Pilgrims and Other Stories

Pizazz is the word that comes to mind after reading the short story collection Pilgrims by Elizabeth Gilbert. These are twelve stories that chart the paths of various oddball characters across disparate landscapes through eccentric and unpredictable situations and adventures. In the title story, Pennsylvanian Martha Knox gets a job as a ranch hand in Wyoming and challenges the cowboy narrator to run off with her across the Rocky Mountains. In “Elk Talk,” Jean and Ed, living on a remote property at the edge of the Wyoming wilderness, have taken in Jean’s nephew Benny after an accident has rendered Benny’s mother comatose. On Halloween, with Ed away at a conference, Jean and Benny meet their new neighbours, the Donaldsons, and as show more the eerie and unsettling encounter unfolds, Lance Donaldson successfully demonstrates a device that mimics an elk’s call. “The Many Things That Denny Brown did not Know (Age Fifteen)” (one of several tales with a cumbersome title) tells the story of naïve teen Denny Brown, whose frequent confusion regarding the behaviour and motives of the people around him, including his parents, actually comes to seem like a sort of savant wisdom. And “The Famous Torn and Restored Lit Cigarette Trick” revolves around the volatile and erratic temperament of Hungarian immigrant Richard Hoffman, his long involvement with his brother-in-law, magician Ace Douglas, Douglas’s magician/flautist daughter Esther, and a rabbit named Bonnie. Gilbert writes prose that never seems to stop moving. Her stories vibrate with a kind of dynamism, events tumble over each other and off the page. Undeniably entertaining, these stories are also witty and crammed with detail. Readers will notice that Gilbert sometimes uses elision to move her plots forward, skipping years of a character’s life in order to get to the part that interests her, ie: “She was married to him for forty-three years, and then he died of a heart attack.” – from “The Finest Wife.” There is also an aspect of the writing that can seem to some extent random: occasionally, in her rush to enumerate the events of a character’s life, the events themselves can seem plucked out of thin air, listed perhaps for shock value or humorous effect but adding little to the story or our knowledge of the character. The extraneous detail can be a distraction, since you believe it will be relevant later, but then it isn’t. Still, this is an impressive collection from a writer whose career since the publication of this debut volume has been one triumph after another. show less

Unique, tough and real characters populate this rather quirky book of stories that all seem to fairly vibrate and hum with a rich and powerful sense of place. She captures beautifully the innocence and tenderness possible from a clueless 15-year-old boy as deftly as the defensive irascibility of a Montana woman who receives a visit from unexpected neighbors while her husband is away. I was repeatedly struck by the economy of her prose, something I aspire to but rarely achieve in my own. Will probably have to re-read these several times to really absorb everything that is going on in them. Unusual, unpredictable and quite enjoyable.

Pilgrims is a short story collection, Elizabeth Gilbert's first published book. Though it garnered some awards and recognition at the time, I'd venture to say most readers were or are not familiar with it, since Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love was what really put her on the map.

I've read a few of Gilbert's books at this point and I generally like her writing, which was why I picked up this particular audiobook, despite not being a particular fan of the short story genre. But this collection was a big miss for me. From the descriptive blurb on the back of the book: "...these short stories track her diverse characters as they each pursue their own singular American pilgrimage." I didn't necessarily think the writing was bad, but the stories show more really just didn't appeal to me at all. And each and every one, without exception, ended abruptly without warning, leaving me with what I'm sure was a puzzled look on my face every time. Maybe these stories and this style would resonate with some readers, but I'm not one of them. show less

These are well written stories, and well read on the audio CD version. They're diverse in their story lines and sometimes funny. I had a consistent problem with them, though. And maybe it's just me, but after each story ended I thought, "and then what?" It's as though Elizabeth Gilbert opens the door to a little drama unfolding and then closes it before the drama plays out. For those who like to exercise their imagination, this book would be pleasurable. For those (like me) who like a bit more closure to a story, not so much.

This one started badly. I wasn't interested in the first 5 or 6 stories - just didn't see the point of them, including the title story - and ended up putting the book down for a couple of weeks. After picking it back up though, I was pleasantly surprised. She writes characters that you just have to like, even when you're hating what they're doing or otherwise cringing about their behaviour. A good read, if you can get past the first few tales.

I actually only read half of this, but because it's a book of short stories I feel I can comment on the quality of the book not having finished it. After all, I read 4 or 5 finished products and not 40-50% of a product. That makes sense, right?

Anyway, I only bought the book to give to my Mom because she loved [b:Eat, Pray, Love|19501|Eat, Pray, Love|Elizabeth Gilbert|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1269870432s/19501.jpg|3352398] so much. But then I didn't see her for like five days so I had it in my bag all that time and I just read it because it was there.

So the verdict is: She writes pretty good stories. They're sad like country songs.