Pilgrims

by Elizabeth Gilbert

Book Overview

The debut by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat Pray Love, Big Magic and City of Girls; a PEN/Hemingway Award finalist and New York Times Notable Book

When it appeared in 1997, Elizabeth Gilbert's story collection, Pilgrims, immediately announced her compelling voice, her comic touch, and her amazing ear for dialogue. "The heroes of Pilgrims . . . are everyday seekers" (Harper's...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0143113372
• ISBN13: 9780143113379
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Riverhead Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Audiobook version of Pilgrim's

I really enjoyed losing myself in Pilgrim's random slice of Americana. Each story is a microcosm of its own dishing up a multitude of human foibles and plights. I much preferred the audio format over the text version. Since adding it to my car's audiobook playlist, I have listened to the collection almost like a favorite album. I enjoy the stage-like performance of the narrator and, of course, the story crafting of the author. Narrator Coleen Marlo gives each story its due like equally loved children. She does justice to the written word with her mastery of nuance. She builds each character and modulates her narration to suit the widely divergent tales and their psychological geographies. Most of Gilbert's pilgrims have classic American vernacular accents. Marlo bags the usual stereotypical vernacular and gives the characters carefully inflected personalities that up the zing on the dialogue. Though it is easy to assume that Gilbert heard very specific voices as she wrote-- or even lived through-- these tales it's certain that Marlo herself has infused the stories with some American adventures and sensibilities of her own--a direction that had the author applauding I'm sure once she heard the outcome of their collaboration.

Satisfying indeed.

A friend's interest in Gilbert spurned me to read this short story collection, which I found very enjoyable. Gilbert has a way of creating a very vivid scene and situation, so as to wrap your interest around the characters promptly. Then, naughty as it is, she ends her stories almost always leaving you to wonder how everything will play out. It's more that she's giving you a glimpse into another world, rather than relating a brief story from beginning to end.

Really Quite Good

After always looking forward to reading Ms. Gilbert's funny/intellegent/quirky articles in SPIN magazine (who she sadly doesn't seem to write for anymore) the high quality of this book wasn't much of a surprise. The charaters are well formed and easy to empathize with. The fact that all the stories dwell on the same theme of lonliness and searching for connection, it reads more like a novel than a randomly selected set of stories. If you liked this, read her articles on Chinese Dams, Feminist Pornography and Renesance Faires in SPIN, or her essay on Buckle Bunnies in the KGB Reader. I can't wait for her novel to come out.

Nearly flawless, always gorgeous

It's rare that I like the majority of stories in a short story collection. In this case, all but one are perfect, and even the imperfect piece -- the last in the volume -- is pretty damned good. Buy this book: you won't regret it.

A Stunner

Elizabeth Gilbert has done that rare thing--not only has she made her debut with a short story collection, there is not a single misstep taken. This one definitely lives up to the hype. Do yourself a favor--read it.