Life of Pi | Yann Martel | Adventure and Self-Discovery All in One

Life of Pi | Yann Martel | Great Read

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Life of Pi

	Life of Pi Yann Martel Harvest Books, 2003 - 336 pages average customer review:based on 1842 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Adventure and Self-Discovery All in One

Imagine losing your entire family to a freak-boat accident - mother, father and brother - only to find yourself stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a 450 lb. Bengal tiger and the bare essentials to survive. Piscine Molitor Patel faced this reality when he and his family set out to Canada with many of the animals that his father, a zookeeper, cared for in a family-run zoo in India. Life of Pi by Yann Martel plunges the reader into a seafaring story of adventure, survival, and most of all, self discovery as Pi Patel searches for not only a way to co-exist with Richard Parker, but also the intimidating thought of the meaning of life.

Yann Martel does an extraordinary job of placing the readers of all ages into the shoes of Pi Patel, a 16 year old boy, in his adventure and search for answers, especially in religious terms; at times, Pi even begs the readers to formulate his/her own answers, asking them: "What kind of god is that? What is there to inspire in this son?" (56). Aside from the religious focus in this novel, there exists a very unique story of survival and coexistence with Richard Parker ad his own "Ark" of animals. The awe-inspiring and detailed imagery Martel employs during Pi's own rendition of "Cast Away" (Tom Hanks) is yet another piece of evidence that proves this novel's award as Winner of the Man Booker Prize.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in both adventure/survival novels as well as religious-themed novels. Yann Martel will have readers of all ages eager to turn page after page from start to finish and still wanting more.

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Great Read

The book starts out kinda slow and boring but once you hit Part II it quickly becomes very interesting. The part about the man-eating island was one of my favorites.

A great read. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes a good adventure story.

reality and fiction

What holds up in this book, and allows it to rise above the simple "gotcha!" at its conclusion, is that at its heart it concerns the interwoven relationship between fiction and reality. It is about how fiction (in broad terms, a "lie") can become one's salvation from reality. And doesn't that spark some interesting commentary on religion?? A wonderful fable, made better by its refusal to become too pedantic.

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It's a wonderful life...of Pi

The Life of Pi is a most unusual coming-of-age story that begins with our hero and narrator, Pi Patel, recounting his discovery and acceptance of both Christianity and Islam....on top of the Hindu faith of his family!

In Part Two, entitled "The Pacific Ocean", Martel almost sadistically strips his character of all but the basic necessities of life and has him share a lifeboat with an adult Bengal tiger. This amazing odyssey tugs at our sense of incredulity, yet Martel offers enough morsels of verisimilitude to suspend disbelief.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, page 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

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