Pilgrim at Tinker Creek - Annie Dillard

Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is very different from any other book we have read this year. Rather than having a clear plot, Pilgrim is comprised of thoughts and reflections from the unnamed protagonist and because of this, categorizing the book into a genre is very difficult. When looking for books, either in a store or even online, most people tend to browse by genre. So what is the discourse community for Pilgrim at Tinker Creek? The book seems to be for nature lovers, but wouldn't the intended audience be outside, observing the world, instead of reading? My guess is that Pilgrim at Tinker Creek was mainly written for herself; Dillard had these thoughts, and wanted to organize and compile them by writing. Due to the lack of a genre, this book likely received little public attention until it won the Pulitzer Prize.

The narrator's thoughts seem jumbled at times, occasionally skipping seasons. Yet, each chapter serves to convey an overall message, idea, or even a specific feeling of the narrator. Although some of the reflections are boring, the chapter on sight really stuck with me. Even if we have our eyes open, how much of life do we really see, and how much do we merely glance or skim over? The surroundings are blurred, rather than in focus. People often are so concentrated on the task at hand that they miss natural phenomenons going on only a few feet away.