February 2025

Thought for sure that I'd absolutely love this one given its accolades and my fondness for [b:Meadowland: The Private Life of an English Field|18104707|Meadowland The Private Life of an English Field|John Lewis-Stempel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1397417031l/18104707._SY75_.jpg|25748804]. Unfortunately, I found it to be meandering and I just couldn't connect with it. ( )

Wonderful book. Something of a departure for me, as generally I like to read more science based nature books. This one was full of poetry, philosophy, Pliny quotes and particle physics. There are scenes that might haunt you for years to come ( a butterfly from her school days, a section on parasites) and other parts that might lift your spirit. There is very little straightforward narrative, so if you are looking for that , look elsewhere. ( )

One of the best books I ever read; it changed my life. It might have helped that Tinker Creek is just a few miles away from the place I spent my childhood summers - pretty much alone with the woods and apple trees and enchantment of the mountains near Roanoke, Virginia. ( )

[Update (2020-05-04): You know what? I'm going to go ahead and raise this to 5 stars. I know I'm going to re-read this. It sticks with me to this day. So why wait?]

"Exuberant." "Extravagant." All through this book, I've been searching for the right adjective to describe Dillard's prose. I'm still not satisfied that I've found it. There is much here to treasure: heart-wrenching anecdotes; natural curiosities related as friend-to-friend; deep philosophical and spiritual issues probed. One thing I liked is that the book is entirely observational; as in, "here are things I've seen and my thoughts about them". It is never polemical; Dillard never tries to convince you there is a Creator. She just relates her thoughts, which implicitly include that idea.
It is perhaps worth noting that Dillard was 27 when she wrote Pilgrim. So it is very much a young author's book. Hence the exuberance, I suppose. Some may find that off-putting. But I found it refreshing.
I listened to the Audible audiobook version, read by Tavia Gilbert. I strongly suspect I enjoyed the book much more that way than I would have coming to it by text alone. Some writers' voices beg to be heard, not just read. So I strongly encourage newcomers to Tinker's Creek to go the audio route. But that said, before I was half-way done, I had ordered a hardcopy version that I could mark up and highlight favorite passages.
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