"Pilgrim" by Timothy Findley

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.