Rating: 
Summary: A deeper look
Review: Life of Pi was a wonderful book, with notes of philosophy and theological thought tied into a well crafted story. While it may start with a slightly slower pace than other books in the genre, it is worth the effort. If you liked this, I would also recommend Golf in the Kingdom.
Rating: 
Summary: Incredible story
Review: The sheer number of views post on this title and the publicity it has generated tells a lot about what should be expected from the story. It is catching. This is one of the best works of fiction that my eyes have roved through and which my mind has appreciated. I like Martel's poetic style of writing, his plot and the vivid descriptions he gave of things , characters and events results the story. I was so caught up by the book that I was unable to put it down until the last page. In the end, I saw The Life of Pi became so popular. Any book who knows a good story may think he/or she is starting this book at a stroll and but would be surprised to end it at a compelling rush. The story is completely captivating, fast-paced, thrilling, inspiring, shocking and hilarious. I smiled, sighed, laughed and even wiped a tear while reading this book.
Also recommended: DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE
Rating:
Summary: Patience will be Rewarded
Review: "Life of Pi" has many parallels to spirituality, not only in the context of the author's wording of the story, but in the reading experience itself. Patience is a virtue and "Life of Pi" is a testament to this noble inner moral. The author starts slow, taking time to layout a framework of plausibility to justify the events that are to unfold. Without taking the patience to lay down this groundwork, the miraculous story that unfolds would seem far to infeasible to engross the reader. However, through the author's patience and that of the reader in the initial stages of the book, the ensuing experience is one that will most assuredly reward the reader in literary enjoyment and uplifting of spirit. True, such a book does not make an instant grab of the reader's devotion as popular mysteries typified by "The Da Vinci Code" or celebrated postmodern literature typified by "My Fractured Life." Nor does such a book as "Life of Pi" present an effortless reading experience typified by easy reading, mass market adult fiction typified by "The Five People You Meet in Heaven." Yet, "Life of Pi" does not need to fall into one of these categories to achieve the same level of grandeur. It is an experience that requires more patience, but in so doing provides a different variety of pleasure.
Rating:
Summary: A very engaging story
Review: This is a story about a young teenager, Pi, whose family is moving across the Pacific to Canada with a whole zoo. The teenager, to be on the safe side, considers himself to be a Christian, a Muslim, and a Hindu all at once, and will soon need all the religious support he can get. The ship sinks in mid ocean, and he is left in a lifeboat with a hyena, an orangutan, and a very large and dangerous Bengal tiger, called Richard Parker. His problem now is how to survive, and this problem gets even worse when one by one, Richard devours his animal companions. The story is very engaging, and the author seems to be showing that religion is no good at all in situation's like Pi's, and that the only thing that really matters is having the skills needed to survive. I enjoyed this story, except maybe for the part where Pi and Richard land on a floating acidic island that is actually carnivorous; that was not really credible for me. But the ending, where we find out about an alternative story of what happened, is very clever.
Rating:
Summary: A Memorable Reading Experience
Review:
Yann Martel, an award-winning Canadian short story author, released his first novel "Self" to great anticipation. His novel was not only dismissed by critics but also ignored by readers (so much so that it is now out of print). As a result, expectations were not as high when it came to Life of Pi, his second novel. He even acknowledged his first book's failure in his introduction. However, Life of Pi is quite a contrast. This unique and astounding tale of survival was honoured with the Man Booker prize. Critics and readers alike both loved it and the acclaim is completely justified for this incredible adventure.
The novel begins with an author's note that introduces the story and how he came upon it. He writes of traveling to India and meeting someone that promises to tell him a story that will "make him believe in God". Martel can't help but listen. He is only told a brief outline of the story. For the full version, he is told to meet a "Pi Patel" in Toronto and hear the story of survival firsthand. In the first section, "Toronto and Pondicherry", Pi's story is introduced and we meet a boy from the small village of Pondicherry, India. A unique quirk of his is that he was born a Hindu, but his curious nature leads him towards other religions and he decides to practice Christianity and Islam as well. His passionate faith plays an important role later in the story. His father owns a zoo, and although it was successful, the turbulent political situation in India causes his parents to immigrate to Canada.
On June 21st, 1977, Pi's family and their cargo of animals board the Japanese cargo ship, the Tsimtsum. This is where part two, "The Pacific Ocean", begins. Partway through this voyage, an explosion awakens Pi. Upon investigation, he realizes the ship is sinking and chaos ensues. Once the smoke clears, he finds himself in a lifeboat with an orangutan, a zebra with a broken leg, and a hyena. A 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger, named Richard Parker, is also on board, but being beneath the boat's tarpaulin, Pi does not make this discovery immediately. After the other animals perish, he must attempt to stay alive without being eaten by the tiger. What follows is an incredible tale of his survival, not only because of the length of time he stayed alive, but because of the extreme nature of being in a lifeboat with a carnivorous beast.
The improbable story is made believable by the author's intelligent writing. He creates a realistic feel from the start by referring to his meetings with Pi Patel in Toronto. He does this in the introduction as well as in a number of chapters in the first section. The authenticity of Pi's survival with Richard Parker was augmented by all the survival tips scattered throughout the chapters. Information like, "Pressing the eyes of fish will paralyze them," makes the story seem factual. The descriptive passages in the novel are quite amazing. The most memorable descriptions are of Richard Parker. A truly vivid picture is painted in one's mind and it lingers long after the story is complete.
As remarkably entertaining as the story is, nothing can prepare you for the incredible twist in the last section, "Benito Juárez Infirmary, Tomatlán, Mexico". It is simply shocking and makes one rethink the entire novel. The last section also effectively answers many questions that were likely in the reader's mind, mainly the validity of aspects of Pi's story. Martel's clever and profound writing is seen throughout the novel. The effectiveness to invoke thought in reader is present in passages like, "...a tie is a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man nonetheless if he's not careful." and "Why tolerate darkness? Everything is here and clear, if only we look carefully."
Though Martel creates an incredibly realistic environment, a few of Pi's discoveries seem a bit too far-fetched, even for the most imaginative reader. The writing is excellent, yet the beginning of the story tends to drag on due to the lengthy descriptions of animal behaviour. Occasionally, even the middle of Pi's journey becomes mundane. This could be attributed to that fact that surviving on a lifeboat at sea is not very eventful. Yet, even in these moments, the endearing nature of Martel's writing makes it difficult to put down.
The story works on many different levels. It can act as a tale of pure survival, a tale of never losing hope and, as it was introduced, a tale that can make someone believe in God. It all depends on the reader. For different people to extract a significant meaning from one body of work is a sign of an effective piece of literature. An inspirational tale that can be enjoyed by everyone, Martel has truly created a masterpiece with Life Of Pi. The writing is intelligent and inventive and the novel is greatly superior to his previous effort. Let's hope he can sail along this path and not become shipwrecked. Pick up a copy of this unforgetable book! Two other books I highly recommend: Lucky by Alice Sebold, The Losers Club: Complete Restored Edition by Richard Perez, a novel I can't stop thinking about.
Rating:
Summary: Ayay, it's good!
Review: I love it!
the story is almost real, and yet it's surreal!
How Pi struggled on a lifeboat with big bengal-tiger, Richard Parker in a wide-open ocean for months. How his strong drive to survive made him do whatever he never thought he would do, to stay alive. Each chapter makes me wonder, what it's like to be made into movie? When i'm reading it, I feel like I'm actually there with Pi, feel his thirst, his hunger, his fear, his love, his joy... I shed my tears when Pi told Richard Parker he loves him so much, and when Richard Parker left him.
This book for me has good values of life. Its purpose is not to make you believe there's God or whatever, but I do believe Pi won't survive if God didn't allow him to survive.
At the end, I prefer to believe the story with the animals, of course.
I put this book next to The Alchemist and The Little Prince. Classic story I would tell my children.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyed the second part of the book more.
Review: I think there will be broadly two categories of people who will read this book, those who enjoyed the first section of the book more (pre the main character jumping into a lifeboat) and those who enjoyed the second section more. I am in the latter class.
I did find the first section of the book slightly entertaining and intersting from a religious point of view and enjoyed the building of the character Pi. However, I thought it dragged on a bit and was constantly waiting for the real story to get started.
The second section of the book was excellent and very entertaining. It shows the survival spirit in us all. And eventhough its a piece of fiction, I found myself wishing and almost believing that it was true. Until Pi landed on the mysterious living island. I personally did not enjoy this part of the book as much.
That being said, I think this is a really enjoyable, easy to read bit of fiction that deserved the awards it has won. I have recommended it to friends.
Rating:
Summary: Three Day Read
Review: I don't like to have to try to decipher books. I want to get lost in the story, not sit there and reread each sentence trying to figure out what witticism the author is impressing himself or herself by using. That's how I felt reading "Middlesex." I think underneath the prose it was probably a good book, but a good book shouldn't make you work that hard to realize it is. "Life of Pi" is written exactly how a good book should be. I didn't have to put on my thinking cap and force myself between the lines. I didn't have to search to decipher a regional cadence. I didn't have to use a thesaurus and dictionary. All I had to do is read. Thank heaven! This was a good book, every bit as good as "My Fractured Life" and "Atonement." It is easy to read and easy to get lost in. I read it in three days.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Adventure Tale Indeed
Review: I suppose after reading all of the promises made by this book (it will make me believe in God ect..) that I was a bit disappointed by its philosophical and theological aspects. Instead of being the center theme of the story, they were more of simple, surface level references, which were pleasant to read and ponder but nonetheless a bit shallow.
The book is pretty slow to get going, as it spends an awful lot of time establishing the main characters personality. But once it does get going the main character's personality truly comes into play. Also, I found the last portion of the book to be unnecessary; the idea of an alternate story and ambiguous realities didn't necessarily tickle my brain or bring to light any great philosophical revelations.
That being said, the story itself was great. The idea of a boy stranded alone in a boat with a tiger is far fetched but interesting, and the situations it brings up are intelligent and entertaining. The descriptions of the ocean put you right in the middle of it. The story of the living island was my favorite part, the descriptions of it are breathtaking. There is a sort of romanticism about the whole situation. It read a bit like a child's book with a simple naivety that was nothing short of charming. I loved every minute.
I truly began to enjoy Life of Pi when I stopped waiting for some great religious experience to jump off the pages and began to take the book as simply a great story. Maybe if my expectations had been the other way around the results would have been too. But that is impossible to tell. All in all, the meat of the story overshadows its otherwise trivial shortcomings. I would suggest that you take Life of Pi simply as a well written, wonderful story, and nothing more.
Rating:
Summary: Not a math book, but well worth reading
Review: The book started slowly for me, and I must admit that I almost set it down. However, the story really picked up a few dozen pages in, after Pi jumped onto the life raft and his solitary adventures began. I was hooked, and thoroughly enjoyed the pages between then and the end of the novel. I was sorry to reach the end.
The book has nothing to do with math--a misconception I originally had based on the title. The story concerns a young boy who spends nearly a year on a lifeboat. Lots of wonderfully imagined encounters and beautiful prose. Well worth reading. I hope you enjoy it!
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