Rating: 
Summary: Unforgettable
Review: I was hooked by the time I read the author's intro. The first third of the book is about religion; the rest is about survival, courage, and redemption. The voice is compelling. I spent time reflecting on the messages, and haven't been able to put this book out of my mind. I read our public library's copy, and promptly purchased a copy for my collection.
Rating:
Summary: mesmerizing
Review: Well-meaning but misinformed people think animals in the wild are "happy" because they are "free". [...] The life of the wild animal is simple,
noble and meaningful they imagine. Then it is captured by wicked men and thrown into tiny jails. Its "happiness" is dashed. It yearns
mightily for "freedom" and does all it can to escape. Being denied its "freedom" for too long, the animal becomes a shadow of itself, its spirit
broken. So some people imagine. This is not the way it is. Animals in the wild lead lives of compulsion and necessity within an unforgiving social hierarchy in an environment where the supply of fear
is high and the supply of food low and where territory must constantly be defended and parasites forever endured. What is the meaning of
freedom in such a context?
-Life of Pi Whatever else it may be, and it may be a fable or a hallucination or something altogether beyond our ken, Canadian author Yann Martel's Life of Pi is an absolutely mesmerizing bit of storytelling, one that will keep you reading from cover to cover without a pause. Within, he tells the story, framed by author's comments which suggest it is a true story, of an Indian boy, Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, named for a swimming pool in Paris, who spent a thoroughly improbable, though entirely compelling, 227 days (from July 2, 1977 to February 14th, 1978) lost at sea in a lifeboat with a 450 pound Bengal tiger, named Richard Parker. Boy and tiger were originally on board a Japanese freighter that was transporting them and the Patel family along with numerous other animals to Canada, to which the Patels were transplanting themselves and their zoo, from Pondicherry, India to escape political unrest. A zebra, a hyena, an orangutan, some rats, and a few cockroaches survived the initial sinking, but not Richard Parker's predations. Only Pi and the tiger eventually made it to Mexico, where they washed up on a beach before Richard Parker disappeared. During their time in the lifeboat, and on a makeshift raft that Pi made himself, to put some distance between himself and the big cat, transpired a remarkable story of survival and of natural selection in all its gory glory. It is a story, as an old man in India told the author, "that will make you believe in God". Or, maybe it isn't. Maybe it's the kind of story that will make you believe in the human need to tell stories in order to make sense of our existence, an animal story told by the most dangerous of all the animals, but nonetheless the one animal that tells story and that knows God. Or maybe it's just a fairy tale. At any rate, it's a terrifically readable and enjoyable novel (?) and Pi Patel, a Hindu/Muslim/Christian--who when he swears says "Jesus, Mary, Mohammed and Vishnu!" and who's felt the presence of God--seems certain to become one of the most fondly remembered narrator/heroes of modern fiction. GRADE : A
Rating:
Summary: A real thriller with a magnificent plot twist
Review: The Life of Pi was an extraordinary surprise in the way it developed from "cutesy" to suspenseful to thrilling. One of the few modern books I have read with a deeply profound yet easily understood message. Although the protagonist is a teenage boy from India with a religious identity crisis, the reader quickly relates to him, and the events in the book genuinely draw the reader into his corner. Martel's prose is enjoyably descriptive, and he displays a great deal of insight into the human mind (and the book is actually a handy survival manual). I promise you will find yourself recommending this uniquely entertaining book to fellow readers. You do yourself a disservice if you read the last chapter early.
Rating:
Summary: an onion - a jewel - a keeper
Review: This book is extraordinary on so many levels - and what an incredible number of levels it has! It is a charming, seemingly effortless story, but also a perfectly constructed thought provoking parable. The main character may study Christianity, Islam and Hinduism, but the book itself is closest to a Zen Koan! I would advise picking up the book right now and reading it without reading too much about it - just come to it with a blank slate and let it affect you. (As it will.) Then think about how amazingly thought out it really is -Everything in it has a potential "deeper" meaning. For example, "Richard Parker", a name of a character in the story, was also in history the name of the teenage cabin boy killed by his castaway shipmates in 1884, and "Tsimtsum" is not only the name of the cargo ship in Life of Pi, but a kabbalistic term explaining God's ability to self-constrict in order to form the material world, and ALSO an educational term meaning a teacher's ability to relate to a student at their level instead of at a "higher" level. . .oh: on and on and on!!! But stop reading ABOUT it! Go read it!! I'm about to go read it again!
Rating:
Summary: powerful well-written allegory
Review: In Pondicherry, India, Piscine "Pi" Patel enjoys his childhood as the son of the local zookeeper means plenty of fun things to do. In that role, Pi learns a great deal about the wild beasts that his father keeps. Though a Hindu, Pi also finds pleasure in learning about Christianity and Islam and willingly practices the three belief systems over the objections of his family and religious leaders. Now sixteen, Pi's father decides to relocate to Canada. His dad sells most of the animals, but takes a few with them on their sea voyage. However, disaster strikes with the ship sinking. Pi accompanied by a hyena, an orangutan, a zebra and Richard Parker the 450-pound Bengal share a raft. Richard eliminates the other animals leaving the raft to Pi and him. With water everywhere and no land in sight, Pi will have to use everything he knows about tigers to stay alive. If he makes it to land, Pi wonders whether to tell the truth about his harrowing adventure or make up something more comfortable for the authorities. THE LIFE OF PI uses incredible images to provide readers with a powerful well-written allegory about life and religion. Pi is an intriguing lead protagonist, but must share top billing with his ocean traveling crony the fascinating Richard the tiger hearted. Yann Martel's story line is extremely deep yet quite simple as if Rudyard Kipling wrote The Old Man and the Sea. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book from an up and coming author
Review: I just started reading this book and I must say that I haven't been able to put it down. The transitions are excellent and I love the way the story flows. This is the first book I've read from Yann Martel and I will be following him through his other books. I highly recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: I love Richard Parker
Review: I'm not sure that I can say that I agree with the inside flap of this book that says it's a book that will make you believe in God (but maybe that's because I already believe in God), but it is one of the BEST overall stories I have read in a long time, for pure story value. This is the kind of story I would have made up as a child and dwelled on for weeks on end, just like I did this book. Only in this story my heart was broken in the end, learning that ... well, I don't want to give it away.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book Club Book
Review: This surpasses any book I have ever read. I enjoyed every chapter, every page. After I finished the last sentence, I opened the book up from the front and read it again. It is a great discussion book. Your book club will love talking about Pi, Richard Parker, and their voyage.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Journey
Review: This quite possibly the best book I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Without giving anything away, the story has so much heart, so much soul, and is so rich in detail that it is easy to immerse yourself and empathize with Pi's plight. It is an amazing story laced with mythical and fablelike qualities that one read may not do it justice. I especially enjoyed the section in which Pi makes a "botanical discovery." This particular portion is written so descriptively you feel as though you are sitting with Pi in his lush surroundings. This book stays with you. I finished reading it in May. Now it is August and I am still thinking about it writing a review. As soon as I am finished with my current book, I am going to reread it. Enjoy it, pass it on, and share the experience
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful fun. A great story that makes you think!
Review: I work at a bookstore and have been waiting to read this since I saw it first come in. This weekend I finally got the time. Although I just finished it hours ago, it is still on my mind, making me ponder and try understand the final meaning. I'm not saying the ending is confusing, it just has multiple levels of meaning and I am not sure what everything means. The story itself is a great tale of survival on open sea for 227 days in a 26 foot lifeboat. Pi along with a large Bengal Tiger named Richard Parker (due to clerical errors) must develop a undrstanding with each other in order to survive. Along the way they help each other survive (Pi provides the food, Richard Parker provides the companionship). But it is the ending that makes this book. Read it and you'll know what I mean. Highly Recommended!
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