Customer Reviews

Pilgrims

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Elizabeth Gilbert is a talented writer and some of these stories in this collection are absolutely terrific. These stories will capture your imagination. There were several that I wished Gilbert would have made into novels. I really enjoyed reading these stories, but I did read Stern Men, her novel, first and as strong as these stories are, Stern Men is even stronger, so I was a little disappointed. All in all, however, this is a terrific collection by a very talented writer and I look forward to seeing more of her work.

Elizabeth Gilber is certainly a talent. The tales were diverse and interesting but I felt cheeted of completeness and closure. Each character faces his or her own pilgramage in each short story, and in the end, they are no closer than when they began. There is no "ah hah" so this is it. I felt each one was the begining of a to be continued series

I fell in love with Gilbert's writing from Eat, Pray, Love. This compilation of short stories did not disappoint. I had to stop between each story and rest a bit before starting the next because my brain would not let the previous story go.

Of all the darned good stories I've come across, Elizabeth Gilbert writes the darnedest goodest, perhaps "the best." "The Famous Torn and Restored Lit Cigarette Trick" in particular has all the mistifying charms of the sleight of hand illusions she describes therein: it's dexterous and surprising, baffling and revelatory. Be warned--Gilbert writes seatbelts-off short fiction that reinvigorates the sleepy genre and makes it buy us all a drink.

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.

"Pilgrims" is a fascinating work - like a vice slowly tightening, Gilbert clamps on to the reader and never lets go. My personal favorite story is the gentle beautiful narrative about 15 year old Denny Brown. Gilbert balances the innocence and naivity of youth with the hidden lustiness that every teen encounters.

I expected more. I love Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love and I thought I would enjoy this one, but I was wrong. Her short stories went nowhere and had no real significance to them. The characters really didn't leave an lasting impression on me either. I was dissapointed with this book, however, I would still be interested to see what Gilbert puts out in the future.