Customer Reviews

Pilgrim

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4 star:		(4)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

Timothy Findley has written another great work of art. Pilgrim, the central character, is a tragic figure not because he gave his life for a great cause; but he is tragic because he cannot seem to die (or is he just a bit schizo?..hmmm). The novel focuses on themes of trust, loss and redemption. In the end, though, I began trusting more of the bit characters (ie. Jung's wife) and empathizing with her loss more than the central figures. One note of dissappointment. The book tends to lose a little steam at the end. We simply just wish Pilgrim could successfully end himself and thus the novel. Does he succeed? We are still uncertain.

The book has its' interesting moments. A man who cannot die should be interesting. However, for us left brain people, the were just too many loose ends and unresolved issues. Also, the characters are without exception unlikable. I am not sure I can ever read anything Jung has written again without being prejudiced. If Pilgrim had lived forever, why was he always someone famous in the past and not so famous now. Not recommended.

I did not enjoy this book. It was painfully disjointed and not in a way that is simply hard to follow for those not familiar with challanging fiction, but instead, in a way that strives for intelligence but ends up with ridiculous babble. It also doesn't help that you never care about any of the characters becuase none of them are entirely likeable or fully explored. Pilgrim an entity of flesh and blood who has lived for an eternity and cannot die, intersting premise but it is never made interesting because it is like a foot note, like the rest of the characters. This is a mildly entertaining read at best.

I found the story to be a better idea than reality. For someone so mysterious, Findley writes in an extraordinarily dry, organized, linear way. I could just imagine him consulting his 10 page outline, it never once enters into the mysterious, way too rational, really. It should have been called Jung, not Pilgrim, because it was really a story about Jung and for that it was good, very interesting, but Pilgrim we never realy get to know. The majority of the book is about Jung with occasional spatterings of Pilgrim's POV. Pilgrim's POV seemed quite sparse, I don't think the author spent enough time on it. Also, the connection between Emma and Pilgrim should have been explored more for my taste, but really, he was trying to show too many different POVs in one book, that is too hard to do I think. Ken Kesey's Sometimes a Great Notion did that well but he didnt have an immortal character who had lived since the beginning of time. I feel a little short-changed, after all the time I invested reading this 500+ page novel, I wish I could have known more of Pilgrim a character I know I would've adored if I could've known him better. He' strying to do too much, showing Pilgrim's relation with Davinci, Wilde, these things take time to develop he just gives it 5 pages, not enough time, it seems fake, unless we are to believe he really is crazy and so none of these things happened. That would be the only reason to leave it so sparsely told. Good story if he would complete it, fill it out, it fills like an outline, a skeleton.

Pilgrim begins quite enigmatically and I began it with a lot of hope for one very special book. Unfortunately, the book's enigmatic qualities soon fizzle as the plot veers off course only to finish with many dangling threads. I do not mind dangling threads if the plot supports and calls for them, but Pilgrim seemed to need a little more. We simply don't know what Findley is trying to tell us.

Findley's writing, as always, is truly first rate and the book is enjoyable to read for this reason alone. While I found it difficult to identify with the character of Pilgrim (this could have been deliberate on Findley's part, I know, given the book's nature), I did enjoy the "intimate" look at Carl Jung and his long-suffering and loyal wife, Emma. How true this account of the Jung's is is not really important. This is fiction, not fact. What is important is that Findley gives us an engrossing portrait of a marriage that could stand a little work, especially on the part of Jung.

Pilgrim is a good book and one that I don't think anyone will regret reading. It is definitely not Findley's best and contains some plot holes that I think would have been better had they been filled.

Let me vote with the slant against Pilgrim. The beautiful cover and the promise of reading about Carl Jung and Leonardo da Vinci beckoned me to my airport purchase (upscale bookshops in airports are great, aren't they?) I did finish it - even by the next day, but only because I was traveling. It took me 100 pages to completely hate it. Whooever said it was pretentious was right on target. Findlay's created a completely reprehensible character in Dr. Jung - a man entirely incapable of anything positive despite his genius - poor Carl Gustav must be rolling over in his grave. I especially hated the long-suffering character he created for Jung's wife Emma, and then recreated with some lurid details as the sexually abused Mona Lisa. Leonardo da Vinci is here another reprehensible genius - and sexual predator - surrounded with beautiful boys who can't wait to be the next in his bed. There is no relief here - there's an epileptic Spanish saint who floats, a broken bodied shepherd who loves his dog, a military son who seems to promise armageddon, a bette-davis-baby-Jane patient who sings nursery songs - this is only a partial list but don't let me forget that the bette davis is also represented here as a sexually abused (of course) ballerina who lives on the moon. The immortal's been done before a zillion times better, there is no historial fact to pick up. (I wonder why Henry James got off so scott free here - all he had to do was see someone's library.) It's just awful. I'm really curious that anyone could find 'morality' (see dust jacket) here - this is just the usual lurid sex stuff mixed up with fake history to plague people who should know better.

Beautifully written and richly imagined, this is a fascinating novel that challenges historical reality and presents psychology and philosophy in a unique way. Interesting portrait of Jung and a cast of wonderfully realized characters. A thoughtful and thought provoking journey through time and the human psyche.

This work is entirely different from anything I've ever read. I appreciated the brooding tone of the story and the undercurrent of foreshadowing leading up to its climax. The ending was a little unorthodox and left me with a need for closure, however, I believe Findley does this purposefully as a way to compliment the mysterious and spiritual undertones of the plot. A comfortable, soothing read. Felt as if I were in a reverie, I could almost set it to music.

To begin with, a very nice premise. But Findley just doesn't deliver. It's not that I need every question answered after all life's not like that, no reason literature should be. But a little more in the way of resolution would have been nice.
Mr. Findley also gets too wrapped up with being a writer sometimes...you know what I mean. You've got an interesting idea now just tell the story.

I always plan - carefully - which books I intend to purchase. Usually, this process takes me through dozens of reviews (which I often disregard) and, where applicable, excerpts. Rarely have I ever found myself so wholly in want of a book as I was when I first discovered Pilgrim. Penned by one of my favourite authors, with whom I have found very little fault, I began reading with heightened expectations.

Findley combines the past with an interpretation of Jungian psychology, exploring elements like the naturality of polygamy and the power and extent of the theory of a collective unconscious. For the first 90% of the story, everything works together wonderfully; events are tied together or created with a level of believability that can, at times, astound the reader.

Unfortunately, much of the story proves to be a cop-out. I won't spoil the ending here, but will say that it comes off as lazy.

Overall, it's a good read ... if you don't mind the disappointment that comes after it ends.