Life of Pi A Novel

If you read often or browse the bookstores you find that there seem to be a limited number of plot designs and a finite number of characters. The names and cities change but the stories all sort of blend together. There are some authors who are more skilled at word flow than others and seem more comfortable with their style but a similarity exists that makes reading even the best volumes...more

If you read often or browse the bookstores you find that there seem to be a limited number of plot designs and a finite number of characters. The names and cities change but the stories all sort of blend together. There are some authors who are more skilled at word flow than others and seem more comfortable with their style but a similarity exists that makes reading even the best volumes mundane.Then you get the joyful opportunity to discover a book like Martel's Life of Pi. This is a story like no other. There is a plot unique, thought provoking and inspiring; a main character who presents a persona so important and so basic to life and an author who writes with such ease and comfort that you think he is speaking with you in your living room over coffee.Main character Piscine [Pi] is stranded in a life raft with a tiger after a ship wreck. Don't let the seeming trviality of this brief plot review dissuade you. Only an author with the imagination and genius of Martel could make this work. It works so very well. Read this book with an open mind as Martel details his suffering, his thoughts, his feelings, his emotional drain and most importantly his relationship with the tiger. Try hard to understand what Mr. Martel is really talking about and dare to think about how you would react to the situations presented after 200 days at sea in a 26 foot raft.For every 20 books I read I pray one will be like this. It is one of the few books I have ever read that I think I could read again.   hide

In this novel where the author states the reader will be made to believe in God, I was more convinced the work leads the reader to believe God cannot exist without either the presence of animals, or without the recognition of an inborn "wild nature" in humans. As a story of survival against all odds, the 16 year old hero, Pi Patel practices a mixture of Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. This...more

In this novel where the author states the reader will be made to believe in God, I was more convinced the work leads the reader to believe God cannot exist without either the presence of animals, or without the recognition of an inborn "wild nature" in humans. As a story of survival against all odds, the 16 year old hero, Pi Patel practices a mixture of Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. This unorthodox combination of religious views condemn him to an inward solitude in his native India which eventually help to strengthen his resolve while he endures as a castaway on the lonely Pacific. Despite the absence of other humans, Pi continues on thru all the obvious miseries because of the natrual sphere about him. It is this daily reminder of living among wildlife and simply living a "wild" life which eventually brings Pi to be rescued. During his odyssey, Pi's battle to retain his life and humanity nearly dehumanises him, but his faith and his companion Richard Parker (an adult Bengal Tiger) not only keep his spirits up, but also become the catalysts for his survival (completed read 3/09/2010).   hide

A Great book with multiple interpretations..The book makes for an easy read but I guess the author intentionally ended it with a twist and left the key takeaway at the hands of the reader. Towards the end, the author offers such a horrifying second storyline(which I know is the real one) but its too horrifying so I will stick with the first story. The idea of simultaneously practicisng 3...more

A Great book with multiple interpretations..The book makes for an easy read but I guess the author intentionally ended it with a twist and left the key takeaway at the hands of the reader. Towards the end, the author offers such a horrifying second storyline(which I know is the real one) but its too horrifying so I will stick with the first story. The idea of simultaneously practicisng 3 religions was something which gets one thinking...Yann martel does a beautiful job with his description & words(rather lengthy at times) and brings the book to life. Its a gripping story and once you have started it, its hard to put the book down. Fear and our survival instincts bring out the worst and the best in us humans and this has been very well captured...I also think that the reason why Pi abondoned the perfect island is because life is lived only when there is a healthy dose of challenge and fear in it...I'm not however sure if this is the point the author wanted to drive in. I highly recommend this book and wont mind reading it the second time   hide

When I first finished this, my primary reaction was "I'm really not sure what I think about that. I *think* I liked it." I mean, it was beautifully written, a wonderfully intriguing premise, a suspenseful story (even if you know the ultimate outcome from the get-go), and yet... something bothered me. Or rather, a few things did. First, most easily, is that the...more

When I first finished this, my primary reaction was "I'm really not sure what I think about that. I *think* I liked it." I mean, it was beautifully written, a wonderfully intriguing premise, a suspenseful story (even if you know the ultimate outcome from the get-go), and yet... something bothered me. Or rather, a few things did. First, most easily, is that the author's message, as I interpret it (and with the "Reader's Guide" in the back informing me that Martel thinks a certain set of short chapters are central to the book's message, I don't think I'm wrong) is one that I completely and totally disagree with, and I feel it made a bad case for it. Second was just how incredibly *smug* he was about that message. He out-and-out states in the introduction that this is a story to make you believe in God. Now, if he were actually relating a true story from the person it happened to then, maybe, sure. It probably wouldn't sway me to that side, but I'd be willing to accept the statement from the author. But for the person who created the fictional story to say that? Well, that's just plain arrogant. Third, we don't see Pi's faith being tested. I mean, horrendous things happen to him (no matter how you interpret the ending), so terrible that it would test the faith of even the most religious. But Pi? He goes in with intense and fervent belief that never seems to waver, no matter how bad things get, and comes out of it with as strong a belief as ever. That may be a good saint story, I suppose, like Job perhaps, but it doesn't make for a terribly interesting character arc. So, on the whole, I was disappointed after all the hype and buildup I've heard about this book.   hide

This book has me totally confounded. Upon finishing it, I came to the conclusion that the concept of religion - portrayed by Pi - was really just what I had always thought it was: a library of different sets of writings to choose from in order to suit your own needs. Fictional tales that indeed, offer hope and inspiration to many but ultimately, are just stories reiterating the same...more

This book has me totally confounded. Upon finishing it, I came to the conclusion that the concept of religion - portrayed by Pi - was really just what I had always thought it was: a library of different sets of writings to choose from in order to suit your own needs. Fictional tales that indeed, offer hope and inspiration to many but ultimately, are just stories reiterating the same things over and over. Help thy neighbour. Don't eat this or that. Love infinitely. Treat everything as though it were sacred. Etc..., Different religions are really just different shades of the same hue, are they not? But here's the puzzler - Was Pi's tale a metaphor? I'm willing to conceive the possibility that it was, but in this case than why didn't the two Japanese associates believe in his first story which was first presented to the readers as well? Should we as readers be concerned by the miracles presented through Pi's survival being seen as nothing more than ridiculously imaginative by the two questioning adult men? Is there no room for the otherwordly and farfetched anymore and if so, how do people still believe in religion at all? Or perhaps I should be concerned by the fact that I found Pi's Bengal tiger version more enjoyable and more willing to believe in than the second nitty gritty tale. Why all the descriptions on the taming of the tiger and the mastery of the tiger when the real thing scaring the shit out of Pi was this dirty human-eating Frenchman? And don't give me a, "he was mastering his own inner demons after succumbing to his carnivorous nature and pehaps turning a wee bit cannibalistic himself" cop-out answer. Nah, there's something in the theme of this book that screams 'control, endurance, innovation,' not '16-year-old Indian boy turns Zoo fanatic after holding his mother's severed head in his hands'. I think Pi was just trying to find the Japanese men's 'shtick'. This animal-loving, multitheistic boy realized the men weren't going to empathize with or even believe a story involving a boatload of animals. So he decided to pull the heartstrings and the play the 'woe is me, gimme empathy' card. Just as some people may not find the Gift of Mohammed all too alluring, perhaps the story of Christ's Beautitudes could turn them to believe. Because that's what faith in anything - be it God, Pi's tale or digging a vertical hole to China - really begins with, doesn't it? Belief. But then if we look at it this way it really doesn't matter which story of Pi's was true now does it? It's all a matter of believing that one happened and this was what he learned from it (insert subjective moral here). Frustratingly flexible, innit? ;) All in all, a good book - made me want to eat a fair amount of East Indian food, really need to read it three or four more times to fully "get it." I give it 3 and a 1/2.   hide

***SPOILER ALERT***This novel has two big focuses that it attempts to bring together - religion and the natural world. The story begins in India where Pi, a young boy, decides to devote himself to Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. His family owns a zoo which theory decide to sell and move to America. On the voyage their ship sinks with only one lifeboat full of survivors. On the lifeboat are...more

***SPOILER ALERT***This novel has two big focuses that it attempts to bring together - religion and the natural world. The story begins in India where Pi, a young boy, decides to devote himself to Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. His family owns a zoo which theory decide to sell and move to America. On the voyage their ship sinks with only one lifeboat full of survivors. On the lifeboat are Pi, a gorilla, a zebra, a hyena and a Tiger. Their struggle for survival on the boat over the next 9 months on the pacific is one of the most captivating stories I have ever read. When I first heard the concept of the novel I was a little dismissive but I found it very engrossing. In the end the struggle comes down to Pi and the Tiger. The two have a symbiotic relationship not unlike the relationship between God and man. After his rescue Pi gives a couple of versions of the ordeal so it is unclear if there were animals or other people on the boat with him. The seemingly contradictory ability of Pi to be able to embrace these three religions speaks to my personal belief system and that each of us has their own approach to spirituality and that there are no definites and so many unanswered questions. As I mentioned previously as good as the ideas and the symbolism are in the novel there are for surpassed by the quality of the plot - the survival story. This book worked for me at least a couple of levels.   hide

Life Of Pi is quite a well-writen book, the way the writer write sometimes brings me to laughter. This story is about a boy, Piscine, known to all as Pi. His father was a zoo owner in India, everything seemed fine until they decided to leave India for Canada. They were on a boat when, the storm came and brought everything into the deap sea. Pi miraciously survived in a lifeboat, his family...more

Life Of Pi is quite a well-writen book, the way the writer write sometimes brings me to laughter. This story is about a boy, Piscine, known to all as Pi. His father was a zoo owner in India, everything seemed fine until they decided to leave India for Canada. They were on a boat when, the storm came and brought everything into the deap sea. Pi miraciously survived in a lifeboat, his family were all gone, all he was left was a hungry tiger on the boat, and a cruel hyena. After the hungry tiger, Richard Parker, was irritated by the hyena, he fought with it and ate it. Pi was scared at the powerful and demanding tiger at first, he tried everything he could do to get rid of him but failed. Later, he discovered that the best way was to tame it, it took him long before he could manage the tiger. Meanwhile, it was imposible for a person to survive without food and water, under these circumstances, however, Pi overcame the problems by his own hands, he not only got himself enough food and water, but also provide RP, the tiger, sufficient daily supplies. After over 200 days floating on the Pacific Ocean, they finally landed in Brazil and Pi was taken care of by the local people. From this story, I learned that we must not give up when we encounter difficulties, instead, we are to fight with every means to the very end, no, there is no end if you are willing to fight.   hide

An enjoyable little read by Martel, although a little shallow. The main character is colorful and the narration is especially interesting in the first part of the book, which takes place in India. I felt that the narration slowed down to a crawl in some parts of the second part on the lifeboat. You may be confused, as I was, by the physical description of the lifeboat, ie, what the hell is a...more

An enjoyable little read by Martel, although a little shallow. The main character is colorful and the narration is especially interesting in the first part of the book, which takes place in India. I felt that the narration slowed down to a crawl in some parts of the second part on the lifeboat. You may be confused, as I was, by the physical description of the lifeboat, ie, what the hell is a tarpaulin and how could he not see the tiger; there's a diagram of the boat on the Wikipedia article for the book which should help. What interested me most in the introduction of the book is the claim that 'this story will make you believe in God'. Indeed, much of the first part of the book explores Pi's (the main character) relationship to religion. The rest of the book is a letdown in that domain, however. The theme of religion takes a backseat to the story of Pi and the tiger. Religion makes its reappearance in the rather forced last section of the book, when an alternate version of the story of the boy and the tiger is given, and an open question as to the relationship between truth and fiction, true religion and myth is given. I enjoyed reading this second account at first, until the investigator characters spell out IN EXPLICIT DETAIL the exact relationship between the first and the second story leaving all open interpretations and metaphysical speculation dead in their tracks. Look, I'm not an idiot; it seems exquisitely condescending to do all the thinking on part of the reader and spoon feed it to him. What the book could have been is a great philosophical reflection to the relationship between truth and myth; as it is it's just another piece of pop litt. That being said, it's a very enjoyable piece of pop litt; but I'm afraid it could have been a lot more than it is. Too bad.   hide

Why does a book have to be so obnoxious? It had started off rather well though! The way religion is tackled... a way many people (including myself) can relate to... And then came a big question: "Are animals happier in a zoo or free?" Asking the question is fine, having an opinion is great, but trying to (not too subtly) hammer that opinion into the reader's head... no! And that's my main...more

Why does a book have to be so obnoxious? It had started off rather well though! The way religion is tackled... a way many people (including myself) can relate to... And then came a big question: "Are animals happier in a zoo or free?" Asking the question is fine, having an opinion is great, but trying to (not too subtly) hammer that opinion into the reader's head... no! And that's my main problem with this book. It would have had the potential to cleverly make the reader think on quite an amount of various subjects and all of it wrapped in a fable-like atmosphere. If only the writer hadn't tried to -almost desperately- convince us readers that his point of view is THE one! Everything is spelled out for us, no thinking to do left for us! Some authors know how to open the way for you and make you think what they want you to think without you even noticing! Here, I painfully noticed. Thus my calling the book obnoxious. I can see how this book can be liked, loved, adored... But it just didn't make it for me. Once I'd had the feeling that opinions were being forced upon me, I had throughout the book the impression that the "magic" wasn't that light and eerie anymore; that I was going to be taught yet another lesson... And sure enough it did so; and the ending was the final blow, spelling things out for us, hammering in again. You guessed it! I didn't like it. And I'm really sorry I didn't, because I know I could have liked it, had it been written differently...   hide