Rating: 
Summary: Good book
Review: I read this book after I had read the book that it allegedly plagiarizes "Max e os Felinos" by Brazilian Moacyr Scliar. Aside from the fact that both books seem similar Yann's book is still well written and poignent. A good novel that'll make you think.
Rating: 
Summary: A tiger of a tale
Review: A teenager and a tiger on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean. How does the boy survive? On the surface (pardon the pun) it seems a simple story. It isn't. It has the complexity of a zoo filled with a myriad of creatures. The ending of "Life of Pi" reminds me of the ending of "Atonement" (by Ian McEwan), where I wanted to return to the beginning and start over, because I wanted to enjoy the story with a new understanding. (Someone actually emailed me about Atonement, after I left my comments on Amazon, wanting me to explain the ending; and that ending was far less complex.) This book works on many levels. I admire the writing, but I greatly respect the amount of research needed. Yann Martel deserves the Booker Prize based on his research alone. Through his characters, he explores zoo maintenance, religions and religious practices, sea life, survival techniques, and so on. "Life of Pi" is both a work of art and a work of science, with a little science fiction and fantasy tossed in. Since I already believed in God, the book didn't affect my faith (as some of the hype insinuated it would), but if I interpret the theme correctly, it does reinforce my faith in mankind's ability to survive. The mind is resourceful, and that, to me, is the real message Martel the Marvel brings us: that the mind allows us to devise ways to survive, mentally as well as physically. Of course, it could be said that the human mind is God's gift in the first place, therefore justifying the "will make you believe in God" hype. Regardless, I believe that "Life of Pi" is Yann Martel's miracle of literature. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. And you must read the book to truly understand that last sentence. It's worth your dime, as well as your time.
Rating:
Summary: Great book - works on many levels!!
Review: If I can sum up this review in a few words - I won't. I will simply suggest that you read this book. No, it won't change your life, but I think it will be one of those rare books that you will find yourself thinking about after it is finished. I believe this book is simply a classic, and a very worthy Man Booker prize award winner ( best book in the British Commonwealth for a given year). The book is about a young man, Pi Patel (an Indian boy - the son of a zookeeper), who believes in Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity, all at the same time! He is on a cargo ship bound for his new life in Canada when the ship sinks under mysterious circumstances. Pi ends up in a lifeboat adrift in the vast Pacific with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan (think Clyde : )) and a Royal Bengal tiger - or does he? The book is well-written. I learned some new things - which is always a plus in fiction, and I was challenged on some views I had. Zoos are defended, and notions of God are given throughout the book. Pi learns to survive at sea with wild animals - but his motivation is curious. The story may never have happened the way Pi thought, or perhaps it happened exactly the way he thought. This is the fun of reading this book. The book is very symbolic, but like most great fiction, the book works on a very simple level. The book is like a great "childrens" animated movie which satisfies children, but has many symbolic meanings to enthrall adults. Truly this book is well worth reading. A great yarn about survival at sea in a lifeboat with a number of wild animals becomes a great story about life itself - is Pi just a name, or does it suggest a greater theme in the book? Read this book and find it for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: All praise is deserved
Review: 'Life of Pi' is an engaging and memorable book that I would recommend wholeheartedly. This is an amazingly creative, if not slightly gory, story of 16 year old boy called Pi and his 7 month pacific ordeal. The books religious themes and 450 pound bengal tiger companion allow 'Life of Pi' to transcend a typical castaway story that might otherwise have lacked the originalty and spirit that Pi shines with due to his unique experience of this planet. Ultimately without giving up on itself 'Life of Pi' allows itself to be examined while still remaining true to the reader and it's own heart. An amazing book for anyone who likes to read and for all those who thought they didn't. I commend Yann Martel for his excellent work and ingenuity.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous story
Review: I loved this novel. The initial story is a terrific one -- a boy stranded in a life boat with an unexpected and dangerous shipmate. While the story of survival is riviting, more satisfying still is the ending, which leaves you wondering not only about the truth of the story, but also about the place of truth in the story of our own lives. I read this book months ago, and the story has stayed with me. I think this is a great book, an addictive read, and a fabulous story. I recommend it completely.
Rating: 
Summary: started off so good
Review: then became really boring, like that tom hanks movie...castaway...
Rating: 
Summary: Reader from Houston
Review: In the Pacific ocean of praise for this book, I have to sound a critical note. As many others, I was ready to love this book after all the hype surrounding the Booker win. Alas....the book is too self conscious to be engaging, too puffed up to be sincere, too melodramatic to trust. It could appeal to many adventure seeking readers of young age ( minus the mushy spirituality) but it is too winded to hold restless young minds. For this adult reader, the major mood after reading it in one seating was - " this could be written by senile Salman Rushdie who tries to win the Hollywood crowd". It lacks subtlety, wisdom, grace, strangeness of really great work of literature. As for the endless spiritual cliches...only feeble minded can find any divinity in them.
Rating:
Summary: A Superbly Told Tale
Review: "Life of Pi" tells the improbable tale of a young man's battle against nature and himself. It is one of those rare accounts that is so fresh yet appears to be a tale older than the hills. A modern myth which could have been written at almost any time. The book has essentially three parts: The first part tells us of the early life of the improbably named Piscine Patel, a son of a zookeeper living in India. Endlessly taunted about his name he re-invents himself as Pi - the irrational number, 3.1415927....
An irrational name for an irrational story, perhaps? Pi discovers God. In a Catholic church. In a Hindu Temple. In a Muslim Mosque. In one of the most memorable and funny passages from the early part of the book his three mentors - a priest, an imam and a braham - accidentally meet and are incredulous about Pi's religion-swapping ways. The author would like us to believe that this is a spiritual tale, that we'll find God in it. I'm not very spiritual and I didn't but each to his or her own. It's certainly true that the second part of the tale, the meat of the story, which deals with a shipwreck as the Patels move from India to Canada, seems to have divine intervention. For me, though, I find it inside of Pi, not outside. This second part is a beautiful, gripping, warming and chilling story about Pi's improbable survival in a lifeboat who's only other occupents are deadly animals. Little by little Pi has to battle the elements, himself and the other animals to survive. He has to become the alpha male. Slowly the story seems to get stranger and stranger, more improbable yet suprisingly deeply rooted in some sort of strange reality! The last part of the book, a description of his recovery in a Mexican hospital and interview with representatives of the shipping company, provides a second version of the story. And we wonder - was this fiction within fiction. Did the tale really happen the way Pi said it did? The improbabilities burst from the page and we ponder his name. On and on we think about the tale. Wonderful, irrational Pi. 3.1415927 ...
Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking but not a page turner
Review: This is the type of book I wanted to like a lot more, but which just didn't get me emotionally involved. It gets 4 stars because there's no 3 1/2 to give it, pushed up rather than down largely because of the ending (which raises all kinds of wonderful questions about everything that came before). The first half of the book follows Pi Patel's life up to the age of 16, mostly dealing with his quest for religion and the animals in his family's Indian zoo, both in a great deal more detail than could possibly be interesting. I mean I love animals, but lists of all the animals in the zoo and all the things they do just seem to be taking up space after awhile. The numerous religious musings in ponderous language get to seem like a parody of how Westerners think Indians talk. All of which is just a very long lead in to the heart of the story, which is Pi's survival at sea in a lifeboat after the sinking of the ship carrying Pi, his family, and the zoo animals to Canada to start a new life. The second half of the book is taken up with long descriptions of Pi's first days at sea and the plight of the animals that have taken refuge with him. Warning to sensitive readers -- a lot of the descriptions of the suffering of Pi and the animals are quite brutal and told in excruciating detail. The book's cover description may make this seem like a cute or allegorical tiger that shares Pi's days at sea, but it is a real tiger, with a real tiger's appetite and instincts that the author describes for a good half of this book. The author is extremely good at taking us through Pi's plight and his suffering. After awhile, however, although I cared about Pi and admired his cleverness and his will to survive, I found Pi's monotony becoming my own. I discovered how much my initial enthusiasm had waned after I accidentally forgot where I was, and reread an entire scene, not realizing until after I'd reread it that I had forgotten a major plot point. There's also something about the rather devious framing device that left me with a somewhat bad taste about this book. I have to give credit to the author, however, for his patience in taking us through Pi's days at sea at a pace appropriate to what his protagonist suffers, and to creating a wonderfully ambiguous ending that makes you question what we will really do to survive. Any more than this would be a spoiler. This is a good read, one worth the effort, but don't expect the read of the year.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best books of 2003
Review: I bought this book after reading that it was the "Star-gazing " book pick of the month in Canyon Newspaper here in California.This is the best new novel I have read in years. It is completely refreshing. In this novel there isn't a hint of cynicism or pessimism. It is horrific and frightening, and yet optimistic in the most moving way. The only part where the sometimes inflated ego that Mr Martel has exhibited in previous books shows through (and I write this with a smile on my face) is when he suggests that the story "will make you believe in God." Don't worry, it will not corrupt you into organized religion, be it Hinduism, Islam or Christianity, nor does it even try. Yet, perhaps the key to the fascinating affect that this beautiful and horrifying work has is this rare (even unique!) underlying spirituality. It is a book of symbols, which you at first believe are quite simple, slowly developing (like an avalanche) into complexity. And yet when the story is over it becomes clear in a shocking instant that, all along, the symbols were even more simple and meaningful (in the most realistic sense) than you could have ever imagined. I was mesmerized by this book and could not put it down.
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