Friday 7 December 2012

Life Of Pi by Yann Martel

PLOT: Pi Patel is an unusual boy. The son of a zookeeper, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior, a fervent love of stories, and practices not only his native Hinduism, but also Christianity and Islam. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes.
The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth." After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional-but is it more true?Life of Pi is at once a realistic, rousing adventure and a meta-tale of survival that explores the redemptive power of storytelling and the transformative nature of fiction. It's a story, as one character puts it, to make you believe in God.


My Review:
Wow, Okay so I think I'll start off with the things I liked about this book and end with the few things I had a problem with. The book was really good and, people, are you as excited for the movie as I am ?

I really liked the character of Pi in this novel. I liked the kind way he interacted with people, his acceptance and his bravery. He was a very likeable character. Throughout the novel, I felt myself build attachments to not only Pi but also Richard Parker. They became so real in my head and I think that that really added to the quality of the book. Richard Parker was also a character I liked. He was distant and dangerous in the beginning but soon grew on both Pi and me. I really enjoyed reading about the relationship and bond slowly, but steadily, growing and developing between Pi and Richard Parker.
Another thing I loved about the book was the anecdotes and little stories here and there. These stories really added to the atmosphere of the novel and to the readers experience. It made me feel a lot closer to the novel and its characters. Stories such as where Pi and Richard Parker got their names and about their father explaining the dangerous side to the animals in the zoo. I really enjoyed these. They were so interesting and captivating.
The plot was really good. It was gripping and kept me reading. I was so fascinated by the "taming" of the Tiger and of Pi's struggles and hardships on the boat. I was so captivated by the novel and was always wondering what would happen next for Pi. I have never read a book like this before, so it was very interesting for me.
Now, the things I did not like. I felt the first 100+ pages were very boring. These pages did not captivate me at all, and I feel this may be a factor that contributed to the length of time it too me to read those pages. I hold very atheist views, so reading about Pi's fascination with religion was not very interesting for me and made me feel a little distanced from the character.
Another characteristic of the novel I disliked was the writing style. It sometimes used very complicated words for, what seemed to me, the sake of sounding literate and intelligent . I felt that because of this there was a definite lack of flow to the novel, which is something I usually really enjoy in a novel.
Although there were a few things I disliked the book was really good. I think this will make an amazing movie and I am very excited to go see it!

Rating:
Four Star Book * * * *
Have you read Life Of Pi ? What did you think? Post a link to your review so I can check it out. Are you excited for the movie too ? Did you like this review? Let me know in the comments .

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