Life of Pi - Yann Martel

...“Author’s Note” Martel weaves true life with a touch of fantasy to explain the background of this novel, using it as if he was hunting down the story for himself by means of talking to Pi, the hero of the story. Various notes throughout the story keep this fantasy alive and are a work of art in themselves. What attracted me to this novel? The back of the book states “ After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, one solitary lifeboat remains bobbing ...
...entertaining and hilarious account of life in a zoo. Pi introduces many a theory on how wild animals are not as unhappy as most people (including myself) think they should be. I was tempted to skip this part but carried on reading, I couldn’t help myself from being drawn into the world of the animal kingdom. Pi is a rather unusual boy, taught at an English speaking school his appetite for knowledge knows no bounds. A Hindu by birth and religion, ...

Elffriend 04.10.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Life of Pi - Yann Martel

When I came across THE LIFE of Pi by YANN MARTELL in the resident's lounge of an hotel in Spain, something stirred and I immediately grabbed it with both hands, furtively slinking off with it. Naturally, I left the book I'd just finished reading in its place (what do you think I am, some sort of filcher?) So I swapped books...and I'm so very glad I did. The basic premise of the book is the story of a young, 16-year-old Indian boy, Piscine Molitor ...
...the background of Pi's early life - why he's called Pi, for example. He turns out to be a remarkable young fellow who, although brought up in a non-religious home, follows the indigenous Hindu faith obediently. That is, until he meets a Muslim cleric who impresses him so much he begins to pray to Allah. He also encounters a Catholic priest and opens his soul to that religion too. He doesn't convert, he follows all three religions. When he and his ...

proxam 26.06.2004 (06.02.2005) · Read full review
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Review of Life of Pi - Yann Martel

...here. Of course, Life of Pi isn't necessarily a religious story at all; the subject is approached within the text, but if you choose not to find such meaning in the subtext, the only reference to the topic exists as a side-point in the character development, and need not impinge on your reading at all. Approach from the opposite direction, however, and there's an immense array of themes and concepts to be read into the novel. We spend the first third ...
...character, Pi Patel - Pi as in 3.14..., adopted to avoid the mocking of his early years at school, in which his full name, Piscine, was unfortunately mis-pronounced. "You're facing the wall. Are you Pi55ing?" We learn slowly about the world Pi inhabits, and through the family's Zoo in Pondicherry, India, about the ways of animals, and their relationship with humans. Martel writes with a patient, unpretentious style, steadily strolling along, turning ...

Puggers 21.04.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Life of Pi - Yann Martel

...by pointing out that "The Life of Pi" by Canadian author Yann Martel won the Man Booker Prize this year. However for those of you that might feel intimidated by the thought of reading a Booker Prize winning novel, don't be put off! This book is a very easy read but at the same time is stunning in it's imagery, use of language and sheer damn good storytelling. This is the tale of Piscine Molitor Patel (or 'Pi' for short), a 16 year old Indian boy ...
...the book describes Pi's early life in Pondicherry. The main section of the book describes the sinking of the ship and his survival ordeal. And the final short part of the book describes the content of the tape from the Japanese Ministry of Transport. Pi's early life was spent in Pondicherry, once the capital of French India. His father was the proprietor of Pondicherry zoo and so Pi was brought up in the delightful environment of the zoo. At one ...

buzios 01.05.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Life of Pi - Yann Martel

...finds himself hurled aboard a life boat, with the company of a zebra, hyena, orangutan, and a 450 pound Bengal tiger. Now I might have told you an uncharacteristically large chunk of plot there. Infact you could glean most of that from the back cover of the book. We know Pi is ship wrecked. We know he survives because the story being told is his through a writer who has stumbled upon the tale by chance. This sets the scene for a tale of human survival ...
...the insignificance of one human life against the elements, and the strength of faith told here are breathtaking. The majority of the book floats us across the pacific with Pi and Richard Parker. The tale is taught, I felt every lash of the waves and trembled with every movement of the tiger. The landing on the algae island gave my biological mind something to chew on pondering the plausibility of the science, but ultimately reason gave way to the ...

melee679 28.07.2003 (17.10.2003) · Read full review
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Review of Life of Pi - Yann Martel

...as the monotony of Pi's life is emphasized, but on the first read I raced through this section, eager to discover what would happen next. Increasingly improbable events do occur, which eventually lead you to question Pi's truthfulness, but this is part of the argument that Martel is creating, and the events are truthful in a symbolic sense. The short final section is an interview in which Pi tells his tale to an incredulous audience. (This is not ...

brokenangelkisses 28.10.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Life of Pi - Yann Martel

...and his experiences of living life in a zoo. It also describes the influences in his life that led to his passion for religion, and how his afinity with Islam, Hinduism and Christianity impacted upon his life. The second part of the book begins with a move for Pi's family from India to Canada, due to changing circumstances in India. The zoo is sold, and the family find themselves on a Japanese ship with many of their animals on board. Everyone is ...
...into the trip, when the boat sinks in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, killing everyone but Pi. Thus begins a fantastic tale of the way in which Pi attempts to survive on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger, a zebra, a hyena and an orangutan for company. The young narrator describes his attempts to catch and eat turtles and flying fish, how he learns to train his tiger passenger to avoid being eaten in the small confines of the boat, and his encouters ...

glward_1213 14.06.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Life of Pi - Yann Martel

...however you can argue that life is often like that and the reason Martel does this is he intentionally progresses the character from the rituals and routines we are all in, in a naïve way or not, to a situation where those things have to be left behind due to circumstances or growing up and hopes to show the true lack that many, though not all, these things have. My own criticisms of this book is that although the ending provides a clever decision ...
...slightly predictable, I found it left a little aftertaste of convenience for the sake of an ending. I also found the story of Pi’s polytheism and his realisation of it a tad weak simply because it was a pick and choose situation, as all three religions are in practise impossible together as they disagree on fundamental principles, however I understand this is not the focus of the book and was not dealt with in detail. In conclusion this book is ...

yuxiacalus 14.07.2007 (19.07.2007) · Read full review
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Review of Life of Pi - Yann Martel

...a downright weird story.” (The Life of Pi, page 53, hardback edition.) There must be very few potential readers of this op who do not know already about The Life of Pi. One of the most popularly received Booker Prize winners in recent years, lauded and applauded by all and sundry, seemingly, and still putting huge piles of pennies in the hands of Canongate, its publishers, to this day, it is everywhere one looks to buy books. With this comes the ...
...existence, not with a new life with his family in Canada, but by himself, on a lifeboat in the Pacific, with an injured zebra, a spotted hyena, and a female orang~utan. Oh, and for some reason he decides to help Richard Parker on board. Stupid, when you find Richard Parker is the name given to a 450-lb Royal Bengal tiger. The first person narrative, written in a clear, precise and unshowy style, proceeds for much of the rest of the book (there is ...

theediscerning 20.10.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Life of Pi - Yann Martel

...Yann Marel's book called LIFE OF PI won the first prize that was awarded on October 22, 2002. I watch the award Ceremonies that were broadcast from the British Museum in London. I had just finished reading this book, (it took me a Month to read it because of my blinf eye), but in the old days when I had the use of both eyes I could have read it in a day).I'd like to tell you about it. It was Published this year and it has 320 pages. I know that ...
...because Yann Martel wrote his book after a trip to India. In India he met a very old Man who asked him if he wanted to hear a story that would change his belief in G-D. Mr. Martel listen and I believe this Novel is about what he heard. ~O MY REVIEW o~ * Before I begin I wanted to tell you that this is not a Children's Novel but one for older Teenagers and Adults. Pi, (Piscine Molitor Pasel), lives in Pondichery, India. His Father owns the City's ...

MRS.CANADA 25.10.2002 · Read full review
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Review of Life of Pi - Yann Martel

I read all the time and so it is not often that a book comes along and grabs me by the hair and says don’t put me down until you are done. Well “Life of Pi” did just that. It happened like this I was in Borders in Glasgow indulging my usual Starbucks and book habit and felt I needed something different to go with my large raspberry frap. (yum by the way). So I looked among the books on the 3 for 2-offer table and this caught my eye. So I picked it ...
...and settled down in one of the big couches. From page one I was intrigued. The book is in 3 parts- the start, the main part and the end. I know this seems obvious but they are actually separated within the book. The start gives us the lead up to the main event, things like background and an introduction to our main character Piscine Moritol Patel and how he comes to be called Pi. The middle is all about Pi (a 16 year old Moslem, Hindu Christian) ...

penguinchickalata 16.09.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Life of Pi - Yann Martel

...light-hearted humour, descriptions of family life and thoughts on religion, to the darkest depth of the ocean, the lost panic and strive for survival, the unbelievable stories and stretches of your imagination. We follow a story reminiscent of Noah's Ark (there is some subtle religious referencing throughout this book, but in a very spiritual way). We finish with a dark interpretations of innate survival, of moral dilemma, of human nature. This book ...
...and will drop you off on the shores of reality, dreaming of the substance-less stretches of sea blue you once knew and the meerkat island heaving with life in the middle of a vast ocean. Definitely worth a read because I'm not going to tell you what it's about!  ...

Bojack 26.09.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Life of Pi - Yann Martel

...learn about him and his life in India. We find out how he got his name and why he shortened it. Naturally, we meet his family and, as his father is a zoo keeper, we are introduced to a few of the animals in the zoo. A big part of this section is about Pi's religious beliefs and the people who influenced him. Towards to end of this section the family decides to migrate to Canada and, along with a few animals, board a Japanese cargo ship called Tsimtsum. ...
...the first part was how well researched it was. It is full of information about animals, culture and religion. If you enjoy watching the discovery channel or documentaries about animals you will enjoy this. The part about religion, I have to admit, I didn't enjoy it very much. It was interesting to read some of the questions he posed and some of the arguments he made about the various religions (e.g. why can someone not have more than one religion?) ...

steveuk 31.12.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Life of Pi - Yann Martel

Life of Pi - Yann Martel Paperback: 384 pages Publisher: Canongate books ISBN: 184195392X Price: £4.23 for student edition, around £10.50 hardback, and if you're lucky enough Asda might have it in stock for their usual paperback price of £3.73! Synopsis ------------ Firstly, I would just like to say that this is only the fourteenth review for Life of Pi. I state this because frankly it shocks me that easily one of the best books from modern ...
...overlooked! The hardback edition of Life of Pi was released in mid to late 2002 and continued as a very strong sales success up until late 2003, when it was finally released as paperback. It is currently riding high in the charts at the moment, and certainly I could not recommend this enough. What the book is about... ---------------------------------- Life of Pi is a book that is roughly split into two, no three sections. These three sections ...

eaglesas 03.03.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Life of Pi - Yann Martel

...an author with!) The Life of Pi by Yann Martel was the winner of the Man Booker Prize for fiction in 2002. As far as I can see from research on the Internet, The Life of Pi is the first and only book by Yann Martel to date. However according to an interview with Yann Martel his next project is 'an allegory of the Holocaust featuring a monkey and a donkey. It will be set on a country (with trees, rivers, etc) that is also a shirt.' Which I have to ...
...as his first novel! ***PLOT*** This book is based around the most unbelievable plot ever. A sixteen year old indian boy named Pi finds himself marooned in a lifeboat with a bengal tiger known to Pi as Richard Parker, an orangutan, a hyena and a zebra with a broken leg. Pi finds himself in this situation after his family decided to emigrate from their home in India to North America. As his father was a zoo keeper, the family also had to transport ...

Evelyne 18.06.2004 (17.12.2004) · Read full review
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Review of Life of Pi - Yann Martel