Pilgrim: A Novel
3.5/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this ebook
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.
Timothy Findley
Timothy Findley's recent titles include Pilgrim, which was a finalist for the Giller Prize and his first published in the United States; You Went Away; Dust to Dust; and The Piano Man's Daughter. He was also the author of the acclaimed Headhunter, Not Wanted on the Voyage, Famous Last Words, and The Wars. His most recent play, Elizabeth Rex, won the Governor General's Award for Drama. His work has won innumerable honors, including the Governor General's Award for Fiction and the Edgar Award. He was the only three-time recipient of the Canadian Authors Association Award, bestowed for fiction, nonfiction, and drama. He was an Officer of the Order of Canada and, in France, Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He split his time between homes in Stratford, Ontario and the south of France. He died in France in June 2002 at the age of 71.
Related to Pilgrim
Related ebooks
The Adventures of Joseph Rouletabille: The Mystery of the Yellow Room & The Secret of the Night Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPilgrim: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrng: I Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVirginia Woolf in Manhattan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Lies: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Strange Adventures of H: the enchanting rags-to-riches story set during the Great Plague of London Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Without Dogma Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Tumble Inn Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cost of Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Time Machine Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrankenstein: or the Modern Prometheus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChristina Alberta's Father Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (Omnibus Edition) (Diversion Illustrated Classics) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Turn of the Screw Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Boy: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5& in Open, Marvel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Floating Life: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5William Shakespeare: The Complete Works Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Elephant in the Room Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Moby Dick Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Call of the Wild Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Curious Myths of the Middle Ages Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDaddy-Long-Legs: Annotated Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Adventures of Peregrine Pickle Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Moonstone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Square Moon: Supernatural Tales Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Strange Boy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCrippen: A Novel of Murder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
General Fiction For You
The Priory of the Orange Tree Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Man Called Ove: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fellowship Of The Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mythos Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shantaram: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Life of Pi: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The City of Dreaming Books Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ulysses: With linked Table of Contents Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Covenant of Water (Oprah's Book Club) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unhoneymooners Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dante's Divine Comedy: Inferno Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The King James Version of the Bible Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Ends with Us: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Silmarillion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Canterbury Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beartown: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everything's Fine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Meditations: Complete and Unabridged Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5You: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Other Black Girl: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nettle & Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Iliad of Homer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird: Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jackal, Jackal: Tales of the Dark and Fantastic Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Night Agent: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Pilgrim
227 ratings12 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Canada (and the world) lost a great writer when Timothy Findley died. Each time I read one of his books I am struck anew at what an interesting and varied writer he was. This book, written in 1999, is another example of his intelligent exploration of a subject.Pilgrim is the name of an Englishman who has been brought to the Burgholzli Clinic in Switzerland to be treated by the psychiatrists there. Pilgrim’s friend, Lady Sylvia Quartermaine, was concerned by his suicide attempts and his current inability to speak. Pilgrim is installed at the clinic and Lady Quartermaine, her maid and Pilgrim’s valet move into the nearby Hotel Baur au Lac. Initially Pilgrim was seen by Doctor Furtwangler but Lady Quartermaine was not happy with him and asked for Carl Gustav Jung to treat him. Jung had just started to move away from Freud’s theories and his exposure to Pilgrim’s story helped him solidify his theory of the collective unconscious. Pilgrim claimed to be unable to die and remembered past lives all the way back to the Trojan Wars. He was an apprentice to his father who was a stained glass maker involved in making the windows of Chartres Cathedral; he had been a disabled shepherd boy who first witnessed St. Teresa of Avila perform a miracle; most famously he had lived as Elisabetta Gherardini whose portrait by Leonardo da Vinci is known as Mona Lisa. As much as the story of Pilgrim this is the story of Jung. Findley freely admits that much is fiction, including the whole cloth of Pilgrim’s story, but it serves to expose Jung’s astonishing life. I have never read much in the fields of psychology and psychiatry but I have often felt that the practitioners of these fields are drawn to it because of their own mental needs. Certainly this portrayal of Jung shows him as a deeply flawed man with episodes of depression and obsessions that would now be treated with pharmaceuticals. It was fascinating to me to see how he used these problems to develop his theories that underpin much of current psychiatric practice. Lots to ponder in this book which I have only briefly summarized so read it for yourself if what I have written sparks an interest.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I loved this book, about a man called "Pilgrim" whose past is caught up with notables such as Da Vinci and Henry James. But, he's also in an insane asylum with the aspiring Carl Jung. Very cool.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Immortal or madman? A story that mixes history, memory and madness with hints of the myth of the Wandering Jew. Findley brilliantly blends history and fiction. I was revetted by Pilgrim's story. The use of dreams, journals and memory was very creative. A great reminder of why I love Findley's work.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Well written, although I found it lost some momentum during the second half of the book. I like the unresolved aspect of the main character - Pilgrim... was he an immortal or was it mere madness? The issue is never resolved. I identified more with Emma Jung than Carl Gustav. I never knew about his concubine and how he thrust that on his children as well as his devoted wife. What a schmuck.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The story of a man who can't die, his memories of an eternal life, including encounters with Da Vinci and Saint Theresa. Brilliantly done, with plenty of history, psychology, and lots more.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5engaging magic and fantastical historyThis book is why I love Findley. It doesn't necessarily exemplify his usual story type or structure, but it does display his creative brilliance and ability to form an emotional environment. Much of this tale is half remembered dreams, hallucinations, semi lucid thoughts and journal entries which woven together make closing the book seem akin to waking from a particularly vivid daydream. A book of lovely longing. Perhaps in five or ten years I will read it again. I think I will enjoy that.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is the story of a man who cannot die...but wishes he could. Ths story follows the different 'lives' he experiences and we get to meet a few famous people along the way; Leonardo Davinci, St. Teresa, and Carl Jung.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Pilgrim (that’s his name) seems to be unable to die. A failed suicide attempt brings him to Bürgholzli Clinic, and the care of Dr. Carl Jung. Are Pilgrim’s claims to past lives merely indications of his illness (schizophrenia), or did the man really model for Leonardo, meet St. Teresa, and survive the sinking of the Titanic? A wonderful story of life and death, madness and imagination, and the search for meaning.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5History meets Science Fiction - two of my favourite things!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Love this book. Story of immortatlity with writing that makes Anne Rice look like a local newspaper journalist.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A wonderful melange of philosophy, psychology and how we judge the world
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is my favourite Timothy Findley book.