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Summary: Pi - a future classic that should be read in a H.S. English
Review: I remember my junior high school English class, Mr. Lewis - Westland Jr. High.Man vs. Man
Man vs. God
Man vs. himself
Man vs. the environment Yep Martel has hit all four. I'll skip man vs. man because....well read the book, it's a plot give away. Man vs. the environment Pi's struggle to survive in the boat is great reading. I turned each page with excitement. His strategies to survive our fascinating. His encounters on the Ocean, each one, feel like modern day encounters from the Odyssey. His encounters with the tiger. Equally interesting. You finish the book ready to learn Zoology. Man vs. himself Well, until you get to the end, does Pi struggle against himself? No, not really. In fact Pi is just too good. Too bright. Too self-enlightened. Just not human enough, but wait until the end. Then ----- who knows. Man vs. God. Well sort of. It's sort of like reviewing the Bible as a written work. The struggle really isn't against god but a struggle to learn what is god. This part of the book is also very interesting. In short, this book deserves the Booker prize and is the kind of classic that probably should be read in a high school English classes. Bravo Mr. Martel.
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Summary: interesting
Review: i liked this book very much, although i think it's a very young book. the writer, being young, starts out to impart some great truth, and ends up instead with an enchanting contradiction to everything he thinks he's saying: i.e., he stumbles on a greater truth. or a better story, as he puts it. in spite of its claims, the book will not make you believe in god, unless you already do, but it will certainly make you believe in tigers, flying fish and carnivorous algae, which are much more interesting.
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Summary: Detailed and ambitious
Review: There's really no way to describe the plot of this book--it defies description and therein lies its brilliance. Great books can't be summed up in one pithy sentence as marketers and promotion people would have you believe--and how would you do that with this book anyway ("The story of a boy in a boat?") It just falls flat and you totally miss the point. No, this is one of those completely unusual books that can only be read to be appreciated. It's very spiritual and religious yet not in the conventional way, and Martel has created a sort of hybrid fable-fiction book that requires us to suspend our belief, but all in the name of a good cause. As with other books that choose the child narrator voice (think McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD or Kidd's SECRET LIFE OF BEES) this book does so with a magic all its own. But the most remarkable thing about this story is the way Martel weaves people, places, and ideas together in such as way as to create a wonderful whole, not just disparate elements as some authors might do. It's not a large book, and it's easy to read, but the message is weightier than you might think. Highly recommended. Also recommended: McCrae's "The Bark of the Dogwood"
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Summary: Awesome! Storytelling/Truth? at it's best
Review: I absolutely loved this book and I esp. liked how the author would insert small comments about his observations of the man from whom the story came from. I think this book is much like a parable. It has many levels of truth and understanding and I personally believe what he told them about the tiger...is true. It's too detailed...
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Summary: One of my favorites
Review: This is such an engaging and riveting book. It was a spiritual book without being overzealous about any particular religion/denomination although he does focus on Hinduism, Muslim and Catholicism. I cannot adequately convey the wonders of the story which has moments that are hard to take in its graphic descriptions of survival. I just know that I am extremely fortunate to have read it and ecstatic that Martel chose to write it.
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Summary: Brilliant and moving
Review: Wasn't expecting too much when I first read about this: It sounded like a combination of "The Jungle Book" and "Old Man and the Sea." But I couldn't have been further off the mark. It's nothing like those two books. The story alone is great, but what Martel does with it is fantastic. You might find yourself wondering about where it's going at times, but the end wraps everything up very nicely. Would also recommend another book I've recently read called "The Bark of the Dogwood" as it too is an excellent read. Also, "Little Children"--not along the same lines as these two, but just as good.
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Summary: Great premise, great execution
Review: So many books start out with a great idea, and then the author doesn't follow through with anything satisfying. Great ideas are a dime a dozen, but the number of authors that write books that are complete and satisfying are few and far between. THE LIFE OF PI is one of those books. Not only is the story excellent, but the telling of it--the pacing; the handling of the material; the character development--is better than almost any other book out on the market today. Reminiscent of McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD or other books that use the child narrator voice, this one will be on the bestseller list for some time. Do yourself a favor and buy it. Also recommended: McCrae's THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD
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Summary: took awhile to get into
Review: Overall this was a pretty good book. It took me awhile to get into though. The author writes really well, and this helps when the book gets drawn out. I wasn't a big fan of the story, until the very end, it really wrapped up nicely.
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Summary: At last a journey into the heart of lightness
Review: It worked for me as one long prose poem -- a meditation of man adrift, under pressure to make peace with primal forces (like, the tiger) which with he has no common language. The boy finds himself, or at least finds himself on his journmey to finding himself. A sly and densely crafted achievment. For a real-life equivalent as a work of art and study of the haunted questing human, I also recommend the excellent IN THE GHOST COUNTRY by Peter Hillary and John Elder.
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Summary: Couldn't finish the first CD
Review: I could not connect with the material in this novel. It just seemed to drone on and on without ever really getting off the ground. The reading being done with an accent was also a little distracting, but made sense because of the character's point-of-view. The author loves a clever turn of phrase (which got annoying quickly). I was so bored by the novel, that I ended up getting my money back. Sorry, Yann.
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