Life of Pi

An award winner in Canada (and winner of the 2002 Man Booker Prize), Life of Pi, Yann Martel's second novel, should prove to be a breakout book in the U.S. At one point in his journey, Pi recounts, "My greatest wish--other than salvation--was to have a book. A long book with a never-ending story. One that I could read again and again, with new eyes and fresh understanding each time." It's safe to say that the fabulous, fablelike Life of Pi is such a book. --Brad Thomas Parsons

Product Description

Bottom line: simply wonderful. Fully deserving of the Booker prize.


Good, but not Great   January 23, 2003
Scott Sauchuk (Plympton, Massachusetts)
229 out of 300 found this review helpful

I am a farmer, not a book critic, so I may not appreciate and understand all of the potential subtleties and symbolism of this novel. I certainly do not understand the heaps of praise given to this book. Nevertheless, I will attempt to give my brief opinion, which differs from most others, and risk receiving many "not helpful" votes.

The Life of Pi is clearly a good book, but it is not a great work. At the beginning of the book, the author reminds the reader of the many religious faiths and beliefs by introducing several characters. In one great act of discontinuity, these characters are discarded as Pi journeys to Canada. At this point, we must suspend disbelief, as we are asked to accept many highly unlikely events. Such events include the unexplained opening of the animal cages before the ship abruptly sinks, 450-lb tiger crawling effortlessly into a 26-foot lifeboat, the flesh-eating island, the chance head-on meeting with a freighter and another castaway, the small lifeboat remaining upright for 200+ days in the open seas, etc. I'm willing to accept these improbabilities if the story is entertaining and meaningful, but the survival story becomes quickly mired in details and drags on for far too many pages.

If you become bored with the lengthy tiger survival story, just skip ahead to Part III and the author will very clearly spell out the meaning of the book. We are told that the tiger survival story may indeed be fantasy, and we are provided with a brief alternative, which is more probable. Lacking any definite proof, as with religion, we are left to choose the "better" story; however "better" is not defined. Better in terms of what? that which offers better rewards? that which makes you feels better? that which is most probable and does not insult reason? I can't abandon the latter in favor of the former. In short, Martel uses far too many pages to make such a simple point.


Amazing and symbolic - I loved this book   May 31, 2002
Booknut (St. Albert, AB)
104 out of 121 found this review helpful

I read between 50 and 80 books a year and it is the rare novel that does not disappoint me on some level. This book never let me down, I was never bored and I never felt the author cheated or left loose ends. The language was simple and lyrical but full of symbolism and symmetry. I loved the main character's honesty and optimism and his simple will to survive. Above all I loved the choice of an alternate ending, neither story is a perfect fit leaving the reader the choice to make up their own mind. I laughed, I cried and I'm recommending it to everyone I know.


Deserves 6 stars   June 29, 2002
Beau Thurnauer (Coventry, CT USA)
100 out of 115 found this review helpful

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.


Charming and Intelligent   June 6, 2003
82 out of 103 found this review helpful

Yann Martel has created one of the most likeable characters in recent days- Pi is intelligent, charming, and amazingly captivating. With small glimmers of "The Old Man and the Sea," Martel develops the ocean into an unforgiving, vast, and mysterious character. But perhaps the crux of the book occurs at the end, when Martel forces the reader to question the events and stories, and their ultimate meaning, that occur in the book. An absolute must read. We hope Marel can top it off.