Customer Reviews

The Lone Pilgrim: Stories (Perennial Fiction Library)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I do not know why I waited so long to read Laurie Colwin's fiction. This was wonderful! You will see brilliant flashes of observation and insight, humor, and wisdom-- along with characters that are a lot like the most interesting people you know, crossing each other's paths for good and ill. It is difficult to write short stories that are this concentrated and perfect. If you're a Danielle Steel groupie, this is not for you-- Laurie Colwin was intelligent, subtle, and brilliant.

This selection of short stories provides a cozy, warm read. These are perfect for reading in the middle of winter, under a blanket, while drinking a great cup of tea. Colwin's stories revolve around love and domesticity, but they also focus on tensions within that realm. A good read.

If you are looking for emptinees, nihilism and the essential alone-ness of the human spirit, don't look here. If you want glamour, fabulous wealth and the secret lives of supermodels, go find Jackie Collins. Laurie Colwin's characters are peope you might actually know. This is short fiction without the despair - sweet and quirky without resorting to Women's Magazine Happy Ending Cliches. Great reading for a rainy afternoon

I have no idea how I missed this wonderful collection of stories by an author whom I adore. In fact, I missed all three of her books of stories. The other two are on their way to me in the mail. I am sure I will devour them just as I devoured this one!

Colwin takes ordinary people and turns their stories into such interesting pieces. Her stories are all complete, and left me satisfied, the mark of a great short story writer.

I just cannot believe how much I loved every word in this book.

This book was recommended to me by the proprietress of a doomed bookstore which sold only "quality" books, and Colwin was one of her favorites. The stories are gems - as the other reviewers have said, the characters are people you know (only a little more charming and witty). I believe Colwin was one of the only really great short story writers who believed in happy endings.

Note: if you already like Laurie Colwin, don't miss Lee Smith. Even though Colwin was a Philadelphian who moved to NY and Lee Smith's work is of and about the South, they both manage to be charming, funny and meaningful at the same time - no easy feat.

The Lone Pilgrim, by Laurie Colwin, is filled with stories certain to enthrall any reader who is interested in human emotions, as well as those struggles people go through to change their lives in small but significant ways. Colwin's gift of expression enabled her to pinpoint the tidal waves of emotion in ordinary lifestyles in an intensely personal manner. Any person interested in glimpsing fragments of their own lives should read this collection of struggles and triumphs.