when you've suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling

Book Review 

 

Rating * * * * 

 

Title: Life of Pi

 

Author: Man Booker Prize-winning Canadian Yann Martel

 

Published: this novel was published in 2001; I listened to the unabridged audiobook (HighBridge; read by Jeff Woodman and Alexander Marshall; 13 hours) 

 

What is the story? 

    After the sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a wounded zebra, an orangutan—and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger.
    Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi Patel, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with the tiger, Richard Parker, for 227 days while lost at sea.
    The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth." After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional—but is it more true?
    Life of Pi is at once a realistic, rousing adventure and a meta-tale of survival that explores the redemptive power of storytelling and the transformative nature of fiction. It's a story, as one character puts it, to make you believe in God. --from Amazon.com 

What type of language does it use—technical, complex, standard, or colloquial? standard and some colloquial. 

 

Does the level of language make it easy or difficult for the reader to follow? it is easy to follow, an organic and personal story that really flows (meaning, I often read longer than intended. Just one more chapter!)

 

Did you like this book? I did, but it was odd—this is one of the few times that I liked the movie more than the book. It may have been different if I'd read the book first, though. The picture that I had in my head didn't quite match what's on the page. 

 

If you could change something, what would it be? the occasional mini-lectures on running a zoo, animal behavior, and religion were refreshing and interesting to me. I would have liked more of them. 

 

What was your favourite part? the scene where Richard Parker's name is explained, which came just at the right point in the story to have ample curiosity built up, and anticipation relieved in an unexpected way

 

Who stands out, among the characters? Richard Parker, of course

 

What is your recommendation? this is a beautiful book, evocative and mesmerizing. I recommend it to those interested in animals (especially zoo creatures), Indian culture, sea travel, and loss. There are moments of upsetting content, and they appear unexpectedly; sensitive readers should be forewarned.

 

5 adjectives you would use to describe this text: magical, strange, lush, heartrending, captivating

 

[book review template 5 adapted from here; the title quotation is from the book]