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Life of Pi (Hardcover)

by Yann Martel (Author), Tomislav Torjanac (Illustrator)
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Harcourt; Ill edition (Oct 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0151013837
  • ISBN-13: 978-0151013838
  • Product Dimensions: 24.6 x 19.4 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,444,610 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Life is Beautiful, 18 Oct 2007
By Bentley (USA and England) - See all my reviews
"The Life of Pi" by Yann Martel was the Man Booker Prize winner in 2002. It is a story of Piscine Molitor Patel, son of the local zookeeper, who resides in Pondicherry, India in the late 1970s. The reader wonders right off the bat how his parents could come up with such an unusual name. The narrator, Piscine reveals that he was named after a swimming pool in Paris; this name led to much ridicule in school because his name was always mistakenly mispronounced Piss Ing!

It was tough on Piscine and he was relieved when a new nickname of sorts (Pi) caught on in school; yes...it has something to do with 3.14! The novel is so imaginative that it is no wonder that it has hooked readers around the world since it was published in 2002.

As much as Pi is one of the major characters; a 450 pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker shares the spotlight and the honors as one of the most interesting animal characters in literature. How Pi finds himself fighting for survival at sea on a lifeboat with Richard Parker, a hyena, an orangutan and a wounded zebra is one of the most imaginative journeys of survival that I have read.

Martel has written that the idea for his novel came from a book review that John Updike did of a novel titled "Max and the Cats' which was not well received. The author was intrigued with India, its animals and religion and all three are woven into the fabric of the novel. Martel purposely chose an animal local to India for the selection of Richard Parker; the Royal Bengal Tiger and the author visited India multiple times interviewing local Indian zoo keepers.

There is much humor in the novel including the segments dealing with Pi's birth name, how Pi found religion (in fact three religions all at once) as well as the origin of Richard Parker's name. Some readers may find that the book seems very religious to them and in fact Pi is very religious; he joins three (3) religions at the same time (Hindu, Christian, Muslem) and there is a very funny scene at the zoo where the three (3) various heads of the local churches converge on Pi's parents to tell them how devout their boy is.

The narrator, Pi, reveals much concerning his spirituality as he discusses life, death, love, fear, despair and hope. As this bright and resourceful 16 year old Indian boy digs down and finds enough grit to survive at sea for over 200+ days, the reader is rooting for him and for Richard Parker the entire time. There are many shocking elements of survival which are described for the reader which may upset some; but the horrible event of the sinking of the Japanese cargo ship carrying his family to Canada and many of the animals overshadows anything that Pi had to do to survive at sea.

There are many beautiful and thought provoking lines in the novel which deal with the many facets of life, the broad spectrum and rainbow of human emotions, and death itself; but one that moved me was when Pi reflected, "Life is so beautiful that death has fallen in love with it, a jealous, possessive love that grabs at what it can." The emotional power of love is what gets Pi through his ordeal.

To tell you more would spoil the imaginative journey that the reader will have traveling with Pi and his small ark on his path of survival and growth. It may take the reader a while to get into the novel at first; but once on the lifeboat...it is a heck of a ride.

Very worthwhile read.

Bentley/2007
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