Rating: 
Summary: Terribly Disappointing
Review: After reading such great reviews of "The Life of Pi," I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. It was a huge disappointment. The first one hundred pages were slow and painful. After completing the book, I was bummed to find the whole story a hoax. I think this author is very overrated, and would recommend "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," if you are interested in an excellent, fresh new author.
Rating: 
Summary: life of pi
Review: I found life of Pi to be one of the most interesting books I have ever read. Description usually bothers me and I like to skip over it but in this book I read every word. I loved the humour over the various religions Although I read a lot of books it is for pleasure and I do not like having to guess or ponder what the author really had in mind. I am really perplexed at the ending and the two different story explanations. I have discussed this with different people and they are confused also.
Rating: 
Summary: Pi's story is better the 2nd time around . . .
Review: I'll leave it to the 400-odd other reviewers of this book to provide you with a synopsis of Pi's story. Though I've only just finished reading this for the first time, my impression is that this book would be better after having read it twice. Another reviewer has written that the last section of the book made for an emotional let-down; I heartily agree. I think, though, that this adds to the allure of Martel's creation. The way the book is structured guarantees (nearly) that the reader has less knowledge of Pi's story than do any of the book's narrators. The thing is, we're mostly made unaware of this as a result of the way the tale is presented. It's only when we reach the last thirty pages that we begin to see that something strange has been going on behind our backs...and I think that that strangeness could best be understood by reading the book once more. Most people, myself included, probably don't have that amount of time to spend with one book--or aren't willing to. The thing is, though, this book not only merits the extra time; its very being requires it. Those who choose to read this only once will still find the book engaging and an enjoyable--if gruesome--read. Some of us may finish it with nagging slivers of questions crawling around in our subconscious as we resume daily life... The real reward, though, will be had only by reading it twice (with different understandings and expectations each time), thereby gaining full insight into the philosophical and religious implications of Pi's story.
Rating:
Summary: inspiring
Review: A truly extrordinary fable. I couldn't put it down.
Rating:
Summary: Not for everyone
Review: I had high expectations prior to reading this book, but was incredibly disappointed. 'Life of Pi' was certainly well-written, and based on an interesting story. However, I found neither the journey nor the conclusion reached by this book to be the slightest bit compelling. I did not find this book entertaining or amusing, although I was frequently nauseated by some of the descriptions of events on the boat. My opinion appears to be the exception to the popular viewpoint. It is great that this book has achieved such a high level of success. However, I do not think it is for everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: All at Sea
Review: I resented the time I spent reading Life Of Pi. Having just finished Atonment I was counting on the Amazon reviewers to guide me to another jewel. I read on thinking it must get better, more realistic, more intelligent, maybe even more lyrical. I fount myself skimming the pages hoping something would happen to make me care. Maybe I did miss the boat but if it was that small fleet with the tiger I am glad Istayed with my feet not my head in the sand.
Rating:
Summary: Buy it Now!
Review: Absolutely fantastic story about a young Indian boy stranded on a life boat / raft with a 450 pound Bengal tiger for nearly one year in the Pacific Ocean. How, you may ask, could any author pull THAT off? You have simply got to read the book to believe it. It's one of the most amazing stories I have ever read, and it's a page turner, the kind that keeps you up at night, the ones that seem so rare these days. One word of caution: Definitely not for children or the faint of heart. Truly astounding.
Rating:
Summary: Different Pieces Make this Pi
Review: Ok, stop me if you've heard this one before: a Hindu, a Christian, a Muslim, a 450-pound Bengal tiger, and God are stranded together on a 27-foot-long lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean. No, this isn't some cheesy barroom joke. Instead, it's the central story of Yann Martel's entertaining and touching novel "Life of Pi." But I hope I didn't mislead you on three points. Firstly, part of the story is told in a cafe, not a bar. Secondly, the Hindu, the Christian, and the Muslim aren't three different people. They all happen to be the same 16-year-old boy: Piscine Molitar Patel, zookeeper's son who is drawn to different religions through their appealing stories. He's called Pi for short (one of the clever and, as it turns out, signficant things about this novel is that Pi has a nonrepeating decimal that stretches to infinite for a nickname). And thirdly, and most importantly, despite the novel's main message that it's good to believe in God,which can come across as sappy if not handled properly, this tale of survival is not cheesy at all. In fact, it's quite captivating. Although the central story consists of young Pi's attempt to survive with a Bengal tiger, "Life of Pi" also tells several interesting, sometimes heartbreaking, but often humerous stories about Pi, which when taken as a whole portray a complete picture of, you guessed it, the life of Pi. Amusing as most of these chapters are, it's not until the novel is finished that the reader will understand how these different parts relate. But it's worth the wait. Even if the reader can't specifically describe how each chapter is significant to the entire novel, one has the feeling that if one of these chapters were removed, the story would not have the same impact. The novel begins In India with Martel, having just written a failure of a story, stumbling upon a man in an cafe who claims he has "a story that will make you believe in God" (Author's note X). This leads Martel back to Canada to meet the now grown-up Pi who tells him his story. Pi's story doesn't start with him and the tiger;in fact, your'e almost one third of the way through the novel before it's explained how a shipwreck forces this unlikely pair together. Before then Martel treats the reader to enjoyable, althogh seemingly irrelevant, stories about Pi's life that mostly center around four main topics: Pi's name, zoos and animals(which proves to be important since a basic understanding of is necessary in order for the believablity of Pi's survival), religion, and Martel's meetings with Pi. And then you arrive at the main part of the novel: Pi's survival on a lifeboat with a tiger. Pi's story has all the horrors of surviving a shipwreck, but since it is told from the first person perspective of Pi many years after he survived the ordeal, the reader knows Pi survives and makes a new life for himself. This hindsight allows Pi to find humor in his terrible situation, such as the sinking of a bushel of bannanas, his discovery that "Norweigan cuisine was the best in the world!" (144), and of course, the humor in having a wild animal that's first instinct is to kill prey as Pi's sole companion. Of course some things are never funny, no matter how much time passes. Some of these moments are particularly horrifying in their brutality, such as the deaths of the other animals aboard Pi's boat. Pi's loneliness, occasional madness, physical pain, and his incredible thirst are also appalling. These harsh reminders provide an even greater shock and stir more emotion in the reader due to the contrast with previous humor. One problem one might have on first reading this novel is that his tale of survival is, it seems, just that: a how to manual on how to survive with a tiger, but not a religious tale. And if it's not a religious tale than what was the point of the religious references? It seems like he survives thanks to his strength of will, cunning, natural survival instinct, and "life-hungry stupidity" (148). However, after Pi returns to society it's possible to understand how certain events of the novel, and certain aspects of Pi's life, relate directly, but not obviously, to one another. The old man in the coffee shop promises to tell a story that will make a person believe in God. It's important to remember that Martel never makes this bold claim himself;therefore, the success or failure of this novel should not be based on whether the reader believes in God at at the end. Rather, Martel shows unbelievable human suffering, incredible human triumph, and his story helps us to understand how people make sense of these things that seem impossible to imagine. Whether in society or isolation, it becomes clear that people need a sense of order to survive, just as Pi thinks at one point, "I'll tell you, that's one thing I hate about my nickname, the way that numbers run on forever. It's important in life to conclude things properly" (285). Since God is infinite, Pi must make sense of life in simpler terms. Just as stories about the different religions enable Pi to undertand them, just as Pi's name is used in math to make sense of a never-ending number, just as Zoo's provide structure and good homes because "they bring together in a small space what in the wild is spread out" (17), the rites and rituals of a religion can help people to make the mysterious tangible. Similarly, by telling his story Pi comes to grips with the horrors he faced. Martel's engaging ability to relate seemingly separate things, such as zoos, religion, survival, math terms, and storytelling, make this novel a great success. You still may have one problem though: this novel may not help you figure out why or how some people have a seemingly infinite supply of cheesy barroom jokes.
Rating:
Summary: The Life of Pi - A journey
Review: "Things didn't turn out the way they were supposed to, but what can you do? You must take life the way it comes at you and make the best of it" (Martel, 91). This is the essence of Yann Martel's powerful novel. The story is of a young man, Piscine "Pi" Patel, and his extraordinary journey through one of the most gruesome and horrible ordeals one could imagine.
We begin with Pi as a young boy in his native India, Part I of Martel's three-part book. Pi explains how he received his nickname, how he lived in and around his father's zoo, but most importantly, he tells of his religious practices. Pi is not only a Hindu, but also a Christian and Muslim. It is here that Pi seems to quarrel with faith and one of its most fundamental questions: which one faith is the "right" one. His answer: none of them and all of them. Pi found that some of what one religion taught paralleled with what another practiced as well. It occurred to Pi that none of these religions is the "right" one, his thinking being that they are ALL essentially one in the same: all seeking to love God. It wasn't easy for Pi. He had his parents as well as figureheads from all three religions telling him to choose only ONE. But Pi did not falter, and became an advocate of all three. Right here in Part I, the reader can begin to notice how "things didn't work out" for Pi, yet he persisted and made the best of his situation. Part II is really the bulk of the novel. This is the section in which Pi's entire ordeal is told. While emigrating from India to Canada with his family, Pi is shipwrecked and forced to live aboard a lifeboat for over 200 days with an adult male Bengal tiger. Pi's situation is the lowest of lows, the worst of all bad situations. Though he has food and water, it is not enough to sustain him for such a long period of time, and all the while he much get along with (and survive from) a meat-eating tiger living in the same boat. A rather tall order, but again, Pi makes the best he can of his seemingly hopeless situation. But Martel's novel is not only about taking life as it comes and making the most of it. His book also deals with facing the unknown. While aboard the small lifeboat with his nearly quarter-ton companion (the tiger, Richard Parker), Pi faced (literally and figuratively) a sea of unknowns, perhaps the biggest of which was how to survive from the tiger while also surviving from the elements at the same time. Pi drifted along the surface of the Pacific Ocean, headed for an unknown destiny, unsure of how, when, or even if he would arrive. Along the way, Pi learned to improvise. So, in the worst of all bad situations, Pi refused to roll over and die. He crashed head-on into the unknown, never giving up, never losing hope. My only criticism of the novel is that I'm not totally sure how Pi's enthusiastic behavior about religion fit the actual conflict of the story. Most of this book was spent on the lifeboat with two characters: Richard Parker and Pi. During this time, the reader sees a wide array of emotions and feelings from the two: perseverance, fear, anguish, disgust, all of their sheer joy and realistic pain. The reader observes Pi in the midst of a completely lopsided and uphill battle for his life; he remains amazingly confident and optimistic throughout his entire ordeal. Where most of us would have given up, Pi pressed on. However, I didn't feel as though his rich religious background fueled his persistence. I pulled out and comprehended all of this from the novel, but I do not see this book as having a highly religious quality about it. This novel dealt with the power of the human will above all things. One review about this book was that it would "make you believe in God." If I had been an atheist, I do not think that this particular book would have intrigued me to go out and attend Mass or go get Baptized. Nonetheless, I think that Martel's novel was extremely powerful and intriguing: he had me reading until the very last page. I liked how Martel attacked the idea of only having or practicing ONE religion, but I didn't feel as though it had much to do with the story as a whole. Pi's religious background added depth and personality to his character, but it never really came into play within the context of the story. I would recommend this book to anyone who would enjoy a story about the power of optimism and the will to live, the refusal to roll over and die even in the most bleak and ominous situation, but I certainly wouldn't call it a "soul-searcher." In my opinion, Martel's message, plain and simple: "Play the hand that you are dealt."
Rating:
Summary: Believe?
Review: The only book I've ever read and then started over and read from cover to cover again. I cannot say the "story" made me "believe in God". I can say that the book reinforced my belief in the ability of fantasy, mysticism, myth, religion, magic, or whatever name you might want to give it, to deal with the ugly parts of life.
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