Pilgrim: A Novel - Softcover

Findley, Timothy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060929375 ISBN 13: 9780060929374

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2001

Synopsis

On April 17, 1912 -- ironically, only two days after the sinking of the Titanic -- a figure known only as Pilgrim tries to commit suicide by hanging himself from a tree. When he is found five hours later, his heart miraculously begins to beat again. Pilgrim, it seems, can never die. Escorted by his beloved friend, Lady Symbol Quartermaine, Pilgrim is admitted to the famous Burgholzu Psychiatrist Clinic In Zurichm, where he will begin a battle of psyche and soul with Carl Jung, the self-professed mystical scientist of the unconscious Slowly, Jung coaxes Pilgrim to tell his astonishing story -- one that seemingly spans 4,000 years and includes such historical figures as Leonardo da Vinci and Henry James. But is Pilgrim delusional? Are these his memories merely dreams...or is his immortal existence truly a miracle.

About this title

Review:

Timothy Findley's Pilgrim is the story of a man who can't die even though he tries over and over to kill himself. Diagnosed as schizophrenic, in 1912 he's placed in a Zurich clinic where Carl Gustav Jung is hard at work trying to determine the perimeter of the collective unconscious. For Jung, this man becomes an embodiment of the psyche's mystery. Claiming to have no past history but to have simply arrived one day at consciousness, Pilgrim lives in a limbo outside individuality and subjectivity. He's everyone and no one. Is he a messenger? Or is he a basket case? As the novel gathers momentum, we realise that Pilgrim is a character much like Virginia Woolf's Orlando, a witness traversing gender and time. Imagining conversations between Pilgrim and Henry James, Leonardo da Vinci, and Oscar Wilde, this novel is like a party full of beautiful guests. Or a safe train trip through an exotic landscape of consciousness where men use cologne that smells like "moss...lemons...ferns", and schizophrenics are elegant and well dressed, like the old countess who believes she lives on the moon and asks her doctor, "Is this a ballroom? Am I being courted?" --Emily White

Review:

"An extraordinary gifted storyteller."-- "Publishers Weekly""Seeing Findley's name on a book's cover immediately sends a signal to readers: here's a story that will be provocative and intriguing, beautifully told, and one-of-a-kind. Findley offers both sheer unputdownable entertainment and intelligent, thoughtful writing." -- "Booklist""Beautiful writing and extraordinary invention."-- "Chicago Tribune""It's rare to find an author in which the moralist and the entertainer cohabit so naturally."-- "New York Times Book Review""Findley spins a fine tale...[his] powers of description are truly extraordinary. Pilgrim is an impressive creation."-- "The Wall Street Journal"What is most appealing about this meganovel is that despite its daunting display of the intellectual evolution of the world through literature, art, politics and history, it remains endlessly enjoyable and never fails to engage the reader. "Pilgrim endlessly rewards the reader with luxuriant prose, complex characters and challenging ideas. It is an adventuresome ride well worth taking."-- "Chicago Tribune"Provocative."-- "Richmond Times-Dispatch"Findley is a thinking person's storyteller."-- "Houston Chronicle"Impressive."-- "Denver Rocky Mountain News""Pilgrim is an entertaining book, as visual as the artists depicted in it."-- "Minneapolis Star Tribune"Soaring...["Pilgrim is] a gorgeously complex novel of ideas and a rousing good read."-- "Ruminator Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0060929375
• ISBN 13: 9780060929374
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 496