Pilgrim at Tinker CreekPilgrim at Tinker Creek
Score Classic
What it's about
Annie Dillard spent a year living by Tinker Creek, in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, and paying very close attention to what she saw: muskrats, praying mantises, moths, frogs, the seasons and the light. She writes about the beauty of the natural world and its cruelty, and about what it reveals about God and the meaning of being alive. One of its most famous passages describes a frog being drained by a giant water bug.
Why it's worth reading
It won the Pulitzer Prize when Dillard was twenty-nine, and is on the Modern Library's list of the best nonfiction ever written. It's one of the great works of American nature writing.
You'll love it if you liked
The Lives of a Cell
The Snow Leopard
The OverstoryGood to know
There's no plot. It's meditative and best read slowly, a chapter at a time.
By the numbers
- Readers58 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics86 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller15 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #32 of the 119 science and ideas books we rank
- #97 of the 290 memoirs and biographies we rank
- #165 of the 762 classics we rank
- #515 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Thought-provoking, True story
If you like this, read next
A Grief Observed
A Man Called Peter
The Varieties of Religious Experience
A Canticle for Leibowitz
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
The Egg and IExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Memoirs and biographiesTop 25 · 290 ranked
Science and ideas booksTop 25 · 119 ranked
Classic booksTop 25 · 762 ranked
Books of the 1970sTop 25 · 131 ranked
Fantasy booksTop 25 · 459 ranked
Mysteries and thrillersTop 25 · 555 ranked
Literary novelsTop 25 · 309 ranked
Science fiction booksTop 25 · 313 rankedQuick answers
Is Pilgrim at Tinker Creek worth reading?
Yes. It won the Pulitzer Prize when Dillard was twenty-nine, and is on the Modern Library's list of the best nonfiction ever written. It ranks #515 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 78.2 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Pilgrim at Tinker Creek about?
Annie Dillard spent a year living by Tinker Creek, in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, and paying very close attention to what she saw: muskrats, praying mantises, moths, frogs, the seasons and the light. She writes about the beauty of the natural world and its cruelty, and about what it reveals about God and the meaning of being alive. One of its most famous passages describes a frog being drained by a giant water bug.
How long does it take to read Pilgrim at Tinker Creek?
About 7 hours (271 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has Pilgrim at Tinker Creek won?
Pulitzer Prize (General Nonfiction) winner (1975).
What should I read after Pilgrim at Tinker Creek?
If you liked it, try The Lives of a Cell by Lewis Thomas, The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen or The Overstory by Richard Powers.