Life of Pi: A Novel Paperback – Black & White, May 1, 2003

The novel `Life of Pi' was only on my distant radar, until I saw the stunning scenes of this mega-3d movie made by Ang-lee, my brother by another mother. Of course, I wanted to go `book first, movie second', since the other way around just doesn't work as well, so I jumped into the novel to free myself to see the movie.The Life of PI is the story of a young man, a religious studies and zoology major in college, who sees truths and beauty in 3 major religions so chooses to follow all of them. This spiritual world gets hammered and tested when a shipwreck leaves him lost at sea on a lifeboat along with some of the animals his father was transporting to sell to other zoos.The novel was simply tremendous. The writing was both easily digestible and yet filled with deeper implications. Piscine's, or "Pi's" thought patterns were intriguing, including his initial inquisitiveness and near naivety before the shipwreck, to his brain's struggle for survival and the delirium that follows, to his post-rescue riddling of the insurance representatives investigating the cause of the crash. (This is not a spoiler, since the reader knows right up front that Pi survives.)This novel can be read simply for an action, intrigue, and the survival story which rivals any other, but my guess is there are tons of English professors who would love to see their students turn in papers with the following as subjects:~Symbolism of the Hyena, the Orangutan, the Frenchman, and especially, Richard Parker The Tiger.Fear, nature, the Id or duality of man, childhood demons conquered (you're going to be a goat fed to the tiger, his brother tells him)~Compare the Tiger in Life of Pi to the volleyball `Wilson' in Castaway.Okay, you may just get some laughs and nothing higher than a B+ if you write this paper.~Compare and contrast life before and after the boat, compare and contrast life on the boat to life on the island.~Role of carnivores versus omnivores in the novel.~Nature of storytelling itself.Both in Pi's early desire to compare and contrast the mythology of major religion, to his story of how he survived the shipwreck, stories are presented as providing meaning and creating larger than life myths which lead to spiritual faith. (Pi laments the lack of more grandiose stories in Christianity). Does belief in a story make it more or less true? When you are trying to tell the truth, is it best to do so in Fiction?Ah, to be in school again and spend hours writing such a paper into the wee hours of the night. Good for me, I can just enjoy and think as deep or shallow as I'd like.Among many others, one thing that has stuck with me is the things Pi had to do to get by. Eating animals as part of survival is described as both barbaric and instinctual, and the degree of Pi's desperate hunger leads to desperate measures. While reading, I made some out loud gasps at some of the ways Pi survived, causing others in the room with me to turn their heads and wonder what was on my kindle.But upon completing the novel and still savoring its taste, I found myself noticing all the food I waste and imagining what I would eat `if I really had to'. Like Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle," Life of Pi maybe aimed for the heart but accidently hit the stomach as well.The odd thing is, many readers will discuss back and forth what was real and what wasn't real in the novel, but I like to believe, as I think the author and Pi himself believe, that it doesn't matter and it misses the point. Truth exists in the eye of the storyteller and the observer, and in the mind of the reader, so if you read about it, saw it in your minds eye, then it happened.This novel fired on all cylinders, and I'm going to be waving it under the noses of readers everywhere. And just like Tom Hanks who missed Wilson, and Pi who misses his tiger, I miss reading this novel each night. At least I still have the movie.Mark Matthews,Author of Stray and The Jade Rabbit

Never are opinions more divided than when you talk books, that's why you read vile-filled 1-star reviews that marvel at the stupidity of those who would enjoy such a book listed side-by-side with the starry-eyed, glowing remarks of those who absolutely loved it. That is, unless you talk music. Or sports teams. Or...Sometimes you just have to be in the right mood for the genre. Other times, the opinions stated in a book shouldn't rankle your nerves or clash with your own personal viewpoints and philosophies. Then there are also those moments that, if you don't like or understand a character, you're not going to care enough about what they do to bother reading to find out.This is a book that centers around a single protagonist -- his worries, his joys, his struggles and his inspirations. You'll like it if you enjoy witnessing the conflicts and complications in one person's life because Pi is an interesting and sympathetic character, admirable because of how he manages to get through a desperate, grotesque situation. Yes, there is crass and gross descriptions of death and survival and all the mundane points which make up a day isolated at sea. I was personally fascinated by how he managed to do it without going insane, interested in his memories and opinions and plans and schemes, and especially compelled to keep reading because I truly wanted to find out what happened.The behavior of the tiger is also interesting... I also kept reading to unravel the mystery of its companionship with Pi. That unnatural partnership was different and therefore something new. I like reading something new.I enjoy survival stories, though, and have always been drawn to them. Although it isn't a true comparison, the basic premise in Life of Pi that is similar to that of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, by Stephen King. Each has a combination of wonder, coming of age, and blunt survival. I listened to this as an audiobook rather than read it, and it felt as if I was sitting fireside with Pi as he recounted his journey to me...that helped my being able to make a connection.Personally, I did think the first few chapters were a bit too dry and "talky" with all the background details about the zoo and Pi's familial and religious upbringing, so I listened less intently to that part, but from the shipwreck on, I was hooked. By the end of the book, I was inspired because it felt like I shared a bit of triumph along with Pi, made it through a difficult experience and learned from it right along with Pi. Isn't that one of the greatest things about books? Being able to go places you'd never go and know people you'd never otherwise know and see things from a perspective you've never had before?I've rated Life of Pi 4 out of 5 stars on its merits as literature: strong character development; well-structured story with the perfect balance of highs and lows, conflicts and complications; vividly descriptive language; and overall "production values" as it's put together cohesively. Its flaw is in the slow, dragging beginning which (in my opinion at least) doesn't completely jive with the rest of the book -- it's necessary background for understanding the character but I couldn't help but feel it could've been presented more succinctly or in a more active voice.Those who bash the book with 1 star and call it "boring" are being unfair. If survival stories with brutally blunt descriptions of life and death don't interest you, then this isn't the book for you. Reading such a book then saying it's a bad book would be like knowing you hate nuts, ordering a bowl of Hagan Dazs Butter Pecan ice cream then declaring that Hagan Dazs makes the worst ice cream you've ever tasted.Life of Pi is, overall, perfect when you are in the mood for something both harrowing and inspired, with a satisfying ending that may make you look at your own life with a bit more appreciation.

The story was engaging. Detailed and poetic meditations on life, religion, and survival. A surprising ending that shouldn’t be Googled.