With 'The Life of Pi' Yann Martell tacitly promotes a positive, imaginative approach to life. The young protagonist Pi reveals his tale of a potentially tragic voyage across the sea in a life boat accompanied by a zebra, an orang-utan, a hyena and a Bengal tiger. After an inital slow start this compelling tale gathers speed from page 80 onwards and concludes with the greatest ending to a book I ha... read more
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Amazon.com Review
Yann Martel's imaginative and unforgettable Life of Pi is a magical reading experience, an endless blue expanse of storytelling about adventure, survival, and ultimately, faith. The precocious son of a zookeeper, 16-year-old Pi Patel is raised in Pondicherry, India, where he tries on various faiths for size, attract Amazon.com Review
Yann Martel's imaginative and unforgettable Life of Pi is a magical reading experience, an endless blue expanse of storytelling about adventure, survival, and ultimately, faith. The precocious son of a zookeeper, 16-year-old Pi Patel is raised in Pondicherry, India, where he tries on various faiths for size, attracting "religions the way a dog attracts fleas." Planning a move to Canada, his father packs up the family and their menagerie and they hitch a ride on an enormous freighter. After a harrowing shipwreck, Pi finds himself adrift in the Pacific Ocean, trapped on a 26-foot lifeboat with a wounded zebra, a spotted hyena, a seasick orangutan, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker ("His head was the size and color of the lifebuoy, with teeth"). It sounds like a colorful setup, but these wild beasts don't burst into song as if co-starring in an anthropomorphized Disney feature. After much gore and infighting, Pi and Richard Parker remain the boat's sole passengers, drifting for 227 days through shark-infested waters while fighting hunger, the elements, and an overactive imagination. In rich, hallucinatory passages, Pi recounts the harrowing journey as the days blur together, elegantly cataloging the endless passage of time and his struggles to survive: "It is pointless to say that this or that night was the worst of my life. I have so many bad nights to choose from that I've made none the champion."
An award winner in Canada (and winner of the 2002 Man Booker Prize), Life of Pi, Yann Martel's second novel, should prove to be a breakout book in the U.S. At one point in his journey, Pi recounts, "My greatest wish--other than salvation--was to have a book. A long book with a never-ending story. One that I could read again and again, with new eyes and fresh understanding each time." It's safe to say that the fabulous, fablelike Life of Pi is such a book. --Brad Thomas Parsons
"Day 19 – Favorite book turned into a movie.
“I've never forgotten him. Dare I say I miss him? I do.
I miss him. I still see him in my dreams. They are nightmares mostly, but nightmares tinged with love. Such is the strangeness
of the human heart.”
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Thank heavens Shyamalan backed out of this project. He would annihilated this story. It's been a while since i read this book, watching the movie in 2012 would"
barteks added this to a list 6 months, 2 weeks ago
“With 'The Life of Pi' Yann Martell tacitly promotes a positive, imaginative approach to life. The young protagonist Pi reveals his tale of a potentially tragic voyage across the sea in a life boat accompanied by a zebra, an orang-utan, a hyena and a Bengal tiger. After an inital slow start this compelling tale gathers speed from page 80 onwards and concludes with the greatest ending to a book I have read; a magnificent prestige.” read more
Suicidal added this to a list 9 months, 2 weeks ago
"Based on a true story, Pi Patel, a zookeepers son, becomes shipwrecked after a storm sinks the Tsimtsum, leaving him without his family and stuck on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. He must use all of his skill to survive."
marcoporres added this to a list 2 years, 4 months ago
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