Life of Pi, Illustrated and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more

Buy Used
Used - Good See details
Price: £2.76

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Colour:
Image not available

 
Start reading Life of Pi, Illustrated on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Life of Pi [Hardcover]

Yann Martel
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3,204 customer reviews)

Available from these sellers.


Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more.

Book Description

9 May 2002
Yann Martel's Life of Pi is a transformative novel, an astonishing work of imagination that will delight and stun readers in equal measure. It is a triumph of storytelling and a tale that will, as one character puts it, make you believe in God. After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wide, wild Pacific. The crew of the surviving vessel consists of a hyena, one zebra (with broken leg), an orang-utan, a 450-pound Royal Bengal Tiger named Richard Parker and Pi - a 16-year-old Indian boy. As the 'crew' begin to assert their natural places in the food chain, Pi's fear mounts, and he must use all his wit and daring to develop an understanding with Richard the tiger. Life of Pi takes the reader on an extraordinary journey - geographical, spiritual and emotional. A rare thing, here is a novel that will change your view of the world.

Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • Join Amazon Family before 26 May 2013 and you'll be automatically entered into a prize draw to win one of 10 Motorola Blink Baby Monitors. Find out more.


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought


Product details

  • Hardcover: 319 pages
  • Publisher: Canongate Books, Edinburgh; First Edition 7th Impression edition (9 May 2002)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1841952451
  • ISBN-13: 978-1841952451
  • Product Dimensions: 21.8 x 14 x 4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3,204 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 208,459 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Product Description

Amazon Review

Some books defy categorisation: Life of Pi, the second novel from Canadian writer Yann Martel, is a case in point: just about the only thing you can say for certain about it is that it is fiercely and admirably unique. The plot, if that’s the right word, concerns the oceanic wanderings of a lost boy, the young and eager Piscine Patel of the title (Pi). After a colourful and loving upbringing in gorgeously-hued India, the Muslim-Christian-animistic Pi sets off for a fresh start in Canada. His blissful voyage is rudely interrupted when his boat is scuppered halfway across the Pacific, and he is forced to rough it in a lifeboat with a hyena, a monkey, a whingeing zebra and a tiger called Richard. That would be bad enough, but from here on things get weirder: the animals start slaughtering each other in a veritable frenzy of allegorical bloodlust, until Richard the tiger and Pi are left alone to wander the wastes of ocean, with plenty of time to ponder their fate, the cruelty of the gods, the best way to handle storms and the various different recipes for oothappam, scrapple and coconut yam kootu. The denouement is pleasantly neat. According to the blurb, thirtysomething Yann Martel spent long years in Alaska, India, Mexico, France, Costa Rica, Turkey and Iran, before settling in Canada. All those cultures and more have been poured into this spicy, vivacious, kinetic and very entertaining fiction. --Sean Thomas

Review

Absurd, macabre, deeply sensual- suggests Conrad and Rushdie hallucinating together over the meaning of The Old Man and the Sea and Gulliver's Travels. -- Financial Times, May 2002

Life of Pi is a great adventure story, the sort that comes along rarely. It is also rich in metaphysics, beautifully written, moving and funny. -- Scotland on Sunday, May 2002, reviewed by Michel Faber

So magical, so playful, so harrowing and astonishing... Every page offers something of tension, humanity, surprise, or even ecstasy. -- The Times, May 2002

This enormously lovable novel is suffused with wonder. It[probes] the imaginative realm with scientific exactitude, twisting reality to 'bring out its essence'. -- Guardian, 25 May, 2002

Yann Martel’s third work of fiction, Life of Pi, is a terrific book. It's fresh, original, smart, devious, and crammed with absorbing lore. -- Sunday Times, May 2002, reviewed by Margaret Atwood

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
Search inside this book:

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
188 of 206 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute delight 11 April 2004
By Anthony Lynas VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
Life of Pi was, for me, a delight throughout. The first portion of the book seems to have garnered criticism in some corners but I found it to be a gentle and drily witty look at the way the world works. It provides the grounding for what follows, including the religious journey the book takes. Bearing in mind that I'm atheistic, I didn't feel like I was being preached to at any point in time. What's important here is that Yann Martel doesn't ram anything down the reader's throats. Pi relates all the events that occur to zoology and / or religion but the reader is always allowed to make their own judgement as well.

The story really picks up post-shipwreck and has some lovely twists and turns along the way. It's a paean to the survival instincts of the human spirit told through a series of increasingly bizarre and imaginative anecdotes. Wonderfully, everything is thrown askew at the end with a marvellous plot twist that leaves the reader considering the book long after they have finished it.

I read through Life of Pi in a little over two days; it was both enthralling and captivating and is that rare thing in modern art and literature - a positive and hopeful comment on the nature of the human being.

Was this review helpful to you?
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Life of Pi 17 Jan 2013
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I found it a bit hard going to start with,but now I have got into the story on the lifeboat I am thoroughly enjoying it. Still have half a book to read.Recommended it to a colleage at work.You cant lose at the princely sum of 20p for the download.Give it a try.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, it must become a modern classic! 13 July 2009
Format:Paperback
Yann Martel's 'Life of Pi' will surely go down as a modern classic work of literature. His writing style is sharp and gripping, yet very thought provoking as well. The moments of hilarious wit are equally balanced by a very clever and well thought out narrative describing and explaining the thoughts and events concerning the central character - Pi Patel. I was not particularly inspired to read this book at first after reading the back, but after a little encouragement from a family member who bought it for me, I can say I thoroughly recommend it.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?   Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Life of Pi
Love the film, really enjoy the soundtrack from the film so I have purchased the book. Not quite finished but very enjoyable so far.
Published 1 hour ago by Helen Mary Anderson
3.0 out of 5 stars Prefer the film
Found the book was really long winded. Although this night be because I read it after I watched the film. Saying that I did enjoy the book.
Published 5 hours ago by Leigh
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Pi
I cannot recall having ever read such a truly fascinating story. I just could not put it down what an amazing young man.
Published 14 hours ago by Bettine
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!
Love this book and I've been meaning to read it for such a long time. Yann Martel is a great storyteller!
Published 1 day ago by Ms Geraldine Ann Ford
5.0 out of 5 stars Diffrent
Not what i was expecting a really great film one to keep and put in my best 100 films as for the 3D really came alive.
Published 1 day ago by jon othen
4.0 out of 5 stars Epic read
Reading this book was difficult in places. Yet very interesting and compelling reading. Leaves you questioning what the true story was.
Published 1 day ago by Mr Sweets
4.0 out of 5 stars a great read
A bit slow to start with but then thoroughly enjoyed it. I have seen the film but reading the book was better.
Published 1 day ago by Sue Green
1.0 out of 5 stars Problems downloadibg
I bought this to play on Netflix but when I found it took over two hours to download I wasn`t amused and as yet I have not been able to watch it. Read more
Published 1 day ago by sandra
4.0 out of 5 stars Life of Pi
It was different and informative. I didn't like the gory bits and I would have liked more story after Pi's rescue
Published 1 day ago by willowgap
2.0 out of 5 stars It's ok
I hate to say it but I found the book hard to read. The first 100 pages were a bit boring to me but it does warm up and get more interesting.
Published 1 day ago by shirley stanley
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
Books which match, beat The Life of Pi? 13 10 Apr 2012
See all discussions...  
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Discussion Replies Latest Post
Book for a cool 13 year old boy that doesn't like spy, wizard or old fashioned books - Help 31 3 hours ago
I'm being annoyed by my inability to remember a book I read 25 years ago! 5 14 hours ago
Help: Anyone know what this book (read in the 1970s) was called? 7 17 hours ago
Suitable books for a 13 year old girl 22 1 day ago
searching for children's book from the 1970s-1980s 58 1 day ago
YA action-adventure - reviewers wanted 2 1 day ago
Books for a nine year girl old with an older reading age....without snogging and too much boy stuff 213 2 days ago
Paleobotany for children ? Even a really good botany book? 4 2 days ago
Search Customer Discussions
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback