Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

Paperback, 288 pages

Published by McGraw-Hill College.

ISBN:: 978-0-07-243417-0

(1 review)

What is the true nature of Nature? Is it a harmonious, interconnected system, operating according to the principles of co-dependence and benevolence? Or is it red in tooth and claw, an unfeeling, unthinking force, in which the individual is overwhelmed and subsumed to serve a larger purpose, one mysterious and obscure? This is what this volume is all about: an exploration into the nature of Nature, an attempt to discover the true character of the natural world around us. Appropriately, it is neither a rapturous celebration of Nature, nor a grim survey of its various cruelties. Rather, like Nature itself, it is something in between, and something quite beautiful. It is a collection of related essays recounting the author's thoughts on Nature as she observes the ecological happenings of the eponymous Tinker Creek in Virginia's Blue Ridge valley for a period of several years.

7 editions

chianti_cimex_reads reviewed Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard

Review of 'Pilgrim at Tinker Creek' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

There’s some sections which drag, like the part with the muskrats, which prevent it from being a 10/10, but this is a strong 8.5 or 9. My wish for Dillard to have done a bit more editing might just be my own impatience. This is worth taking the time to read slowly, piece by piece. There is so much to think about in here. An incredible work I am sure to return to, which affirms one’s faith in all that can be seen and all that cannot.