Critical Reception

From the publishing of the book until now the critical reception has changed in some aspects, but has not drastically changed overall. It seems that when the book was first published it was viewed as a meditative narrative. The imagery was viewed as a critical part because it puts you in the scene of the book, and makes you sense what Annie Dillard is feeling.

The relationship Dillard has with God is also viewed as an important part of her connection with nature. The more modern views of this book add an environmental conservation approach to it, by making the reader more conscious of what nature has to offer. The imagery and relationship Dillard has with nature is what makes the reader feel for her. The role of God is still viewed as a technique to connect with nature. The reliance on complex imagery to portray what nature is hasn’t changed over the past few decades, but the demand for us to preserve it has, and that can be seen in various reviews. 

In 1974 the New York Times wrote about the book being “a form of meditation, written with a headlong urgency, about seeing.” The author of this article felt that vision was the central metaphor for her book. She says there’s a sense of wonder and ambition to the book.

In 1994 Sandra Stahlman wrote about the mysticism of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. She talks about how every detail of the story is told with complex imagery, and many running metaphors. These are used to help clue the reader in on what she’s actually talking about, mystically speaking. Stahlman talks about the way Dillard asks open ended questions such as “why must there be pain and suffering?” She says how the imagery was actually disturbing in parts because it was so detailed. Stahlman thinks Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is “a poignant look at the mystical relationship between God and nature, and an attempt to synthesize the duality between suffering and beauty.”

#In a 2009 review of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, the book was summed up as “an exploration into the nature of Nature, an attempt to discover the true character of the natural world around us. Appropriately, it is neither a rapturous celebration of Nature, nor a grim survey of its various cruelties. Rather, like Nature itself, it is something in between — and something quite beautiful.” It says that the only way to “come away from this book chastened by its presentation of Nature’s mystifying workings.” “After reading Pilgrim, even the most ardent developer would probably be forced to think twice about cutting down an ancient stand of trees to pave the way for another execrable subdivision.” 

 Reviews and Evaluations

"Book Review: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard." By Jordan Jones of Blue Planet Green Living.

    

Mystical Themes of Tinker Creek By Sandra Stahlman.
  
"Meditation on Seeing." By Eudora Welty of the New York Times. 

"The Dialectical Vision of Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek" By Margaret Loewen Reimer.