of the beauty contained in this book lies in Dillard combining both portions in a single chapter and still managing to add five or six similes minimum per page. The philosophical questions are intriguing to ponder, yet all she could do was offer them to the reader. Dillard is no philosopher and if you are seeking to find "actual" answers then look somewhere else. Similarly, for a non-scientist Dillard seemed to have intense amounts of nature knowledge (and was eager to share every fact) but a feeling persisted that some of her natural questions could be answered by actual scientists. This is more than likely an unfair generalization about Annie Dillard. The assumption that she was delving into questions far over her head (as well as nearly everyone else's) probably arose because she failed to spend an extra ordinate amount of time telling the reader how intelligent she is, at least, in comparison to Thoreau in Walden. After the derivation of this conclusion I looked to Pilgrim at Tinker Creek more for the beauty of the writing. The fact that I would almost fall asleep at times belies more the fact that the writing was symmetric, beautiful, and flowing rather than boring. Yet, at other spurts the writing was intense and, unconsciously, I would sit straighter and furrow my brows as I read.
(...)

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Summary: An All-You-Can-Eat Buffet for the mind and spirit
Review: What I initially viewed as a curse became one of the most enlightening experiences of my educational career. As an assignment in my English class, I had to read both Walden, by Henry David Thoreau and Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, by Annie Dillard. Whenever one has read both Walden and Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, the comparisons are inevitable. The subject matter, the child-like fascination with nature, and the dry humor are quite similar in both books. However, the differences are also rather evident. Simply put, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek was written by a woman. Instead of being full of philosophical appeals to the mind, it tends to appeal more to the romantic fancies. Where Walden presented guidelines and suggestions for living life simply and ethically, Pilgrim hails living in the present and enjoying each moment to the fullest. Dillard employs simpler language, shorter sentences, and more crisp, clean transitions than the sometimes "sermonish" Walden. For the intellectual, Walden is like a seven-course meal fit for a king. It offers such sustenance as to feed a mind infinitely. In comparison intellectually, Pilgrim is more of an all-you-can-eat buffet. While it might not be as wholesome and filling, everyone can find something they like to take away from it.
If you have not had the pleasure of reading Walden and therefore find the above comparisons meaningless, then here's the basic plot of the book: Annie Dillard moves to the Tinker Creek area in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. There she not only intently observes nature, she experiences it. Dillard shares her finds and views in the book. Some readers may find the book slightly boring because there is no gripping plot. On the other hand, the whole book is like a beautiful poem plucked delicately from Dillard's mind. It flows beautifully and has a great full-circle effect. If you are looking for a book that keeps you on the edge of your seat or transports you into an enchanting romantic entanglement, this is not the book for you. However, if poetic observations on life and nature sprinkled with dry humor is your deal, then this book should be right up your alley. I recommend everyone experience this book. I'm glad I did.

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Summary: Very Interesting and fun to read
Review: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard is an exceptional book. It is like a modern day version of Walden by Henry David Thoreau. The deep thoughts and intricate details bring to life images that have not been experienced before. For example, when Dillard tells about the water bug sucking the frog, it brings to mind a very gruesome image that the reader just cannot get rid of. Yet, this image also sucks the reader in for more. Also, the exotocally intense descriptions make grotesque actions more beautiful, such as when the praying mantis lays its eggs. While writing about the praying mantis laying its eggs, Dillard seems almost frantic to get it all down. It is almost childlike, like a child who is to agitated by the sunlight and all of the beautiful things outside to stay inside and do their work. This technique makes the book more playful,fun, and attractive to young readers.

Dillard's paragraphs are woven together into tightly knit chapters by the nice transitions. The full circle effect ties up all of the loose ends at the end of each chapter and then again at the end of the book. The similes that are throughout the book make the book very poetic and intriguing. Dillard's obsessiveness with nature is intriguing because the reader does not know what she is goint say or do next.

Dillard's Actions bring the book to life. When she is describing running from tree to tree so that she would not be seen, the reader gets a sense of how full of life she is and how happy she is just doing simple things out in nature. Also, when she is less then four feet from the snake, she just sits there amazed by it like a child.

I never thought that I would read Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, but as a part of a class I had to. Now that I have read it, I am glad that I did read it because I thoroughly enjoyed it. I recommend it to everybody.

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Summary: More Personality than Walden
Review: With Spring Break approaching, my high school Advanced Placement Language & Composition class had one thing impending after the break from school: our class study of Annie Dillard's, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. We had just read Henry David Thoreau's, Walden. Personally, I found Walden unbearable because of Thoreau's detailed, scitific language. Many critics have drawn similarities between the style and intention of Walden and Pilgrim at Tinker Creek; therefore, I feared that PaTC would be another Walden. However, I was pleasantly surprised with Dillard's style that mimics the writings of Thoreau, but in a more personal, poetic manner.
Dillard is noted for her easily recognizable crisp, precise diction and unique sentence structure. She continually employs similes, metaphors, and imagery to bring life (and the reader) directly to Tinker Creek: the sound of birds flying is "a million shook rugs". One of my favorite aspects of her writing is her characteristic, one-word, telegraphic sentences: "Fine," adds spunk and certainty to Dillard's point; "Knock; seek; ask," completely epitomizes Dillard's many philosophies in a nutshell: it's your responsibility to take charge of your life. It is this and many other aspects of her writing that make her so poetic; she develops a personal relationship with the reader and "invites" them to join her at Tinker Creek.
Dillard and Thoreau have some similarities, but they are also very different. Sure, they are both two adults trying to learn about their surroundings and themselves near a body of water, but Thoreau communicates through science and logic and Dillard communicates with personality and her heart. I recommend you read Walden if you are looking for a more difficult, trying read about studying nature, but I would recommend Pilgrim at Tinker Creek if you are looking to discover something about yourself and your view the world.

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Summary: A Delightful Journey
Review: It is somewhat accurate to compare Annie Dillard with Henry David Thoreau. Both of their works are charaterized by intricate, heavy detail and both of these authors are well-read, which is cleary evident in their books. However, in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Dillard is able to weave her vast knowlegde into her book in a delightful, entertaining manner. This is very much a contrast to Walden, which only grants its reader boredom. Dillard's combination of information, poetic style, and colorful antecdotes makes Pilgrim at Tinker Creek an easy and enjoyable read. She peppers smilies throughout the entire book that cause the reader to look at nature and other things in a whole new light. Transitions also play a prominent role in her work and help her to flow from thought to thought without missing a beat. The brightest points are her stories, which are humorous and sometimes shocking. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is many books within one. It contains something everyone can enjoy if the time is taken to read it. Annie Dillard's journey is a delightful one and experiencing her work is well work the trip.

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Summary: She flies her sentences like a kite.
Review: I enjoyed it immensely, even if its sentences are overwrought often to an annoying degree. I appreciate how she looks at the world in poetry: the world is a painting, and we are the poets charged with understanding it. The thing about Dillard is that in spite of the fact that her uber-emotive imagination stands in that place in her brain where my philosopher/mathematician stands in mine, she can still ask brilliant--even terrible--questions without all of the normal dillusions about what the alternative answers really are.

There are downsides: the overdone sentences, the fact that not every chapter drove forward toward the point--or even manifested her goal. But one reads her and agrees, at the end of it, that yes, she earned that Pulitzer after all.

And to all of the "bright AP English" students out there, for goodness sake put the book down and leave the book reviews alone. It just isn't for you. Pick it up again once you've lived some more of life.

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Summary: An Interesting Read from an Interesting Author
Review: Overall, a very interesting read. The adjective "interesting" can be taken in more than one sense, however. For example,
A. The subject matter found within is unique and intriguing, revealing tidbits about nature one would not discover in a normal lifetime.
B. Writing styles and techniques change throughout the book. At times Dillard is darkly pessimistic, while turning around a few sentences later to include some light wit. There is a lot of imaginative figurative language found that augments the writing a good deal.
C. The author herself is an ... amusing person. I never would have thought one person could be so thoroughly interested in nature, at least if I had not read Walden, by Henry David Thoreau, before.
And since the topic of Walden comes up, a comparison of the two would be appropriate. Dillard is much more appropriate for a modern audience. Both contain many insightful thoughts about nature and its relation to life, but you have to sift through a good deal of gunk to get to those points in Walden.
So, I would recommend this book, along with Walden, to anyone willing to take it seriously and probably get grossed out a few times. The time and mental strain will be worth it in the end.

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Summary: Conent or Creation
Review: As a part of our AP Language and Composition Class, I was given the task of reading two books I ordinarly would have never even pulled off the shelf, much less read cover to cover. The two books were Walden by Henry David Thoreau and Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard. I must say I was dredding reading them both, but now, five hundred and some odd pages later, I must say I am glad I was made to experience them.
The books themselves are compared most often, many say the message is the same and both Dillard and Thoreau were on the same journey; I however found they were entirely different and unique in their own ways.
Dillard uses all forms of rhetorical techniques to appeal to all of the reader's senses. The use of similes (on almost every page I might add) shows both a crisp sense of detail and a beautiful poetic style. The many allusions to books, including the Bible, shows Dillard is well read and knowledgeable about the many interesting subjects she discusses within each chapter. Her keen sense of detail, both beautiful and disgusting at times, allows the reader to truly connect with nature and begin to see life from her perspective. The description of the people with newly restored sight has lead me to look at my own life in a new patch of color.
Dillard has also clearly mastered the full circle effect and the use of telegraphic sentences and transitions at the percise time. Her use of ancedotes and scientific facts show her book is definitely a well construction piece of art.
The most enjoyable part about the book is not for me was not the content, but the way in which Dillard arranged the chapters and paragraphs so carefully that the book flowed like a river from beginning to end.
If nature and nonfiction is you thing then I would definitely recommend the book. As for Walden, good luck.

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Summary: Detail Can Be An Enemy
Review: In writing Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Annie Dillard uses an enormous amount of detail. Detail that some readers could find fascinating and intricate. But some could find goury and discomforting. Yes, her detail adds complexity that is needed to understand her as a person and a writer, but it also adds a displeasant hora to the books meaning.
When Annie Dillard mentions the water bug sucking the insides of a frog out, and then watching the frogs remains (skin) float down the river repeated throughout the book, she brings a gut renching picture into the readers head. A picture that can be stood once, but not four and five times over.
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is enhanced because of its detail as well. Not one reader could get the full affect of her private world if her discription of the Monark butterfly was not so brillant, or if her repeated spider references were not so intricate.
Given that there is an excess amount of detail in some parts of her book, and that she does tend to disgust the reader at some points, Annie Dillard accomplished describing nature, its bad, and its good. After all, not everything can be red roses and crystal water lines.
Read this book. If someone really reads this book, then they will get a fulfilment out of it. They will learn to mix the bad with the good, and appreciate nature just a little bit more. After all, that was Annie Dillards goal in the first place.

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Summary: Really a Much Better Book Than This Thing Says
Review: About once every five or so blue moons, one will come across a book that is both interesting and inspiring while holding the attantion. Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is one such book. It is a majestic work exploring the nature of life (no pun intended). She employs many different stylistic techniques in comveying her musings.
Dillard's Pilgrim is subdivided into chaptyers, many of these titles being dervived from Biblical references. This holds a great deal of signifigance as Dillard wanders over the "meaning of life." She repeatedly makes ilusions to occurances and charactersin the Bible, defining her need to establish firm and truthful bounderies in a choatic world. She also refers to alternate religions, but these references are relatively few and she always returns to her Biblical bases.
Another notable tactic Dillard uses is extrodinary and aids the reader in folowing her train of thought nad meaning. Of her life she selects a few happenings and repeatedly refers back to them to establish her themes and ideas. A bell, one tree with lights in it, Eskimos, and sharks are only a few of these buildng blocks.
The most interesting element of Dillard's writing is her diction and syntax. Or, rather, how the diction and syntax aid in reveiling her view on life. Though she is an adult striving to find answers about the world nad its Creater, she has a child's view of most everything about the world. She stalks muskrats in rediculous positions and laspes into bouts of bemoaning the loss of one frog to a water bug. Many of her reflections are also from the time of when she was young.
These few examples of the style in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek greatly illustrate the deep turmoil and tension felt by Dillard about life and the univerese.
The greatestr asset, I belive, about this book is its ability to write and speak of the many truths about the world that we know but rarely think on. It is also exciting and relatively fast paced. I would greatly recommend it.