Rating: 
Summary: A Story of Survival and Spirituality
Review: I began to wait. My thoughts swung wildly. I was either fixed on practical details of immediate survival or transfixed by pain, weeping silently, my mouth open and my hands at my head (111).Although we are humans, set apart from other animal species due to our superior intelligence and innovation, we still possess remnants of animal instinct, and these remains shine through in times of crisis, when our livelihood is threatened. I'm sure you've felt it. That piercing tug in your chest, that involuntary tension in your throat, that off kilter feeling when your heart races and flutters... And with a quick skin-tingling shudder, it's over, and you realize that you have had a brush with death. Okay, you may have just fallen off your bike, or just barely swerved in time to avoid that semi, but the feeling is the same. Your entire existence feels threatened, and in that instant when all that is familiar to you could be snatched from your grasp, thoughts of confusion, panic, and fear crowd your mind. If the endangering moment lasts longer than a few seconds, this bestial survival motive takes over. You find yourself pushing emotions to the wayside, giving means of survival precedence over all else. You hurriedly construct a plan of attack, put it into action, and hope for the best. If your plan works and you survive, you develop an adjusted outlook on life. It may not be permanent. It may be merely ephemeral. Either way, a near death experience, a struggle for survival, changes you. You may find yourself pondering life and its blessings. You may feel bitter and abhor the world for putting you to the test. You may question the reality of the relationships, people, and things around you. You may contemplate religion or politics. You may come to an epiphany or you may just cloud your mind further. Some kind of magnetic faith or hope guided you this far... But where does this conviction leave you in the end?
Life of Pi by Yann Martel tells the story of a sixteen year old boy named Pi and his struggle for survival on the open sea when he is shipwrecked on a lifeboat with four unlikely companions: a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena, and a Bengal tiger. Pi finds himself in this inconceivable predicament after his father, a zookeeper, informs the family that they are to move from Pondicherry, India to Canada. This necessitates the family and the animals to travel by sea to this grossly foreign place. Tragedy strikes in its usual fashion, and as Pi finds himself stranded as the sole human survivor, he must struggle to survive and stand up to the perils of nature and the high sea, not to mention the threat of wild animals on board. Thus, this spiritual young boy sets out on a triumphant quest for survival and along the way questions the mysterious notion of faith in God and its role in meaningful existance.
Yann Martel uses the voice of Pi looking back at his incomprehensible feat to narrate the story, a wise choice in that it more personally connects readers to the main character right from the start. Immaculate in formulation, the commentary of Pi is simple to follow, casually, yet deliberately spoken, and ultimately vivid in the description of action and scenery. "Warmth came only when the sun, looking like an electrically lit orange broke across the horizon, but I didn't need to wait that long to feel it. With the very first rays of light it came alive in me: hope. As things emerged in outline and filled with colour, hope increased until it was like a song in my heart. Oh, what it was to bask in it!" (119). Mr. Martel's language is inarguably encapsulating, exuding richness and a magnetic quality that demands attention from any reader. Life of Pi is full of passages like these, crafted like an artist or a cinematographer, assessing fluidity, balance, smoothness, and form. Pi also continually expresses underlying inquisitiveness, endlessly pondering deeply moral questions but not forgetting the true direness of his situation. Pi realizes that in order to survive, he must come to grips with his spirituality and its role in his life. This understanding shines through in his voice when he brings forth profound statements such as this: "Despair was a heavy blackness that let no light in or out. It was a hell beyond expression. I thank God it always passed... The blackness would stir and eventually go away, and God would remain, a shining point of light in my heart. I would go on loving" (209). In order that this novel not be merely a catalog of Pi's staid thoughts and philosophies, Yann Martel balances such serious contemplation with humor and wit, thus making Pi an even more personable narrator.
Mr. Martel includes a contrasting voice throughout the novel as well. This voice is that of the fictitious author who recounts Pi's life story through interview and observation. These intermittent vignettes depicting Pi in the present day, display a convincing, yet deceptive impression that this third party narrator is Yann Martel and that Pi Patel in actually told this story to him. This fact adds a dose of realism to the novel and you may find yourself, as I did, wanting to believe that this whole story is true.
Yann Martel's literary strengths command this novel and he appeases to the challenge of creating a fun, exciting, and deeply meaningful story that impacts readers beyond imagination. He strives to provoke questions of faith and relationships in the minds of the readers, urging us to contemplate our inner strength and being and awaken the child-like imagination, hope, and curiosity, deeply recessed within each of us.
Rating: 
Summary: A wonder and a fun page-turner
Review: You can't help but smile.
Meet 16 year old Piscine Mollitor Patel, aka Pi ("Pie" so as not to be nicknamed Pissing.) He is an Indian boy, living with his family is in a zoo in India. (His father is the entrepreneur zookeeper.) Pi loves God and Life so much he becomes a devote Hindu, Muslim and Christian, just because he wants to learn all the ways he can to love God and pray. Then his father decides the family will move to Canada and take the animals too so they can sell them to American zoos... that is all just the first 100 pages.
But when the ship sinks in the pacific, and the only survivors are the boy (Pi), a 350 lb bengal tiger, a zebra with a broken leg, a hyena, and an orang-utan named Orange Juice, Pi must balance the equation of being a vibrant vegetarian drifting across the Pacific. He becomes kind of like a wonderful little McGuyver on the 26ft lifeboat sharing quarters with a rapidly diminishing crew of wild animals. He must learn his place in the predator/prey relationship; he must master the master of the food chain ... or become the final meal to a fierce carnivore.
Overall the book is very entertaining and is a good page turner, full of love and wonder and a bit of terror, but not at all in a horror way. Full of human nature, and animal nature for that matter, LIFE OF PI reminds us lovingly to keep the faith and live a good life. I imagine this book will probably become standard summer reading if it hasn't yet already been so designated. I feel light and and in touch with a deeper youthful part of myself while reading.
Rating:
Summary: (4.5 stars). a fable-like novel
Review: Like a M. Night Shyamalan movie, "Life of Pi" reveals its secret in the very ending but don't worry, the novel doesn't rely solely on its conclusive revelation (which, by the way, you can either believe or not)!
Basically "life of Pi" is the tale of Pi Patel, a 16-year-old Indian boy who is shipwrecked in the Pacific and manages to survive for 227 days, all of this in the troublesome company of a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.
Soon he realizes that the only way to prevent Richard Parker from attacking, is to tame him (being the son of a zookeeper Pi is somewhat advantaged in this). There is a wealth of research behind this novel, mostly zoological and botanical (in the midst of his drifting across the ocean the lifeboat bumbs into an island that eventually turns out to be something else, adding a further sprinkle of magic realism to the novel).
I found this novel greatly enjoyable and well written (it won the Booker after all) and I practically devoured the last part, starting with the discovery of the inslan onwards, till it's final, upsetting, ending.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent example of imaginative fiction
Review: This book was a joy to read. The mixture between religions and the commentary provided by Pi Patel was incredible. He is so descriptive and so human; he tells you all of his doubts and his desires, the way he wants things to be. What I noticed about this book the most though was how beautiful he made everything. Even the most disgusting things were transformed into poetic objects of beauty. His family owns a zoo, it's bound to be loud, noisy, and smelly, yet he makes you picture it as though you were there and could feel the animals, actually know what it was like to be in love and care for them. It was funny because I didn't know this book was fiction at first. When you take it from that approach it's much different than reading it as fiction. I liked it better from the non-fiction approach. It made his struggles more realistic and courageous. The one part I didn't agree with though (in truthfullness) was the part about the island and the muskrats. But that's for one to decide on one's own. ^^ This book on a whole was great. Yann Martel has a great gift of writing and imagination. His characters were well developed (Pi mainly) and the way he centralizes it around three different religions is a relief from the normal devout so-and-so faithful person. Pi's genuine belief in these three religions was wonderful, making one think that maybe all the religions out there are somehow right. I recommended this book to my boyfriend and my family. There's a reason it has been on the bestsellers list for so long. Read it and enjoy it - it's a nice bit of light reading that makes you think afterwards.
Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Book
Review: First off, this book rocks!! I usually cannot get interested in books, but this one is great. It's a beautiful book, combining the importance of faith and the realities of life. Impossible to put down, and highly recomended!
Rating:
Summary: life of pi
Review: am i well read?.....yes!
am i emotional?......no!
do i ball my eyes out when reading a book...however sad?..no!
do laugh out loud at peoples misfortunes?....yes! is "life of pi" the best book ive read for a decade?....hmmmm YES!!! i found reading Pi a rollercoaster of emotion......it totally ruined my weekend break at a bush camp with gathered family from around the world...(im in south africa)
our three day break consisted of me reading this bloody book for two days, and the final day me busting into tears every half an hour...(much to the embaressment of others)
i cant help it
i loved it
in reading that book, I found god, humanity, suffering, humour, repulsion, happiness....and hope...I hate sequals, but long to know about richard parker and how he did...as pi said "i love you richard parker"
Darren
Rating:
Summary: It soars
Review: I listened to the Life of Pi in my car during my daily commute to work each day. I would actually get upset when my trip was over and I had to leave the car. The narration and the story were superb... I felt every bit of angst, fear and joy that Pi was going through. It was a lovely novel and I'm going to listen to it again.
Rating:
Summary: A surprisingly entertaining book!
Review: The Life of Pi is a captivating story - so wonderfully entertaining! The main character is a spiritual, deep thinking teenage boy from India, whose simple life as the son of a zookeeper is turned upside down after he becomes a survivor of a sunken ship at sea. There a suttle lessons learned throughout the storytelling, which the author is expert at weaving in between the lines. The end of the story lends a surprising, profound twist - both unusually humorous and thought provoking. After finishing this book, it has become clear to me that a simple life can be a satisfying and meaningful life as long as the spirit is focused on what is good. A great piece of literature - I highly recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: YAYAY
Review: EXCELLENT BOOK YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY, yup, thats what I thought, it was that gooooood!!! Read It!!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing adventure
Review: I was totally captivated by this book. Every aspect of it felt real, and considering the premise, one could imagine this book spinning wildly into fantasy. Martel always seems to know just how much physical detail to give to make the emotional story resonate. Simply brilliant. Highly recommended.
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