Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: I really, really enjoyed the experience of reading this book.I read the first half of "Pi" while sitting in a bathtub, full of water, of course. I read the second half laying on my bed with my 4 week old son sleeping on my chest bobbing from one side to the other. Both of the external stimuli seemed to make reading this seem even more poignant for a lot of different reasons. I hope that Hollywood preserves the brilliance of Martel's storytelling when adapting this book to the bigscreen next year.
Rating:
Summary: "Oh that magic [feline].. no where to go" (4.5 stars)
Review: This book is fiction at its best. It provides an exciting story that can be read on many layers, many of which are quite enlightening. In addition to a great yarn with an extremely likeable protagonist, the reader gets a basic (but not too basic) primer on ecology, animal behavior, and zoos. Meanwhile, basic aspects of the 'major' religions are explored as well. Martel's work is really far more ambitious though. Pi is actually looking for the unifying principle of these religions, and his search leads to some funny scenes. Additionally, the animal descriptions, as well as the adventure as well, are steeped in allegory. In fact, there is symbolism almost everywhere you look, from Pi's first name, to his full name, to the raft, and beyond. Without giving anything away, let me just say that I was unprepared for the full extent of the symbolism, revealed/suggested in the final section. I have no doubt that a second read would both provide new insights and convince the reader that every sentence was crafted to serve a particular purpose. The book's central message, to my mind, is that given that most of the universe is inherently unknowable to us, we have the opportunity to choose from an infinite set of equally plausible stories (or worldviews). We can therefore select imaginative and uplifting stories that feed our spirits and those around us, rather than accepting what he calls the 'crude reality' extolled by institutions and agnostics alike. He is essentially arguing that one can find arguments for religion (as the individual chooses to define in it) in the here and now, rather than having to turn to an afterlife or reincarnation. Pi chooses to believe, independent of whether the facts support belief or not, because it gives him the hope he needs to survive his ordeal. This book puts forth its argument in a convincing and inspirational fashion, but there are of course counterarguments (in Martel's book these are put forward by Japanese straw men, but it is not really Martel's intent to set up a dialectic). How does one distinguish the knowable from the unknowable truths? To abandon the pursuit of any truths can be dangerous as well, and belief for belief's sake has led to much bloodletting. The well adjusted and good hearted Pi selected a constructive worldview, but would others do the same in a world of extreme relativism? Pi might well have died without his belief, but what of the rest of us? Perhaps we owe it to ourselves to fight hard to earn whatever beliefs we can muster, beliefs that will hopefully lead us in positive directions. Or do we have an inherent right to the peace of mind that belief provides, even if it may lead us down directionless or worse yet destructive paths? As an aside, I just finished (and reviewed) the Education of Henry Adams, which oddly enough is in some ways the philosophical opposite to this book, in that it for the most part argues for generating belief from without (empirical evidence) rather than from within.
Rating: 
Summary: Not imaginative enough to have fully enjoyed this book
Review: It took me 90 pages to get into this book. The exploration of world religions affirmed the importance and similarity of all religions and not so subtly seemed to reject the far right's insistence that Christianity is the only way to salvation. However, I did not find the first one third of the book particularly relevant to the rest of the story. The shipwreck and survival were exciting, remarkable and believable. Pi's intelligence, spiritual strength, and sheer stamina facilitated his survival. While others I've spoken with and other reviewers found this their "best" book of the year, my search continues.
Rating:
Summary: One word: Amazing
Review: When I started this, it was weird. I told myself "stick with it". And I did. Then it got a bit sick-eating RAW turtle or fish meat!?!?! Gross! I got a bit further, and decided that this was a totally random, entertaining, off the wall book. Pi lives in India at his family's zoo. He is an active Christian, Muslim, and Hindu. His family decides to move to Canada, and sells its animals, then packs up everything, including animals that are moving to North America, into a cargo ship and they set off. The ship sinks. Pi is left on a lifeboat with a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a bengal tiger. The Bengal, aka Richard Parker, and Pi are soon the only living occupants. The middle section of this book is Pi's 227 days in the Pacific Ocean with Richard Parker. If you disagree with some of the author's points on zoos, try to get past that to the actual story itself. Read the intro. I didn't at first, until after I'd read the book, and that was a major mistake. The story was good, but it lacked something-much like a song with only one part. At the end, something is revealed, and you have to decide-which story is true? Suddenly the song is a duet, rising and falling, at times opposingly higher or lower. It's beautiful. Yann Martel manages to capture one of the most unexplainable things that cannot be put into words through his story, explaining it in a subtle, but provocative, way. This book is beautiful. Stick with it. When you read the end, you'll to a quick rewind, and know what I'm talking about. This story is a mixture of laughter and tears, and most especailly, wonder.
Rating:
Summary: A Soul Searching Experience!
Review: I found Life of Pi phenomenal. From the get go Martel addresses some highly philosophical issues in colloquial terms- a truly remarkable feature. As the novel progresses the story draws you in, at the same time forcing you to evaluate your place in life. And as the novel concludes I found myself placed in the settings that Martel describes. Wonderfully done, I recommend this novel to everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Life of Pi
Review: Forget that this book won the 2002 Man Booker Prize for a moment. I dare anyone to read(honestly) the Author's Note and the last chapter, the summary of Mr. Tomohiro Okamoto's report and then not read the rest of the book. The story could have come straight from the X-files. Also a keen lecture on psycho-biology, zoology & zoo keeping.
Rating: 
Summary: Life of Pi
Review: I hated this damn book so much it almost put me off reading for life. I got half way through it and then it out with the rubbish, were it belongs.
Rating:
Summary: A Slice of Pi
Review: Life of Pi is an unusual story about a boy named Piscene Molitar Patel better known as Pi Patel. He is the son of a Pondicherry, India zookeeper who contemplates life more than the average teenage boy. Pi endearingly informs the reader of his love of religion, all religions, from Christianity to Hinduism to Islam. His world is disrupted when his father announces that the family will be moving to Canada and in the process decides to sell the zoo. He will be transporting the animals to various places in North America aboard the same cargo ship that his family is traveling on. During the voyage the ship sinks leaving Pi the only survivor with a menagerie of animals on his small life raft including a zebra, hyena, orangutan and huge Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. So begins Pi's journey as a stranded survivor for 227 days on the Pacific ocean.
Yann Martel is a gifted writer. His portrayal of Pi is endearing, witty and at times heartbreaking. The story is original. Martel demonstrates the dynamics between man and animal and how a man can become an animal when his survival is threatened is illustrated througout the story. At some point though, I just lost interest. Pi's story became boring and I felt like I had to trudge through at least 150 pages until I came to the near end and their discovery of an amazing island. The ending was an enigma that the reader must decipher just like the investigators who interview Pi have to. I wanted to love this book. It was a Booker Prize winner and had the wonderfully rich character of Pi, but in the end I'll settle for liking most of it and appreciating an unusual and original if not at times slow plot.
Rating:
Summary: To Pi ,with Love
Review: The Story of Pi is a most unusual and endearing novel. It concerns the childhood of Pi, a boy who grew up in India. He tells us that his father owned a zoo, and Pi learned how to care for all of the animals. He was also a very spiritual boy, joining three very different religions at the same time. When Pi was 16, his family decided to emigrate to Canada. They boarded a cargo ship with the zoo animals, which had been sold to American zoos, but the ship sank. Pi was the lone (human) castaway, and he found himself sharing a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger, a hyena, an orangutan, and a zebra. Who survives and how make for a most entertaining story, which Pi tells with great humor, compassion, and wisdom. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is a quick read, but I immediately read it a second time. The author has created a loveable character in his hero; reading his thoughts was a joy. I recommend The Life of Pi to those who enjoy stories about courage told in simple, yet quite often profound, terms.
Rating:
Summary: An entertaining read
Review: This book starts out a little slow, but after the first 70 or so pages, it becomes interesting and hard to put down. It is one of the better books that I have read this year.
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