BOOK REPORT: The Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Title:                                           The Life of Pi

Author:                                        Yann Martel

Original Copyright Date:          2004

My Rating:                 3.5 out of 5 stars  ( good )

Backcover Description:

Pi Patel, a God-loving boy and the son of a zookeeper, has a fervent love of stories and practices not only his native Hinduism, but also Christianity and Islam.  When Pi is sixteen, his family and their zoo animals emigrate from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship.  Alas, the ship sinks-- and Pi finds himself in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and a 450-pound Bengel tiger.  Soon the tiger dispatched all by Pi. Can Pi and the tiger find their way to land? Can Pi's fear, knowledge, and cunning keep him alive until they do?

My Thoughts

I can see how it would be a great book-club book as it is full of discussions on religion, zoology and is full of symbolism.  Of course, most of that symbolism is lost on me.  I've never been one to follow or read deeply into a lot of that unless I am in an academic setting where someone can guide the conversation.  There are even book club discussion questions in the back, most of which seemed to me to apply to a different book... oh, well.  I still enjoyed the book. 

The book is divided into three main sections. Pi's religious life leading up to the ship sinking, the ark of a life boat, and the recovery.  Let's look at each one individually.

The first section follows "Pi" from a small child until sixteen when his family emigrates to Canada.  The bulk of this is detailing Pi's spiritual life as he becomes a full fledged Hindu, Catholic, and Muslim.  I really don't know what this adds to the story other than articulating that each of the major religions has beautiful elements in which Pi can take comfort.  The author even has the three spiritual leaders of each religion meet at one point to heatedly debate the pros and cons of each religion.   As he is growing spiritually, Pi is also living amongst the animals in a zoo; his father being the zookeeper.  Here the author outlines some of the basics of animal behavior and the human element imposed upon the animals. "Look behind the curtain to see the most dangerous animal in the zoo", only to have the patron see a mirror behind the curtain.  

The second section details the sinking cargo ship and the after deadly aftermath.  This was by far the most engaging part in the book and could have stood alone with just a brief introduction and conclusion as an excellent novella, ala Gabriel Garcia Marquez's The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor with a tiger added for more "ummph"  (Funny, I read that novella on my trip to India, the read this novel on my way to Oregon, which is closer to Canada than I currently am, which was Pi's destination.... wow....that's deep.. ;) )  The author does a good job keeping the story believable that a teenager and tiger could coexist without too much of a stretch of the imagination.  I do find it odd that the emphasis placed in the first section on religion/spirituality was basically absent in this part.  Every now and then, it would be mentioned that  Pi would pray or mix the major figures of each on in an amusing yet non-offensive exclamation.  

The third section wraps up the story, albeit a bit flatly.  Once on land again, Pi recounts the story to some Japanese representatives of the shipping company who are looking into the cause of the sinking ship.  Here, the main point seemed to be that the Japanese representatives don't believe such a fantastical story and the philosophical discussion which followed. 

I really did like this book; it was an entertaining quick read which was great on my flight to Portland.  I think a group discussion would have been helpful to get some of the deeper meanings from the book but it was still enjoyable from the level I read it.