Life of Pi

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It's a hit!

This is an extremely extraordinary book - an insightful, unusual tale – and definitely one of the most unique stories I have ever read.

If appro... (show more)

This is an extremely extraordinary book - an insightful, unusual tale – and definitely one of the most unique stories I have ever read.

If approached solely as an adventure story it is completely enjoyable but if you decide to look deeper, there is plenty to ponder on. LIFE OF PI contains elements of religion, philosophy, zoology, and biology. Very soon into the journey, you realise that you have to practise a 'willful suspension of disbelief', ...it is not a documentary, but an artful work of fiction.

Martel employs a number of religious themes and devices to introduce religion as one of mankind's primary filters for interpreting reality. Pi's active adoption and participation in Christianity, Hinduism and Islam establish him as a character able to relate his story through the lens of the world's three major religions. (I loved Pi’s discovery of different religions).

Another theme I can emphasise is that of storytelling. All people are storytellers, casting their experiences and even their own life events in story form. Yet we all choose our own stories to accomplish this - some based on faith and religion, some based on science and empiricism. The approach we choose dictates our interpretation of the world around us.

With faith, this novel becomes much more meaningful. It allows you to absorb the thoughts and emotion that Pi experiences. At the end of the book, when he presents two stories about what had happened to him, it is difficult to decide which of the two outcomes is true, and/or which of the two you prefer.

I absolutely loved the ending of this book, it made me look at the whole book and story from a totally different perspective.

Some excerpts from LIFE OF PI:

“If we, citizens, do not support our artists, then we sacrifice our imagination on the altar of crude reality and we end up believing in nothing and having worthless dreams” (2001:xi).

“I was more afraid that in a few words thrown out he might destroy something that I loved. What if his words had the effect of polio on me? What terrible disease that must be if it could kill God in a man” (2001:30-31).

“It is not atheists who get stuck in my craw, but agnostics. Doubt is useful for a while. We must all pass through the garden of Gethsemane. If Christ played with doubt, so must we. If Christ spent an anguished night in prayer, if He burst out from the Cross, “My God, by God, why have you forsaken me?” then surely we are also permitted doubt. But we must move on. To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation” (2001:31).

“In both cases we look at animals and see a mirror. The obsession with putting ourselves at the centre of everything is the bane not only of theologians but also of zoologists” (2001:34).

“If you took the city of Tokyo and turned it upside down and shook it, you would be amazed at the animals that would fall out. It would pour more than cats and dogs, I tell you. Boa constrictors, Komodo dragons, crocodiles, piranhas, ostriches, wolves, lynx, wallabies, manatees, porcupines, orang-utans, wild boar – that’s the sort of rainfall you could expect on your umbrella” (2001:46). (show less)

 

 

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No, it's a flop!

Now, this is one of those books that everyone goes on about, which makes me wonder whether it really deserves all the praise it gets (e.g. Vernon G... (show more)

Now, this is one of those books that everyone goes on about, which makes me wonder whether it really deserves all the praise it gets (e.g. Vernon God Little = No. The Curious Incident of the dog in the Night-Time should've one). Anyway, eight years later i finally read it.

What do I think? It's alright. Bit of a boring beginning, with all the religious musings, except for the stories about the behaviour of animals in zoos. It gets better when the story finally gets to the bit in the lifeboat and the animals interact, quickening the pace. The end also has an interesting potential twist which gave me a bit more respect for the novel.

Therefore, it was a pleasant enough read, but it hasn't changed my life; I'm still not sure whether it should be considered one of the top books of all time. I'll have to try out the others shortlisted to see whether the award was truly deserved. (show less)

 

 

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  I was a bit disappointed with this novel. Although I thought the story was quite original and imaginative, it was a bit ploddy and never really kept me gripped or built up tension as I would have hoped. Although I can see that the chilled out, ploddy style refelcts the actions of the characters plight within the story, I thought there was plenty of potential for suspense which was never taken. I also felt there was far too much description of things which had no relevance to the story. Ye... (show more)

  I was a bit disappointed with this novel. Although I thought the story was quite original and imaginative, it was a bit ploddy and never really kept me gripped or built up tension as I would have hoped. Although I can see that the chilled out, ploddy style refelcts the actions of the characters plight within the story, I thought there was plenty of potential for suspense which was never taken. I also felt there was far too much description of things which had no relevance to the story. Yes, it created a very real and believeable lead character but all this description really added to the ploddy feel which detracted from this book. I was also quite disappointed by the ending. Although very clever, raising many questions as to wha actually happened,and whether what you have just trawled through had actually happened at all, I found this very irritating after plodding through the previous 200+ pages.
  However, I am glad that I read this. It wasn't unenjoyable but just not really in line with my expectations of such an acclaimed novel. I think it's very clever and interesting but certainly not a stonking good read! (show less)

   

  by Sam Woodfield on Apr 14, 2009 at 09:37AM

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  Spoiler Alert... Major plot points revealed:
  In my mind I get the part at the end where there are actually two stories (the 'real' one with the horrible murders of the Chinese sailor, his mother, and finally when he killed the barbaric cook), and then there is the same story only allegorically told with animals and with Pi himself as the tiger, and that story essentially forms the bulk of the book. "Which story do you prefer?", he asked the Japanese guys. And that seems to be the wh... (show more)

  Spoiler Alert... Major plot points revealed:
  In my mind I get the part at the end where there are actually two stories (the 'real' one with the horrible murders of the Chinese sailor, his mother, and finally when he killed the barbaric cook), and then there is the same story only allegorically told with animals and with Pi himself as the tiger, and that story essentially forms the bulk of the book. "Which story do you prefer?", he asked the Japanese guys. And that seems to be the whole point of the book, that we choose the story about God that we prefer (which all goes back to his choosing to subscribe to all three religions back home as a boy in India). Since neither story can be verified (the same as with religions) we are free to pick the one we want. And he (and ultimately the Japanese guy) chose the tiger version. That's my take on the major theme of the book, anyway.

  But I still don't get the point of the weird island. The whole of the rest of the tiger story is an allegory, sort of taking the psychological place of the true story because the real one is too awful to accept. But I can't for the life of me figure out what the meerkats and the carnivorous algae and the fresh water pools have to do with anything else in the book. That particular chapter is a VERY long one, so he must have had some purpose in mind, but I don't know what it was. Perhaps it was intended to strain our credulity so much (as compared with the highly rational previous chapters) that we as readers are supposed to think he is going mad or hallucinating.

  One niggling bit: I didn't much care for the Japanese interview at the end. Wouldn't anyone hearing the story would immediately think "This guy is deranged" and leave it at that? No one would insist on saying "We don't believe you" when speaking to someone who appears to be a madman, right? (Especially since it didn't matter anyway what his story was, as long as they could get some facts about why the ship sunk.) Oh, well, as I say it's a niggling bit. (show less)

   

   

  by Mikey Angmo on Feb 25, 2009 at 04:10AM

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