Rating: 
Summary: Disturbing book
Review: I only finished Life of Pi because my book club is reading it. I ended it with a strong and surprisingly emotional dislike for the book. It is certainly quite well written with many interesting twists of phrase. However, the primary theme, in my opinion, is a far, far too graphic "kill or be killed" one with survival as a sub-theme and religion as just an interesting side-show.
Rating: 
Summary: Anyone else for Pi?
Review: This unusual story is a wonderfully rich book. It is so effectively written that the reader is carried alongwith Pi through his amazing experiences with a youthful exuberence tempered by the thoughtfulness of his solitude, leading you to wonder whether the story is true or invented.
I bought this book because of its lovely cover (always judge a book by its cover!), and was stunned that the inside matched the outside in its simple beauty.
Rating:
Summary: Life of Pi - a Perplexed Boy's Inquisitive Journey
Review: Canadian writer Yann Martel's spectacular novel "Life of Pi" is about a boy and his perplexed inquisitive journey through life. He is a boy of Indian origin. "Life of Pi" is a story of this amazing boy Piscine Molitol who due to the deliberate distortion of his first name to "pissing", obviously likes to be called as Pi as the irrational number Pi is pronounced. This is the story of Pi and an elegant and monstrous Royal Bengal Tiger, both of them are entrapped in a lifeboat, the struggle for survival, outmaneuvering nature and clinging on the ingenuity of instinct and his steadfast belief in multiple faiths, namely, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam, makes this story a memorable one. Along with its serious theme of life and death, this novel is quite funny as well. Pi's earlier childhood was full of nostalgic memories in the middle of a zoo that his father owned. There was the atheist teacher who opens Pi's eyes on nature the way he never had seen before. Pi's successive journey to a Church, Mosque and a Temple, made him embrace each of these religions simultaneously. For Pi, each of these religions offered him a sense of peace that he did not wish to renounce by accepting any one specific religion and denouncing others. And Atheism had its own appeal to him as well. If you read one book this summer, read this one. This is an unforgettable novel.
Rating:
Summary: listening to audio
Review: The eleven and one half hour audio is brilliant. Read by Jeff Woodman could not be better. This amazing story had me under it's spell.
It left me wanting to know more about the author Yann Martel and how his brain could conjure up such an imaginative tell.
If only Pi had such a book for his nine month ordeal as a castaway. It's one that he would have loved to read over and over.
Rating:
Summary: An incredible physical and spiritual journey
Review: Life of Pi is an outstanding story: I think the greatest proof this is the wide variance in reviews here at Amazon.com. Some people loved it, some people hated it, some people loved parts that other people hated and vice versa. I personally loved it, but I think that some people are missing some of the main points of the story. Just as Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea is not a simple adventure story about an old man catching and losing a fish, "Life of Pi" is not just a simple survival story about a boy and a tiger. It's not about religion. It's about spirituality and one's perspective on existence. The book starts by fleshing out the character of Pi Patel and the impact that religion and spirituality (much to the confusion of the people around him) have on his life. The reader is drawn in to Pi's world due to Yann's natural storytelling ability. Chapter 21 is one of the key chapters to the story, where Yann/Pi first brings up the idea of the "better story." Chapter 22 is no less key, as Yann/Pi very briefly but powerfully discusses the very different interpretation of the "story" of life by an atheist and by an agnostic. The middle of the story details Pi's shipwreck experience with a simple vividness that rivals Hemingway. I was enthralled by this story as well, but others felt this part dragged on. But the key is that, although it takes up the bulk of the text, Pi's adventure at sea is NOT the key to understanding this story. Yes, it is a great example of physical and spiritual endurance, but it is not the true heart of this story. The first clue is the fact that Yann/Pi tells us very early that Pi survives and there is a "happy ending." Why give this away unless Yann is trying to tell us that this is not the point of the story? The true key to this story, which is not fully revealed until Chapter 99, is how you as the reader interpret this story. Of the two stories that Pi tells to the Japanese investigators, which do YOU think is the "better story"? (this key term appears again here) I would invite all of the people who did not enjoy this story or did not enjoy parts of it, to re-read the book with that question in mind. This is a very personal story. Life of Pi is an amazing tale of adventure, but an even more powerful agent of self-reflection. If you haven't read it, go out and read it. Life of Pi is an unforgettable ride.
Rating: 
Summary: the fabulous fabulist
Review: Yann Martel's Life of Pi is an entrancing fable that links dazzling imagination to a magical realist story line. Pi, a 14 year old Indian boy in the process of transplantation to Canada with his family and a small scale menagerie fascinates even before his journey starts, through his hilarious attraction to multiple religions. Through this, Martel may be making the point that in the end, all religions are the same. Like much else in this novel, the writer's intention isn't entirely clear but his execution is so proficient, it doesn't much matter. The climactic early event in the novel, much discussed in reviews and therefore not to be kept a secret from probable readers, is the shipwreck that lands Pi and some very unlikely companions in a lifeboat for a more than 200 day saga on the open ocean. How Pi survives this ordeal is, of course, the main theme of the novel. He is, by turns, inventive, cautious, defiant and, occasionally, dispirited (but not often). It is to the writer's extraordinary credit that he is able to grip the reader while writing about a situation that, baldly explained, would seem absurd. Martel doesn't just make it credible, he makes it so engrossing that it is hard to put the book down. If at all possible, this book should be read at a sitting -- a transatlantic plane ride is ideal. With the exception of the island sequence, where Pi and his remaining companion find land (or do they?) the novel works almost perfectly on multiple levels. Either as a straightforward story of survival, or as a complex allegory, or as a work of considerable humor, with an alternative storyline built in at the end that I, for one, hoped wasn't correct, this is a work of considerable power. There must be something about Canada that encourages expatriate authors -- Yann Martel is a keeper and his book is a well-written delight.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read...
Review: I felt that Yann may be trying too hard the 1st 40 pages or so to impress, but if you get past that - the book is great. Very interesting, able to create visually from the text, and works to avoid predictability. One you must read. - Mb
Rating:
Summary: Cannot Imagine People Say They Believe in God After Reading
Review: this book. It makes me sad that it was awarded the same prize as Last Orders. It is really mediocre.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting story, wonderful character, lyrical writing.
Review: Life of Pi is a nearly perfect book. It is literary, but it is fun. It is a riveting story, but it contains elements of religion, philosophy, zoology, and biology. Once I had begun to read the story of Pi, I found it very difficult to put this book down. It is not a short book, but I read it in a little more than a day. I won't go into a story summary, since that is available in many reviews. Just read it.
Rating:
Summary: The Amazing Adventure of Pi
Review: I think the book is more about the adventure, rather than the life, of Pi. I picked the book because of none other than the Booker Prize. Yes, the first 100 pages make the interesting introduction to the fascinating main character, Pi. I feel sorry for him to so badly want to love God he somehow got it messed up. The inter-faith dialog incident is simply hillarious! Then the misadventure... what an amazing one. Pi ended up in a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific ocean.. with a number of zoo animals. His perseverance and endurance for survival against not only the sea but also the fierce, dangerous animals are candidly written and and elaborated in details. His knowledge gathered as a son of a zoo owner proves handy, and helped him beat the odds many times.. really fascinating. And this is from someone who doesn't like animals! There's sufficient elements of surprise and a nice touch of curiosity for me to keep turning the pages. A book with very good story-telling to carry us along with the amazing tale. Towards the end I even hoped.. "please, don't tell me the alternative story is the truth".. but no, I'm not spoiling this to future readers :-)
| 
