Life of Pi

Rating:
Summary: Now this is literature!
Review: For what it's worth, I've studied literature and have a degree in creative writing; this is the kind of stuff you should read and study! Martel's simplistic prose paints just enough of the picture to keep you engaged. And the plot/theme is well-crafted and just brilliant (IMHO). Martel takes a lofty topic and recasts it in a mold of his own.

I won't go into the plot because I'm sure other reviewers have done that. I will tell you that the story is essentially a study of creationism vs. evolution. Which story is easier to believe: That some supernatural force created everything like some crazy fairy tale or that the natural world just happened out of blank space? Which story is easier to believe: That a boy was stranded on a boat with a tiger that he managed to tame and found a living, floating and carnivorous island or that his experience actually involved humans acting naturally in the natural world?

My favorite fictional work of 2003!!

Rating:
Summary: A deceptively simple story which keeps following me around!
Review: Read it with a friend and you're certain to enrich your life with interesting, unwinnable arguments on the human spirit and its unending struggle to tame itself.

I couldn't stop turning the pages.

Yann Martel is a master of allegory.

Stop me before I give too much away!

A must read!

Rating:
Summary: Are You Kidding Me?
Review: Sorry, but that first person, it seems like YOU missed the undertones of this book! Look, outside of Ghandi, what vegetarian would rather starve to death than eat a fish if you'res stuck out in a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific and have to feed a 450 pound Bengal tiger to keep him from eating you? Once you tell me (or better yet show me) that you can do that, then you can talk.

This is a book about hope and faith, the ESSENCE and UNDERLYING TRUTH about faith that isn't affected a wit by vegetarianism or doing what is necessary for survival: hope and love of God. Honestly, do you really think that it's the empty practices of faith that inspire people? No, it's God Himself who is not hampered by such things, now is he?

And as for the brutality, if this story was too brutal for you I suggest you stick to the pre-k section next time, but then again, all those fairy tales where knights slay the dragons may be against your religion and too violent for you. Hm, maybe you'd better just write a whole new line of fluff books about the Happy Doughnut or something.

Honestly, this was an inspiring story, even if the end took the edge off it, of hope and the perseverance of faith and to say that is advocates anything against religion or religious practices is the most ridiculous libel that I've ever heard. You should wish that you had Pi's faith.
Katy

Rating:
Summary: One of the Worst Books Ever
Review: Yes, people who cannot understand the meaning that is hidden in the book believe it is touching, wonderful, adventurous, miraculous, etc.

But, it essence it supports the captivity of animals through Zoos. It condones non-vegetarianism through desperation. It is not a book that supports non-vegetarianism for reasons of health or religious text -- it is pure barbarism.

And not only this, it is vividly descriptive of these vile acts.
Before we mix religions, and cloud ideologies, we must know that this book is a skewed opinion of reality. Email me at [e-mail] for more on my opinion of this.

Rating:
Summary: Delicious Slice of Pi
Review: Is there anything better in life than enjoying a novel so much that you don't want to finish it? A novel so good that you ration the chapters to make it last as long as you can? Characters that you can almost feel breathing through the pages? These types of novels are few and far between but Life of Pi definitely qualifies. I'm angry at myself for not picking it up sooner than I did.

The story, as told by Pi Patel to author Yann Martel, is one of courage, faith, determination, creativity and survival. In young Pi, we find a wisdom and spirituality far beyond his 16 years, but we're constantly reminded of how human he really is. In fact, the beauty of Mr. Martel's writing is that he can so effortlessly make the non-human characters spring to life with their own unique personalities just as much as the human characters. While we pray for the safety of Pi, we are just are frightened for that of Richard Parker's--the 450 pound Bengal Tiger who poses as Pi's #1 threat. It takes a truly gifted writer to make the audience root for the survival of both the antagonist and protagonist of a novel.

True to it's claim, if this story does not make you believe in God, it will, at the very least, make you re-evaluate your beliefs. An especially intriguing touch are the parallels between zoology and religion (and I guarantee that you will never look at zoos and zoo animals the same way again).

I'm finding it hard to put into words the feeling I was left with upon finishing this book, but it's almost like seeing a movie that was so engaging you can't get up from your seat until the credits have stopped rolling. I think words like "heartwarming" tend to cheapen something, but I can think of no other word but "warmth" to describe the feeling I had after finishing the last page. I can't stop thinking about this book. I can't stop talking about it. This is one delicious slice of pi.

Rating:
Summary: This Book Made Me Feel That I Am Human
Review: Amazing book. I hate it when people spoil books and movies for me so I won't say anything important. But I love the way Pi relates to religions, even conflicting religions of the world. I also enjoyed thoroughly the detail included while describing the mental and physical effort involved in survival. This fancifully woven plot is hard to set aside and is rewarding to the last word. I find that I still, 3 months after reading it, get flashes of emotions conveyed through its pages. I remember it fondly. I feel like a better person for reading it. Books don't often stick with me that way. The Life of Pi is highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Life of Pi
Review: Lili Bentley
Life of Pi

The family of a young boy named Pi, sets off for Toronto from India. They own a zoo in India and have sold all the animals to different places all over the world. Pi's family boards a Japanese cargo ship with all the animals and head for Canada, but they don't get far. In less then two weeks the ship sinks and Pi is stranded in a lifeboat with a tiger, a zebra, a hyena, and an orangutan. Pi has many hardships along his life in the lifeboat, for instants finding food, but Pi survives. And as strange as this may seem the tiger actually helps Pi survive on the lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Life of Pi has aspects that make it wonderful and other aspects that I didn't enjoy as much.
This book opened me up to different religions. Pi becomes involved with Islam, Hinduism and Christian. I liked this part of the book because it taught me new aspects of the different religions that I didn't know. It was interesting how Pi had different parts of each religion intertwined with his life. I also enjoyed the part of the story when he tells the reader how he survives on the lifeboat. For example when he tells us about him catching fish. Another aspect I enjoyed was the way the story never became boring. I never thought that something was going on for too long or that something was boring. I didn't think the time of the lifeboat was too long because something interesting is always happening.
There is also a part of this book that was not as interesting and enjoyable. Life of Pi is a little confusing. In some points in the book you don't know whither Pi was talking to himself or another real person. This is the only complaint I can think of that wasn't compelling and exciting about Life of Pi. I would defiantly recommend people to journey into the life of Pi, this amazing young boy.

Rating:
Summary: The Christmas List to Enlighten Your Friends
Review: (1). The Five People You Meet in Heaven
by Mitch Albom ISBN 0786868716
(2). The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?
by Rick Warren - ISBN 0310205719
(3). Psychic Gifts in the Christian Life
by Tiffany Snow - ISBN: 0972962301
(4). Life of Pi
by Yann Martel - ISBN 0156027321
(5). After Life: Answers from the Other Side
by John Edward - ISBN: 1932128069

Rating:
Summary: The young man and the sea.
Review: What a charmer this story is! We meet Pi a young Indian adolescent who is open to all the possibilities of heaven and earth and sea. The story of this boy, a tiger and the two thirds of a year on a lonely life boat will make you cry, laugh and anticipate potential disasters from beginning to end of the tale. Don't be deterred by the author's fairly long discussions of religion, philosphy and the rightness of zoos early on in the book. Pi himself and his own lessons about life and spirituality will carry you through those early chapters. The story is full of tantalizing twists and turns and an ending that is rich with imagination and reflection and humor.

The style of writing is clear and straightforward. The story moves the reader to explore the shades of gray in life, rather than the blacks and white that we often hold onto with such fervor when faced with experiences new to us.

Try it. You will like it. A lot!

Rating:
Summary: Very Intelligent...
Review: This is a very intelligent book. It asks all the right questions and provides glimpses of various answers but leaves it to the reader to make his/her own conclusions (if there are any).
Most areas of the book are preposterous but it only adds to the experience and highlight the futility of the human condition. I can't wait to read this book again!
Usually, the only books I read in one sitting are trash novels but this was a pleasant exception. I could not put this down once I started reading it. Buy and read this again and again....