Book Choice Submission

Title: The Pilgrim
Author: Timothy Findley
Publication Date: Harper Flamingo in Canada 1999
Number of Pages: 534
 
 
            I chose this book because both Ms. Breivik and the librarian told me that I would enjoy this book, after reading a few reviews on it I as well thought it would be something I would enjoy reading. I was also drawn towards this book because the idea of someone being unable to die fascinates me. Several people have read it so I would be able to get help from them if I don’t understand it at certain parts. 
 
            So far I have enjoyed the book, I have only read the first 25 pages but in those pages a lot of interesting literary techniques have been used. I love the metaphors and similes that create such a vivid imagery. I also like how the book is so far easy to follow and I find the idea of the story very interesting.
 
            So far in this novel we have met many interesting characters such as; Pilgrim, Forster – Pilgrims personal butler, Dora Henkel – Nurse, Kessler – Orderly, Doctor Greene, Doctor Furtwangler, Lady Quartermaine along with several others. The book starts off with Lady Quartermaine and Pilgrim arriving at the Burgholzli Psychiatric Clinic in Zurich. Then there is a sudden flash back to Cheyne Walk at 8:45 a.m. This is the place where Pilgrim attempted suicide. All his vital signs were gone; he wasn’t breathing and had no heart beat. However after several hours of supposed ‘death’ Pilgrim suddenly starts to show signs of life and then regains consciousness. This was not the first time this has happened to Pilgrim, by all outward appearances, he was unable to die. The mood so far in this book is very dark and mysterious. We are left wondering if Pilgrim can truly not die, “as if there were a force in side him that refused to die, no matter what opportunities Pilgrim offered.” Doctor Greene Page 10.

            I have noticed the theme of Peril. All the patients including Pilgrim are locked in a psychiatric ward. They are all being put into the mind set that there is something wrong with them and that they need help. This creates the theme of peril because in some cases it only brings them further down rather then helping them. I also noticed the theme of sympathy. I noticed this in Lady Quartermaine more then others because she is incredibly sympathetic towards Pilgrim and all the other Patients at the Clinic. The reason she is so sympathetic and feels so responsible for Pilgrim is because she had a brother just like him. He too committed suicide and in light of Mister Pilgrim’s attempt she feels responsible. “He committed suicide and now, with Mister Pilgrim’s attempt, it seems that Symes had come back to haunt me.” Lady Quartermaine Page 16. 

I have found 4 secondary sources so far. They are criticism reviews and book reviews. These are in a sense all very straight forward but when you start to compare them to each other they can become very confusing because even though it is the same book there are completely different reviews on it. The fact that Secondary Sources can be completely different form one another shows that they are based on the persons opinion and that everyone can have their own view on the book.

            One line in this book that captured my interest is “Dead, as he said to Greene, as any man can be. Having said so, he added his signature to the death certificate. One half-hour later, Pilgrim’s heart began to beat – and shortly thereafter, he started to breathe again.” Page 11.  The reason this line caught my interest is because it goes against everything we know. If a man goes without oxygen for as long as Pilgrim did his brain would die, and there would be no possible way of survival. It speaks to me because if it is possible for Pilgrim to survive through something like that then why couldn’t we? Why can others die so easily and he can not? What makes him so special? I am baffled that someone who has tried to kill himself so many times and can not die can be categorized as ‘insane’ just because people refuse to believe that it’s possible. Miracles occur all around us every day, and maybe Pilgrim is just another miracle.