50 pages • 1 hour read
Annie DillardTeaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1982A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Before You Read
Super Short Summary
Teaching a Stone to Talk by Annie Dillard is a collection of 14 essays exploring themes of nature, God, time, and memory through diverse encounters and reflections. Each essay presents distinct experiences, from viewing a solar eclipse and attending Catholic mass, to encountering wildlife and exploring the Galápagos. Dillard uses these narratives to investigate humanity's often complex relationship with the natural world and the divine. This book includes themes of suffering and death.
Reviews & Readership
Review Roundup
Teaching a Stone to Talk by Annie Dillard receives acclaim for its poetic and vivid prose, capturing the beauty and mystery of the natural world. Readers appreciate Dillard's contemplative, introspective style, although some find her reflections occasionally dense or esoteric. Overall, it is praised for its intellectual depth and lyrical quality.
Who Should Read Teaching a Stone to Talk?
A reader who enjoys Teaching a Stone to Talk by Annie Dillard likely appreciates deeply introspective, nature-centric meditations. Fans of Henry David Thoreau’s Walden or Mary Oliver’s poetry will find Dillard’s blend of spirituality and the natural world compelling and thought-provoking.