Life of Pi (Hardcover)

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Amazon.co.uk 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
A solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild blue Pacific. In it are: a hyena, a zebra with a broken leg, a female orang-utan, a Bengal Tiger and Pi - a teenage boy. A triumph of storytelling Life of Pi will make you believe in God.

The premise of this novel is so bold that only an immensely confident and imaginative writer would try to pull it off. A 16-year-old boy is emigrating with his family from India to Canada when their ship sinks and he is cast away on a lifeboat, the sole survivor. Or at least, not quite. Pi's father runs a zoo in India, and when they emigrate, they have to take some of the animals with them so they can be re-housed in a Canadian zoo. Although Pi is the only human survivor of the shipwreck, some of the animals survive: a zebra, an orang-utan, a hyena and a Bengal tiger with the unlikely name of Richard Parker. At least two-thirds of this 300-page book tell the story of Pi's seven-month ordeal on a lifeboat with no human company. For any writer, producing a novel that has very little interaction between human beings, and, for large chunks, no dialogue, is a fairly considerable challenge. Instead, we learn all about Pi and how his strong survival instinct sees him through the ordeal. This involves a combination of practical skills that help him find food and water (although a practising Hindu and vegetarian, he has to eat raw fish), mental cunning that enables him to tame the tiger (the other animals don't last very long); and spiritual strength (he is, oddly, a devotee of Islam and Christianity as well as Hinduism) that gives him the will to live. The amazing thing is that it works. Although the story is utterly implausible, Martel has clearly done huge amounts of research that make it convincing, at least on a literary level. Pi himself is a likeable character - a young boy who is mature enough to devise a sophisticated survival strategy and recount his ordeal with humour. It is, he says, the tiger who saves him. By the end he regards Richard Parker as a friend - but the feeling isn't mutual. 'I still cannot understand how he could abandon me so unceremoniously, without any sort of goodbye, without looking back even once. The pain is like an axe that chops at my heart.' This book is quite an accomplishment. For anyone weary of semi-autobiographical novels, this is one that springs entirely from an author's fertile imagination. (Kirkus UK)

A fable about the consolatory and strengthening powers of religion flounders about somewhere inside this unconventional coming-of-age tale, which was shortlisted for Canada's Governor General's Award. The story is told in retrospect by Piscine Molitor Patel (named for a swimming pool, thereafter fortuitously nicknamed "Pi"), years after he was shipwrecked when his parents, who owned a zoo in India, were attempting to emigrate, with their menagerie, to Canada. During 227 days at sea spent in a lifeboat with a hyena, an orangutan, a zebra, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger (mostly with the latter, which had efficiently slaughtered its fellow beasts), Pi found serenity and courage in his faith: a frequently reiterated amalgam of Muslim, Hindu, and Christian beliefs. The story of his later life, education, and mission rounds out, but does not improve upon, the alternately suspenseful and whimsical account of Pi's ordeal at sea-which offers the best reason for reading this otherwise preachy and somewhat redundant story of his Life. (Kirkus Reviews)

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298 Reviews 5 star:  (177) 4 star:  (59) 3 star:  (29) 2 star:  (18) 1 star:  (15)           Average Customer Review 4.2 out of 5 stars (298 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   19 of 21 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Life Of Pi, 11 April 2005 By  C A Chapman (Tavistock, Devon United Kingdom) - See all my reviews This review is from: Life of Pi (Paperback) I read Yann Martel's "Life Of Pi" in roughly the same amount of time that I would usually take to read any book of a similar length, although most of these books are read in a few days because I had nothing else to do so I did not put them down, "Life Of Pi", on the other hand, I could not put down. This, the second novel from Canadian writer Yann Martel is split into two basic parts, the second of which is the story everyone knows about before they open the book, the story of a boy stranded on a lifeboat with a variety of animals including a large Bengal tiger. The first part however, appears at first to have no relevance to the story; it shapes the existence of Pi before the shipwreck, where he lives in his family's zoo and follows many major religions. This beginning almost made me give up on the book, believing the blurb to be a somewhat sly decoy. This was not true, although not seemingly at first, the beginning is vitally important as it builds the character of Piscine "Pi" Patel and gives the book a great deal more depth. Martel's beautifully crafted writing style, and the stunning use of imagery is apparent. His easy style with short chapters adds flow, making this book an easy read and giving it the feel of a simple struggle-for-life tale of a boy in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. This however, it most certainly is not. Although a light read it is better described as a tale rich with religious insight and also has hidden meanings throughout. The book ends with a fantastic twist that in no way concludes the story. Personally I found this to be a pleasant change from the standard happy, neatly tied-off endings I see far too much of in modern day literature. Instead it leaves the story to continue on through the readers mind in the days and possibly week's worth of deep thoughts it will inevitably evoke. I have yet to meet any two people who agree with the way they interpreted the ending, it has to be said that this is the books main genius. A person can see a whole range of deep meanings in the book, depending on their perception. The novel claims to be a story that will make you believe in God, I suppose this would depend on your perception of the story, but for me personally it did nothing of the sort. It did however, spark off a great deal of thought, and for a story to make an atheist such as myself think long and hard about the fairly strong religious theme to the book is quite an accomplishment. All in all, "Life Of Pi" is a compelling read that certainly has the potential to alter your view on life. I recommend it to readers who enjoy deep thought as a contemporary work of art, and to people who prefer a lighter read as a highly enjoyable adventure story. Yann Martel deservedly won the Booker Prize for this outstanding novel, and I can only hope it becomes as timeless as classics of a similar calibre. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   105 of 128 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Life and How to Live It, 14 Oct 2002 By  John Self "www.theasylum.wordpress.com" (Belfast, NI) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    At the time of writing, Life of Pi is on the shortlist for the Booker Prize, and by the time of you reading this, it has either won (hurrah) or lost (hurroo). Because of the three novels I've read from the shortlist, Life of Pi stands head and shoulders above the others for being entirely original, good-natured, sparky (unlike the sluggish, grounded others), and extremely moreish: it took me only two days to navigate its 320 pages. You can put it down but it's such enjoyable fun why would you want to? The blurb is somewhat misleading, suggesting that Life of Pi is only about the travails of a boy trapped on a lifeboat with a tiger: in fact there are 100 pages before this main event. But the miracle is that even when restricted to one human character and a twenty-odd foot lifeboat, Martel is never boring, and never resorts to childish anthropormism with the animals either: Pi really does have to survive with a 450-pound Bengal tiger, hungry and uncartoonish and nearby. Speaking of miracles, the narrator's pushy insistence throughout the book that it will "make you believe in God" is the only chunk of the novel I couldn't quite swallow. There's no godliness whatsoever - unless it's moving in mysteriously subtle ways or something and I'm just too much of an atheistic blockhead to see it - unless you count the instances of Pi praising God when something good happens to interrupt the terrible attrition of life on the lifeboat. And frankly who wouldn't hedge their bets a bit in such a situation? In fact, thinking of it, one particularly memorable section of the book - the island, a staggeringly inventive set piece which put me in mind of the land of the mulefa in Philip Pullman's The Amber Spyglass - indicates, if anything, evolution at work rather than Creation, and the narrator even makes respectful mention of Darwin. However. This small gripe does nothing to detract from the fact that Life of Pi will have you grinning like a tiger for days. Prize-winner or not, if it doesn't become a classic in the next few years, I'll eat that carton of emergency rations. Well he won't be needing it will he? Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   34 of 41 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars a story to make you believe in God, 24 April 2003 By  Mrs C E Barker (Barnstaple,, Devon United Kingdom) - See all my reviews A wonderful book, full of interesting asides and humour in the face of adversity. When I finished, I couldn't understand why the tale should make me 'believe in God'. The story is amazing yes, but amazing things happen all the time. Then the passages on atheism came back to me. Pi believes it is better to be an atheist than an agnostic, for it is doubt that imprisons us. At least an atheist has no doubt. To get the most out of this story you must have faith that Pi's story of Richard Parker is true. Once the doubt creeps in the story is robbed of its power. We are asked to believe in the fantastical island, pushing our imaginations to the edges of credibility, of Pi training Richard Parker to jump through hoops but we believe, we believe. Later he gives us an alternative to our new found belief and instantly we become doubters again. Yann Martel is pointing out that faith is all that matters; faith in survival, faith in a system, faith in an incredible story. Without it we are lost.Both Mr Kumars (flipsides of the same coin) have their own doctrines that they are devoted to without doubt. As it is with God. To get the most out of God you have to believe entirely. Without faith we are all at sea. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 298 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 5.0 out of 5 stars Mint condition of book... as good as new I received book within few days of ordering it. It was in great condition. I didn't expected it to be as good as new. Thanks. Published 19 hours ago by N. Rathi 5.0 out of 5 stars life of pi I'm not very good at reviewing books, but all I can say about the 'life of Pi' is,its a wonderful book and was very sorry when I had finished reading it, I usually pass on books... Read more Published 1 month ago by P. Bavington 4.0 out of 5 stars Worth the effort of getting through the first 100 or so pages I bought this book as it had some decent reviews and I wanted to see what all of the fuss was about. Read more Published 1 month ago by Campbell79 5.0 out of 5 stars Read this & Enjoy the Journey to Work I loved this book, for a whole week it made the long boring journey to and from work on the Tube a pleasure. Published 2 months ago by Abiding in the fields 5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent story This book is a true masterpiece. It is a breathtaking true story written by a great storyteller. Published 2 months ago by Katerina Klimoszkova 5.0 out of 5 stars A great book This is indeed a worthy winner of the Man-Booker prize. The story is original. The delivery intelligent and accessible. Read more Published 2 months ago by David M. Samson 4.0 out of 5 stars The importance of Story This was a book which had generated some discussion among my friends so I was prepared to either love it or hate it. In the event, I enjoyed it, though not massively. Read more Published 3 months ago by Nicholas Whyte 2.0 out of 5 stars Martel's rationale for having written this book is poor most people enjoy reading this story, and enjoy the twist near the end. but read Yann Martel's reasons for writing it: he's trying to suggest that atheists should believe because... Read more Published 5 months ago by anig-2 4.0 out of 5 stars Frustrating, bit boring to start with but ultimately great... By page 85 I really wanted to throw it away (I very rarely fail to finish a book). 'What is the point?' I was frustrated and bored. Read more Published 5 months ago by N. Green 5.0 out of 5 stars Life of Pi, Yann Martel. Life of Pi is the most adventurous and challenging book I have ever set eyes upon. Each chapter offering the reader a chance to explore and take a glimpse into the life of Piscine... Read more Published 6 months ago by Ms. Emma E. Napier Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 298 customer reviews...

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