Book Review of Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Life of Pi is the story of a boy stranded on a boat with a Bengal tiger after a boat travelling from India to Canada sinks. He and the tiger, Richard Parker, must coexist as they try to survive in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with no land in sight.
The story is related to the author by Pi himself as an adult, many years after the lifeboat containing himself and Richard Parker lands on the Mexican coast. Along the way Pi encounters many dangers including sharks, a whale, sea turtles, flying fish, a carnivorous island, storms, and the constant threat of Richard Parker.
Pi says his story is one that will make you believe in God, but it is really a tale of perseverance and the little things that kept Pi from giving up and letting either Richard Parker or the Pacific Ocean overtake him.
I liked this book far more than I thought I would. The premise of the author speaking to Pi as he relates his tale brings more depth to it instead of distracting the reader from the tale. Pi's narration is concise but full of imagery to not be over the top but reflect the necessity of sticking to essentials as his survival at sea dictated of his life.
The book could be at times a little graphic about the extremes Pi needed to resort to in order to survive, but it showed the desperate nature of the situation he was in and how difficult it was to find a way to survive.
The prose was a times disjointed, but it was representative of Pi's thinking capacity at the time. It added to the story and made it more real. The character of Pi felt very real and would be someone it would be a pleasure to know. I found myself wishing I could go to his home as the author did as Pi told his tale, eating extremely spicy food and learning about not only Pi's life in Canada, but his adventures with Richard Parker.
I give this book:
The story is related to the author by Pi himself as an adult, many years after the lifeboat containing himself and Richard Parker lands on the Mexican coast. Along the way Pi encounters many dangers including sharks, a whale, sea turtles, flying fish, a carnivorous island, storms, and the constant threat of Richard Parker.
Pi says his story is one that will make you believe in God, but it is really a tale of perseverance and the little things that kept Pi from giving up and letting either Richard Parker or the Pacific Ocean overtake him.
I liked this book far more than I thought I would. The premise of the author speaking to Pi as he relates his tale brings more depth to it instead of distracting the reader from the tale. Pi's narration is concise but full of imagery to not be over the top but reflect the necessity of sticking to essentials as his survival at sea dictated of his life.
The book could be at times a little graphic about the extremes Pi needed to resort to in order to survive, but it showed the desperate nature of the situation he was in and how difficult it was to find a way to survive.
The prose was a times disjointed, but it was representative of Pi's thinking capacity at the time. It added to the story and made it more real. The character of Pi felt very real and would be someone it would be a pleasure to know. I found myself wishing I could go to his home as the author did as Pi told his tale, eating extremely spicy food and learning about not only Pi's life in Canada, but his adventures with Richard Parker.
I give this book:
Photo Credit: Katherine Elizabeth
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