Rating: 
Summary: The Island!!!
Review: Although the ending was very original, I think the best part of it was the floating carnivorous island. One of the truly most terrifying moments in literature for a long, long time. I don't know where Yann Martel gets his imagination from, but I hope they bottle the stuff!
Rating: 
Summary: A book for our time. Unfortunately.
Review: It is disappointing how this book has become the darling of the
book clubs. Unbelievable, poorly researched (if you care about
reality), ridiculous even, it certainly isn't a realistic
novel. If it is an allegory, try reading Bunyan's Pilgrim's
Progress instead. In fact, my recommendation is to read any
classic instead. The only book that I have seen lately that
is worse is another club favorite, "Middlesex".
Rating:
Summary: Life of PI
Review: This amazing tale of adventure, survival, religion, and faith is one of the most riveting tales to come out in a long time. I was skeptical at first, having read some of the reviews and seeing some of the hype, but LIFE OF PI lived up to it all. Really, this is a very unusual book. Also enjoyed "Birth of Venus" and "Bark of the Dogwood."
Rating: 
Summary: Re: Metaphorical Animals and Zoos vs. the real thing
Review: From the reviews, it seems that some readers of this book believe that they are getting objective information about how captive animals are managed in zoos. This is not the case. Mr. Martel slants his descriptions to fit his layman's understanding of the art and science involved in keeping animals in the zoo. I worked in a zoo for nearly 25 years, and I thought it might be useful to point out that for those who are interested in Mr. Martel's sources for his information on zoos and captive animals, you can see where he got his information by reading the books by H. Hediger (e. g. Wild Animals in Captivity, Man and Animal in the Zoo and The Psychology and Behavior of Animals in Zoos and Circuses). Some of his descriptions of zoo animals/behavior/management are lifted right out of Hediger's books (and, to be fair, he does mention Dr. Hediger in the text).
He did a good job of research on Hediger's work, but the animals and zoo he describes do not equal the real thing. As metaphors, his animals and his zoo are interesting reading, but please don't come away thinking that what happens in this book is close to reality in terms of the zoological parts--they are a blend of Martel's research and his fertile imagination. Life in the zoo for captive animals is one of forced adaptation and--quite unfortunately--differs little today from its 19th Century origins. Enjoy these animals and their zoo as metaphors and you won't be misled.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: Pi is a devout Christian, Hindu and Muslim. It may seem paradoxical, but to Pi God can wear different faces; after all what is reality other than a series of stories that you tell yourself to explain your observations? So when Pi is forced to explain how he survived months at sea, he tells two wildly different stories, and when you realize that both are true and untrue, every moment of the book comes together with perfect clarity. A true masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic, original and thoroughly enjoyable modern Read
Review: When I bought this book, I had no high hopes. In attempting to broaden my repertoire of modern literature I bought both this book and the equally excellent 'The curious incident of the Dog at night'.The premise for this book somehow left me with the impression that the 'animals' would start talking to each other as soon as the ship sank beneath the waves. You can rest assured, Richard Parker, the Bengal Tiger, and his compatriots speak in actions rather than words. The faith and religious connotations of this book are widely published, in my view unfairly so. Yes the boy, Pi, shows remarkable piety and faith, but this is much more an issue in his normal life. Once the liftboat starts to drift, with 226 and a half days left, Pi reverts to his own, marvellous, ingenuity. Despite occassional references to God, and a dogged resilience of faith (as the term suggests!) I feel that the miracle of the survival and the journey have much more pragmatic than theological roots. Much is also made of the ending of the book. To this I can only say that it is awe-inspiringly unique. The very idea which sets in slowly at first, left me thinking about it for days, as more and more implications surfaced. Buy this book. It is a fantastic, original and thoroughly enjoyable modern read.
Rating:
Summary: This is art
Review: This book is truly art. It's amazing that this was rejected by publishers before finally being successful. Of the three books I've read lately, BARK OF THE DOGWOOD, Brown's DA VINCI CODE, and this, LIFE OF PI is probably my favorite. With its mixture of faith, religion, survival, and fantasy, this stellar read has got to be the most unusual thing this side of India. Two hundred twenty-seven days on a boat with animals? That alone is a great premise, but what Martel does with this material is just fascinating. Also recommended: Bark of the Dogwood and Da Vinci Code
Rating: 
Summary: A surprisingly good book
Review: My opinion about Life of Pi by Yann Martel was completley different at the beginning of the book and at the end. I think the first 100 pages can be removed. I don't think they hold any real value. There are some good points about religion and such but I just don't think they have anything to do with the rest of the story, or Pi as a person. I guess the beginning could be a whole different story. I enjoyed the second part of the book, though, very much. It was very interesting to experience the detail in which Martel described what Pi had to eat to survive. I also thought the relationship built between Pi and Richard Parker was very clever. The ending so surprised me and if I read this book again I would read it with totally new eyes. There is symbolism that you could have not put together if you didn't know the catch at the end. So overall, Life of Pi was hard to actually get into but it turned out to be a very good book. I would recommend it to patient readers with great imaginations.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing work of Art
Review: Fantastic, profound, and at times more than painfully funny. I think that this is the least you can expect from a novel which chronicles a Hindu-Christian-Muslim son of a zookeeper in his pilgrimage across the Pacific Ocean with a single Bengal tiger as his only companion. Life of Pi defies definition, leaving you with no true expectations except to be surprised by nothing. The book is divided into three convenient, easily digestible portions, each of which focuses on a very distinct portion of Pi's journey. Book I opens with some pertinent biographical information. Piscine Molitor Patel was born to be the son of a kind zookeeper and named after the French word for swimming pool. His childhood was a wonderful blend of wild animals, schoolboy taunts, and various butcherings of his French name in British India. Early on he christens himself Pi, for simplicity and sanity, and the story can carry on once more. The highlight of this first section for me was the religious dialogues, as it is not common to find a boy practicing actively three generally mutual-exclusive religions. Author Yann Martel does an amazing job painting a striking commentary on the religious world and the way in which it works without overstepping any boundaries. The second section of the book, and the longest portion, seems to be the most engrossing and rapidly moving of the three. Book II follows Pi as his family's transport to Canada dies in the middle of the ocean with a "monstrous metallic burp". Within minutes Pi's life is changed forever as he finds himself alone in a lifeboat with a small menagerie, the sole survivors of the sunken Indian zoo transport. One by one the animals devour each other until it is just Pi and the Tiger, floating, thinking, praying on the Big Blue. It's a psychological ordeal, this survival of the fittest on the open sea, a battle of the wills to not lay down and bake to death under the southern sun, and at times it becomes exhausting to read, but it is never difficult to turn the page one more time. Book III picks up where Book II left off, but reviewing the end of a book can be downright confusing. To thoroughly examine and prescribe a level of rating without divulging the importancies of the plot is not necessarily possible. I can say however that Pi's story does draw to a fine close, and only in a remarkable manner such as Martel would allow it. Sufficed to say, the author crafted a masterpiece with Life of Pi, never ceasing to inspire and provoke questions and self-examination, and always with the trademark wit and dry humor for which I'm sure he will long be remembered.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I am only about 75 pages into this book but it is incredibly well-written and thought-provoking -- one of the best books I've picked up in a while.
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