Pilgrim

by timothy-findley

Used book

Genres: Fiction, Canada, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Historical, Canadian Literature, Literary Fiction

496 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Jennifer (formerly Eccentric Muse) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent! A great blend of fiction and history, re-imagined through the eyes of one of my very favourite story-tellers.

Reincarnation (?) meets Jung's collective unconscious. With Leonardo (da Vinci, not diCaprio - it's not THAT book), Oscar Wilde, William & Henry James. Art and religion clash and coalesce. Doves, pigeons, sheep, dogs <3 and angels; unwilling saints and saintly lunatics. The sacred nature of nature. The transcendent, innate spirituality of art. Dreams, myth, madness, mysticism and a little magical realism thrown in for good measure.

An engrossing, illuminating, enticing read. One of my favourite Canadian authors on this Canada Day weekend.

Must read up some more on CG Jung. He seems like a bit of a prick here, or - as our hero Pilgrim would have it: "a useless prick."


4.5 (I'm knocking a 1/2 star off for early narrative voice issues; they resolved or started to matter less as the tale was told.)

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew canadian writer Timothy Findley from his excellent novel "Not wanted on voyage" so was naturally excited to lay my hands on "Pilgrim".
Than to my biggest surprise, I realized it all sounds familiar and I had probably read it years ago (wouldn't be surprised to actually find that I have another copy somewhere) but the writing style and the story was so beautiful that I truly enjoyed and upon finishing the last page I was so moved that I could just start reading it all over again. "Pilgrim" is a perfect match between interesting story and superb writing style - sometimes stories are great but writing clumsy or vice versa, not in this case, it is actually one of the best novels I have ever read and I am a lifetime reader.

Pilgrim is the name of a newly arrived patient in a Swiss sanatorium - he consistently tries to kill himself and apparently has no will to live anymore, refuses to talk and the only hint about his past comes from talking in his sleep and his diaries where surprising amount of detailed descriptions of various historical figures intrigues his doctor who is no less than Carl Jung himself.
Jung is the only one in a medical team who actually does not push to bring patients "back to the ground" and respects their different perspective of life, clearly saddened and frustrated when his colleagues don't understand this approach and force logic here deeper understanding might have worked better. Trough the novel there is push-and-pull between him and Pilgrim who is clearly superior intelligence between the two and refuses to co-operate.

It's not only the story but understanding of how people behave and feel that makes me truly love and enjoy Findley's writing - sometimes he simply sketches certain characters that appear only shortly on a page or two and they are equally unforgettable as anybody else. There is a lonely lady who happen to be in the right time & place to take a photo and later we never heard about her again, except we know she lived lonely life full of "what if" and remembering a man who might have loved her, if he only asked. Or a spanish shepherd mentioned in only one chapter but his story somehow stays with the reader trough the rest of the novel,I would love to have the whole book only about him. When the story eventually came to an end I was truly excited - of course it is not the end because we know Pilgrim probably just starts new chapter of his life - I absolutely loved this novel and from now will buy any book by Timothy Findley without hesitation, its really my biggest recommendation.

[JSou · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really enjoyed this book. Any story that can combine historical fiction, fantasy, and psychology successfully is thumbs up for me. I loved being able to read about DaVinci, Henry James, and then jump to Carl Jung working with an "immortal" in an asylum.

Awesome book.

[Alex Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rambling, unfocused and tiresome, this novel takes forever to arrive nowhere.

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was unnecessarily long (published authors tend to be out of control when it comes to lengths of their subsequent works. or so it seems)

interesting passages:

- take on music from an apathetic person.

"music is the worst of them - roiling and boiling - overly emotionalized on the one hand, overly intellectuallized on the other. Bach and Mozart indeed! Bach inevitably makes me think of fish in a barrel! round and round and round they go and nothing ever happens. Nothing ! Tum -de-dum-dum. Tum -de-dum-dum and that's all! Tum -de-dum-de-bloody-dum-dum! As for Mozart, his emotions did not mature beyond the age of twelve. never achieved adolescence, let alone puberty. his music merely combines a popular talent for slapstick and a commercial talent for tears. No - not tears. For sobs. Beethoven, pompous. Chopin - sickly sweet and given to tantrums - Tum -de-dum-dum- Bang! and Wagner - a self -centred bore. and Stravinsky - discordant, rude and blows his music through his nose"

LOL :-)

- on the Mona Lisa

"No man has ever understood her- but every woman has"

[Kate · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really did not like this. It went on way too long and didn't really deal enough with Pilgrim enough directly to keep me engaged. Reading about Jung was okay I guess but that wasn't what I came for.

[Davyne DeSye · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting book – especially if you want to learn about Carl Jung and get a couple of interesting glimpses of history.

The story is ostensibly about a man named only “Pilgrim” who is sent to an insane asylum after an attempted suicide. While there, the reader learns that Pilgrim believes he cannot die and has lived forever – or perhaps that he can die, but he always comes back and lives another life. His doctor is none other than Carl Jung.

Through Pilgrim (and his friend and his journals), you learn bits of history reflecting other lives Pilgrim has lived, to include learning bits about Leonardo da Vinci, Henry James, a Catholic saint and the theft of the Mona Lisa. I researched a bit about these and verified that the fictionalized telling was close to the historical fact or reasonably extrapolated therefrom, which I appreciated. I very much enjoyed this aspect of the book. You also get a glimpse at asylums of the times.

Naturally, you also learn quite a bit about Carl Jung throughout this book.

In fact, my only real complaint about the book is that I believe it was mis-named and that the blurb lead me to believe I would be reading a different book. In fact, we learn very little about Pilgrim. Instead, we learn a lot about Carl Jung and about other bits of (interesting) history. In a way, Pilgrim seemed a MacGuffin, as the true “story” was about Jung’s life and Jung’s reaction to Pilgrim. I suppose, however, that naming a fiction story “A Look at Carl Jung” would probably draw the wrong audience – I’m certain I wouldn’t have read it! On the other hand, I’m not sorry I read it as it kept me interested, both by the style of writing and by (okay, I’ll admit it) wanting to find out more about Pilgrim (in this I was disappointed).

True rating: 3.5 stars

[Cam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book selected for my book club to read. I really enjoyed this book.... I found some places a little slower than others but it kept my attention. This will def be a interesting book club meeting!!!!

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.

[gorecki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do not have the delusion that this book is about me. It is about an immortal man with many lives on his quest to find death. Yet I do have the illusion I am in this book. It’s about feeling invisible until you are seen. And then realising that this also leads to being known. It’s a book about creating a life only with the power of your thoughts, but then wondering how do you contain it and where do you put it and what do you do with it, and mostly: how do you put an end to it?

Pilgrim is a deep dive into insanity, its beauty and its lyricism, but also its horrors and its complete devotion to haunting you and never letting you go. It’s about how once insanity visits, there are two worlds fighting over you and which one will win is never your choice. Once insanity settles in, you become free will: free to take, not free to choose.

I moved into this book and I think it became my personality: brooding, melancholy, full of improbability and impossibility and demons, but also painfully imaginative and inspired. My second Findley and I bow down to him, because Tiff can write a chapter that can slap you right across the heart.

Now I move out of it a pilgrim.

[Smilingplatypus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know what to make of this book. Parts of it are excellent (a main character who can't die and who has lived for centuries, a look at early twentieth-century attitudes towards mental health, etc.) and parts of it are really self-indulgent. There are also a lot of loose ends that are never addressed. So I'm splitting the difference and giving it three stars.

Also, it's a pet peeve of mine that people in historical fiction books almost always happen to run into the most significant figures of their time, usually forming close relationships with them. I don't mind so much when it's a simple historical fiction novel (novels about the fourteenth century England are probably more marketable if Chaucer shows up, after all), but having Pilgrim either meet or actually be so many historical figures over the course of the centuries is pushing it.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Abandoned. It's not what I expected, and more about Carl Jung than I thought it would be. Maybe others will like it more than I do.

[Shelley · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is one of the most bizarre, complex, and incredibly depressing books I have ever read. It is so complicated that there is no succinct way of describing the story so I will not try. While I can appreciate the skilled writing of Timothy Findley I cannot say that I would recommend this book. I read it since my son in Grade 11 was having to do a comparative essay using it and he was struggling incredibly. To assist him, I read the book and I could totally understand why he was struggling. If you enjoy depressing books then you certainly would not be disappointed but I would suggest taking a pass on this.

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

An slow read that felt worth it in the end, despite the fact that Findley's particular brand of tinkering with history and the slightly self-important prose sometimes drove me up a fucking wall. Even a week after finishing this book, I'm not fully able to talk about my opinion of it in detail. All I can say is that I don't know anyone I would recommend it to, but I'm glad I forced myself to finish it.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carl Jung, immortals, angels, and psycho-analysis...they don't sound like the ingredients of a sane novel. Thankfully, sane novels are boring...and Timothy Findley's ultimate masterpiece will make you question your OWN sanity. A stunning book that will leave your mouth hanging open in sheer astonishment on more than one occasion.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book goes a bit long, but is an interesting concept and has some truly interesting glimpses into history.

[Ellen McClure · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
I guess to say I'm conflicted by the book would be the largest understatement I've had in my adult life. The promise of this was so intriguing, I had to keep going. To know what would happen next. However, it was so long! And so much happened, that while nice to know, didn't feed my interest whatsoever. I wanted more of Pilgrim in his past lives, not everyone else's dissatisfaction about theirs. I am glad to have persevered through this but, definitely do not go into this book thinking you'll know exactly what's going on. I still don't know.

[Christian Schwoerke · Rating 3 out of 5]

In contrast to the novel that is so pat, so neatly wrapped at its conclusion that it can summed up and dismissed, there is that novel which is so complex or confusing that it continues for a while to pique, long after it is finished. These complex/confusing novels can also be dismissed, readers all too quick to fault the author for the reader’s own difficulties. At what point does one finally conclude that the failure is not the reader’s, but that the author simply went off the rails?

There was much that was interesting in Findley’s Pilgrim, but I was never able to make it cohere, which for a while was a good thing, as it forced me to recollect the several parts, made me wonder how they could be made to fit. I finally concluded after what I considered due diligence that the author had lost his way.

Madness and immortal spirits. Are they somehow linked? Findley would have us unite the concepts, to see that Pilgrim is not mad (he demonstrates that he can’t die, hence is immortal in some fashion), certainly not mad in the way the former ballerina Countess Blavinskeya is, believing herself queen of the Moon, trapped for a time on Earth. And there is Jung, trying to show that madness is only a response to reality that comforts and protects the individual. Does that apply to Pilgrim? Is Pilgrim delusional on the basis that he has failed to kill himself, thus believes himself to be an immortal soul? How does being an immortal soul prevent a mortal body from dying? And what of the succession of such mortal lives Pilgrim’s immortal soul has lived?

Jung and his wife: the infidelities, the miscarried child, the live-in mistress, the magic now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t image of Jung being fellated. This relation between Jung and wife is one of the most moving parts of the novel, but it little connects with Pilgrim’s frustrated efforts to die and to wake humanity. There are other instances and degrees of failed/thwarted love in the novel (Sibyl-Pilgrim, Forster-Pilgrim, Dora-Blavinskeya, Mona Lisa-Leonardo, Manolo-Teresa), and these may signal a theme that is connected with Pilgrim’s desire to kill himself. But how to tell?

The most logical thing is to assume, as does Carl Jung, that Pilgrim is mad, that he has constructed a world of delusion to escape reality. Instead, Pilgrim escapes the sanitarium. Does this make him sane, validate his efforts to wake humanity to its current inhumanity by destroying works of art? Just how does that work? And the final image of Jung, writing of a dream of Pilgrim handing him a brick… I did not see how that followed, that there was in the failures of Pilgrim and Jung such a message of hope.

There are some very good, well-written, well-drawn parts to this novel (characters, scenes, incidents), but I concluded finally that it was illogical and disjointed, that it lacked a unifying coherence.

[Kristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Timothy Findley, but he must be the most eclectic author I’ve ever read. I first came across him in highschool with The Wars, a novel that observes soldiers in the First World War and which, frankly, I don’t really remember because I was obligated to read it for a class. I later read Findley’s Not Wanted on the Voyage, which was a bizarre and irreligious take on the events surrounding the biblical Noah and his ark. I didn’t enjoy that one. I did love The Piano Man’s Daughter, a beautiful historical novel of one woman’s “madness” and how it affects her family. And I’ve eventually come round to Findley’s Pilgrim, which is another sort of story altogether.

Pilgrim concerns a mysterious man of the same name who has seemingly lived forever in various different bodies. Pilgrim is weary of his never-ending existence and attempts to commit suicide repeatedly without success. He is brought to the Burgholzli Clinic in Zurich where he is treated by famed psychologist CJ Jung. Jung, of course, believes the ethereal Pilgrim to be ‘mad’ and deals with him accordingly. The fact that Pilgrim, with his butterfly birthmark and strange journals of encounters with people of other times, is not wholly human is clear… though I never did quite understand what, exactly, he was.

But Pilgrim was less about this phenomenal being than it was about the infamous Jung and his own issues. If Findley here sought to vilify Jung, he certainly succeeded – because I came away with a distinct picture of him as, yes, a genius but also a selfish J-E-R-K. Fortunately, I find this era in psychology fascinating… you know, the Freudian notions, straightjackets and all female ailments being attributed to ‘hysterics’. And don’t forget Jung’s own pet theory of the “collective unconscious”, which sees its fictional origin in this book.

So it was interesting to have a glimpse into the life of one of the looming pioneers of this time – and not to mention the other historical characters in the novel – but Pilgrim was still a strange and sometimes exasperating read. After finishing it, I felt like I didn’t really “get” it. Truth be told, I think I need to take a long break from contemporary Canadian authors (I promised myself this years ago after I read Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing (ugh) - but this time I mean it).

[Jessie (Zombie_likes_cake) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not work for me. I can see readers appreciate this unique approach to historical fiction but it was not my barrel of monkeys (maybe if it had a barrel of monkeys?).
Firstly, there are way too many tangents and side stories for my liking, it meanders around a lot and with so little focus in the book I know my focus was not there either. It played into one of my pet peeves of historical when our protagonist "interacts" with all kind of important people over the years, I get why people find it more interesting to read about someone having a therapy with Jung but when you also throw Leonardo da Vinci and Oscar Wilde into the mix I find it excessive and with that annoying.
And now the big point, in parts I know the novel was slightly over my head. For me that's fine, it sometimes happens, it is just a shame when it happens in a longer book (more time spend on being frustrated instead of having a good reading time) and when it is personal recommendation, my husband really likes this, likely because he found the premise and art commentary more interesting than I did. Anywho, for me this was a complicated story and with not really being interested it was often hard to figure what is really implied with certain things, especially some of the sexual scenes left me scratching my head as to what is being truly said here.

Additionally, while competent the writing did not float my boat. Who knows, maybe the novel was never meant to have a chance with me but at some point I was only reading to finish it. I didn't dislike it enough to go down to 1* but I see this on the bottom end of my 2* books.

PS. In some aspects this reminded me of Davidson's "The Gargoyle" which wasn't my thing either but might be an indicator as to where the audience for this novel is.

[Ludmilla · Rating 2 out of 5]

gereksiz duygusallıklarla dolu kitapları sevmiyorum. anlatıyı ilgi çekici hale getirmek için tarihi kişiliklere, yazarlara vs saçma salak anılar yüklenmesinden, özellikler atfedilmesinden hoşlanmıyorum. örneğin bu nedenle everest'in unutulmaz kadınlar dizisindeki kitapları okumuyorum. "ölümsüzlük ve pilgrim" adıyla çevrilen pilgrim de bu tarz kitaplardan biri. leonardo da vinci olayını geçtim yine de diyaloglardaki jung tüm ilgi ve alakamı bitirdi ve kitaba devam etmeyi anlamsız buldum.

[Sergey · Rating 4 out of 5]

a lyrical, mystical journey. walking through a dream, a never ending path to eternity (or in this case to end eternity once and for all) oh, but such beauty in one's search for death! mr findley you are a find!

[Aziza Aouhassi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honnêtement je ne comprends pas le nombre de commentaires positifs ! Le début est prometteur mais le développement de l'idée se fait de façon décousue sans conclusion qui mérite de parcourir les 821 pages. Très déçue par cette lecture.

[lapetitesouris · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We are all locked into other people's perceptions of who we are, he thought. We are none of us free to live our lives unseen."

I've absolutely no words to truly describe this magical, mystical, melancholic book of brilliance. A fictional tale of a man named Pilgrim, whose one wish is to die and yet isn't capable of death, and the people who love him and misunderstand him, in all his various forms, through the centuries. A book that effortlessly weaves fiction into real historical events and characters. Absolutely read & re-readable. Timothy Findley, I love you.


"There are some whose experience of life is so far removed from our own that we call them mad. This is mere convenience. We call them so in order to relieve ourselves oftaking responsibility for their place in the human community. Thus, we relegate them to asylums, shutting them out of view and beyond calling distance behind locked doors.

But for them, there is no difference between what we think of as dreams and nightmares and the world in which they live their daily lives. What we call visions and relegate to mystics--the miracles of Christ-the lives of the Saints-the apocalyptic revelations of John - are for them the stuff of common, everyday experience. In their view, there can be sanctity in trees and toads living gods in fire and water-and a voice in the whirlwind to which, if only we would listen, they would direct our attention. Such are the conditions under which those who suffer dementia exist. They do not live in "other worlds," but in a dimension of this world which we, out of fear, refuse to acknowledge."

[Nithin · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.4)

[Gabriela · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the most annoying books i have read to date. I agree that it is really interesting and blah blah blah, however the book is tedious with loong explanations or over done paragraphs. i enjoyed the idea of the book and such but all was lost once i began reading on past the first half or so. There is this huge build up of Pilgrim and the truth, but nothing is explained and nothing is given a real conclusion. [Spoilers]............. I liked the idea of Pilgrim going missing and its up to the reader to decide if or if not he was able to die, BUT aside from that i was left with a lot of questions, annoying the shit out of me. Such as: why the hell was that dude in the end so loyal to Pilgrim? and many more. This to me [the book] had such promise and i was excited to see where it was going but it went to shit and i felt cheated. There are some good things about the book but i am still (after three months) to angry about the not so good things to talk about them [the good points]
could have been better but wasn't. R.I.P my time and R.I.P a book that could have been so great

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very unenthused by this novel— I finished it mostly because I don’t like to stop reading books. Pilgrim is centered on the eponymous character’s desire to die (spoiled by his immortality) and around Carl Jung’s struggles to help him while the psychoanalyst experiences the deterioration of his own personal life. Perhaps I would’ve enjoyed this book more if I had deeper knowledge of Jungian psychology or if I could understand what other books Findley was in conversation with but as it stands, I was unenthused by the characters and by the plot, and particularly by the ways in which every single female character was defined by their relationship to a man (I.e. Emma Jung, Sybil Quartermaine, some of the historical characters).

[Lowed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prose was superb! Pacing was kind of okay. And characterization?>- I could not believe he pulled this through with ease.

This is one book to feast on! You won't be disappointed!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this book a lot especially the pilgrim and sybil characters and scenes in the hospital, other parts were less compelling so I couldn't give it four stars. Jung and his married life and stream of consciousness took away from the core story as opposed to augmented.

[Kelly Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This historical fiction book made me question all the history I thought I already knew. What is real? What is being fictionalized? What do we really know about Leonardo DaVinci? Was he a brilliant artist/scientist? Was he a lunatic? Was he all of these?

[E.M. Williams]

Pilgrim is one of those books where the premise sounds awesome but it's the biggest slog fest to finish because it's in the running for the most depressing thing you ever read.

Books like this are why I largely gave up on literary fiction in the early 2000s.