I HATED this book. If zeros stars was an option I'd have given that...My first complaint is my own fault, I did not know this was a collection of short stories (I thought I had taken eat pray love but grabbed this by accident). So when the first storyboard over it was abrupt and I figured we'd go back. By the third story I had a hard time trying to figure how all these people linked to get and that's when I read the book jacket....But for a collection of short stories, these were all unfinished....

I adore Liz Gilbert, yet I do not list Eat Pray Love as one of my favorite books. Gilbert's fiction is much different than one might expect. She immerses herself in the subject, and in creating an authentic story. What we have here is a collection of such stories, which I like even better than her long fiction. Stories set on a Wyoming ranch have short bursts of dialogue you would expect in that real life situation, those about families are more complicated. All of these stories are honeyed to n...

I don't know if I've ever given a collection of short fiction 5/5 stars, and I don't think I ever will; it's too hit-or-miss for that (regardless of the author). My favorite stories here were 'Pilgrims' and 'The Famous Torn and Restored Cigarette Trick.' 'Elk Talk,' which was the story I was most excited for - and the reason I bought the book - turned out to be something other than what I'd expected.

i loved eat pray love and my mom recommended this earlier book of gilbert's short stories. it's fascinating to see her voice in a fictional setting, and the stories are very diverse and each one leaves you thinking.

Masterfully written short stories. How can I become so invested in the characters by the end of the first paragraph?

I liked some stories more than others. The last one made me cry. All of them were very visual to me however and i could imagine the characters vividly. I tend not to like short stories as much as novels but had to read this as it was Liz.

I picked this up because I'm a huge fan of Gilbert's work - I was first introduced to her through Eat Pray Love, then sought out Committed and The Signature of All Things. Big Magic blew on the flame of my creative life, and her Magic Lessons podcast makes me more hopeful about life than just about anything. I've followed her on social media for years, too, and have taken to heart much of her advice. And of course City of Girls was a marvel.All that to say: I was predisposed to like this book. A...

Unique, tough and real characters populate this rather quirky book of stories that all seem to fairly vibrate and hum with a rich and powerful sense of place. She captures beautifully the innocence and tenderness possible from a clueless 15-year-old boy as deftly as the defensive irascibility of a Montana woman who receives a visit from unexpected neighbors while her husband is away. I was repeatedly struck by the economy of her prose, something I aspire to but rarely achieve in my own. Will pro...

This is a phenomenal book. Short stories can be a difficult sell, and knowing that this author became famous for "Eat, Love, Pray" I was admittedly a bit skeptical of her creative ability since that book was pegged as more of a "self-help."(Note: my sister Michelle highly sings the praises of "Eat, Love, Pray." I am not putting it down, I just didn't have much confidence in a person to successfully tackle both styles of writing.)However, the author did it. And she did it well. She has a deep dar...

I absolutely love Gilbert's quirky, off beat characters and often felt left wanting for more in this collection of short stories. I don't read a lot of short fiction (something I should rectify) probably for exactly that reason - too much is left unsaid or resolved for me. However I am glad I picked this up. Her characters show just how complicated, multi layered and even duplicitous human beings can be and her tough yet vulnerable army of pilgrims leaves you contemplating your own.

Elizabeth Gilbert's Pilgrims (first published in 1997) has come in for a fair bit of criticism on Goodreads -- mainly, I think, because it is so different from her humongous bestseller Eat, Pray, Love. I get the impression many readers go into this collection of short stories expecting it to be a re-tread of themes discussed in Eat, Pray, Love, only to be fiercely disappointed and unforgiving when they find out it isn't. It's a pity many readers can't judge the book on its own merits, for Pilgri...

Gilbert calls her collection of stories Pilgrims and opens with the Prologue from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. There's an important problem with that parallel. The stories told by Chaucer's pilgrims are primarily plot-driven with simple archetypal characters and solid endings. (The tub falls through the roof! The murderers are murdered! The couple lives happily ever after!) In contrast, Gilbert's stories have unique and well-drawn characters... and NO ENDINGS. Almost all of them just drift along

I LOVE Eat pray love. I haven't finished it yet, but it's like that great dessert you have to savor..But this was truly the worst collection of short stories I have ever read. The book had a morbid, dark, depressing pall, no point to the stories, and really, I don't know what in the world she was getting at when she wrote them.Read it if you dare, but I almost didn't finish it. Felt like a huge waste of time (in my opinion, of course, which doesn't really match the other reviews on here for this...

I actually only read half of this, but because it's a book of short stories I feel I can comment on the quality of the book not having finished it. After all, I read 4 or 5 finished products and not 40-50% of a product. That makes sense, right? Anyway, I only bought the book to give to my Mom because she loved Eat, Pray, Love so much. But then I didn't see her for like five days so I had it in my bag all that time and I just read it because it was there. So the verdict is: She writes pretty good...

I’ve only read Gilbert’s novels, memoir and non-fiction, and was curious to get to know her writing through her short stories. Her creative side bursts through, and the endings? Well, only a writer could come up with twisty conclusions like she did.