by Yann Martel
Pi is the son of a zookeeper in India. When his family emigrates to Canada- taking as many zoo animals along with them as possible- the ship sinks, and Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat with several animals, including a large bengal tiger. Before long, of course, the tiger has eaten the other animals- and Pi must use all his wits to stay alive in the confined space, on the rocking, endless ocean, with a hungry tiger. I loved all the details of this book- especially about animal behavior. This is a survival story, an animal story, a moral story, all in one. It was a shock to me to reach the end and find out that what I thought had been going on- and taken so much enjoyment in reading about- could have been something totally different. And I was a bit annoyed. For days I wavered back and forth, arguing to myself which way to interpret the story- and I\’m still not sure! Life of Pi is one of those books that I found utterly engrossing- and totally frustrating at the end. It is lyrical, funny, and haunting. I can\’t give away the ending- but if you\’ve read it, you must tell me which premise you believe in- was Richard Parker on the boat, in his beautiful furred coat? or was there some cannibalism going on….?
Rating: 4/5 …….. 326 pages, 2001
More opinions at:
The Curious Reader
Book Chase
Rabbit Reader
Andrew Blackman
You\’ve GOTTA Read This!