Life of Pi by Yann Martel Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Life of Pi
Book Review: read it
Summary: 4 Stars
At first, I found Life of Pi funny and magical. Pi Patel, the narrator of the novel, is such a substantially articulated narrative voice that, despite his occasional didactics, is utterly his own, separated from any weight of authorial overbearance on Yann Martel's part. Thus, when, at moments when Pi seems awkwardly polemical (particularly some of his clever, but not necessarily revelatory comments about religion and animal life) it seems to be simply, quintessentially Pi, not a sermonizing by Martel as the author of the book. After a while, however, it becomes obvious that Martel is attempting to allegorize certain issues of faith, freedom, and the truth of God and the world against the truths that we understand, and this obviousness, I found, verges on being a distractiion to the novel's power. The moment when I began to doubt, though, was the precise moment when Pi finds himself shipwrecked on a 26-foot lifeboat with Richard Parker, a 10-foot(or somewhere around there) Bengal tiger. The section of the book that details Pi's life at sea, perfectly counteracted any doubts I had, as Martel steers away from the unengaging, not particularly astounding philosophical and religious insights to allow these issues to speak underneath and through the narrative. Pi's struggle for survival, visited in places by his consideration of what he observes, speaks much more powerfully than his earlier mere statements. Though not particularly poetic, there is a quality in Martel's writing, in Pi's voice, that is simply amazed, wondering at the breadth of marvel and danger in the world around him. In a way, it is the bare exposure of what he witnesses, his actual experience of natural beauty, that reveals danger; to know it is to know his place in it, to see and grasp his own death. Therefore, there is a terric, plainspoken lyricism to Life Of Pi. Pi's sense of awe is perhaps my favorite part of the book, because it is subtle and, through Pi's utterly convincing voice, true.
Finally, Martel saves the best for last, and I won't give it away, though I will say that the end of Life Of Pi awakens Pi's character even further into my mind. He is more palpable as the truth of his life becomes more ambiguous and textured. Life Of Pi is thus a magical book that may reach a little in places, but, on the exuberant whole, is excellent and fraught with wonder.
Book Review: Brilliant plot, weak execution
Summary: 3 Stars
The premise of a boy shipwrecked and wandering on the sea with a dangerous menagerie in a journey towards faith seems fresh, exciting, and drew me to this book. However, despite some of the best reviews i have read for a book lately, I was completely dissappointed with the execution of what seemed to be such a promising novel.For the first 100 pages, readers are introduced to Pi Patel, an endearing boy who samples religions and declares himself a Hindu, Christian, and a Muslim. He finds himself torn between making a definitive religion his, and wants to follow a philosophy of faith and love. As he moves to Canada on a cargo ship with his family and the zoo animals they are relocating to North America, disaster strikes and he finds himself on a small lifeboat with a hyena, an orangutan, a zebra, and a bengal tiger. A Robinson Crusoe-esque journey ensues, as the novel is told through the perspective of the boy.
While the first 100 pages left me salivating for more, I was utterly disappointed with Martel's follow up on his themes. Once Pi is castaway the novel becomes a survival narrative and the religious ideas are left behind and only shallowly explored. Imagination abounds in this novel, but it's promise of a story that will make you believe in God seems to be ignored for other interests within the narrative. The end result is a disjointed argument about religion and a plot that makes you feel as though you've read three different novels rather than one. The twists at the end of the novel raise issues of truth, but the themes of the novel seem to have been dropped for sheer adventure and drawn out shipwreck narrative so it feels as though it is merely tacked on at the end to try to regain more literary value.
Life of Pi is a good read, boldly imaginative, but not as substantive as it could have been.
Book Review: Marvelous
Summary: 5 Stars
Yann Martel's Life of Pi is a wondrous novel, a marvelous novel--there is much to wonder and marvel at. The story is simple, yet complex at the same time and can be read on many levels. On the surface, this is the story of a young man who grows up in India and at sixteen, en route to Canada with his family, finds himself the sole human survivor of a shipwreck, afloat on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. The story is divided into two sectins. The first occurs before he gets on the boat and tells of his life as a young zookeeper's son. As a boy, he decides to become a practicing Catholic, Muslim and Hindu, all at once. His ruminations on zookeeping and religion lay the groundwork for how he could possibly survive on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. Beyond the story, however, is an examination of religion and of writing, of how to write about religion and the religious experience. It is an examination on the strengths (and weaknesses) of religious belief. The novel also ends with a philisophical bang, which I won't give away, but which did blow me away. It wasn't until I got to that point that I became truly impressed with what Martel has done here. Before that, I thought it was a very well done novel, but with the ending, it becomes much more. Life of Pi is not a typical novel. The story, its charming main character and his narrative style are all different than most everything else you can get today. That uniqueness makes it that much more special. I highly recommend Life of Pi. Enjoy.Book Review: Fantastic Voyage!
Summary: 5 Stars
I ordered this book in part because I needed a break from my usual fare of spiritual readings, Oprah picks, and National Public Radio. Yawn, I needed some adventure! "Life of Pi" beckoned me to the lost hours of storytales from childhood, secluded in my bedroom on a hot summer day, wonderful stolen hours. Such was yesterday...a book about a boy, a boat, a tiger and God. What more could I want? There are priceless scenes I will undoubtedly return to time and again, particularly the "accidental" intersection of Pi's three wise men comprised of a priest, an imam and a pandit. A hilarious, yet truthful bird's eye view of boy meets dogma. Martel's writing of the sea, animal behavior and his apparent lust for life, meaning and irony are a feast to be savored. Richard Parker would have been impressed --- I left not a morsel.
If you want a rollicking summer read without compromising your spirit of seeking, this one's the pick of the litter.
Book Review: Deserves 6 stars
Summary: 5 Stars
If you read often or browse the bookstores you find that there seem to be a limited number of plot designs and a finite number of characters. The names and cities change but the stories all sort of blend together. There are some authors who are more skilled at word flow than others and seem more comfortable with their style but a similarity exists that makes reading even the best volumes mundane.Then you get the joyful opportunity to discover a book like Martel's Life of Pi. This is a story like no other. There is a plot unique, thought provoking and inspiring; a main character who presents a persona so important and so basic to life and an author who writes with such ease and comfort that you think he is speaking with you in your living room over coffee.
Main character Piscine [Pi] is stranded in a life raft with a tiger after a ship wreck. Don't let the seeming trviality of this brief plot review dissuade you. Only an author with the imagination and genius of Martel could make this work. It works so very well. Read this book with an open mind as Martel details his suffering, his thoughts, his feelings, his emotional drain and most importantly his relationship with the tiger. Try hard to understand what Mr. Martel is really talking about and dare to think about how you would react to the situations presented after 200 days at sea in a 26 foot raft.
For every 20 books I read I pray one will be like this. It is one of the few books I have ever read that I think I could read again.