After reading 20 pages of Yann Martel's Life of Pi, I was not enthusiastic at all about reading it. It was a very weird book about a kid named Piscine living in India who just talked about random things.
But I am so glad I stuck with it.
Life of Pi is an excellent book. It is much like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, but much, much better. The first half of the book is devoted to Piscine explaining himself. He is an Indian teenager. His father is a zookeeper. Piscine Molitor Patel was born and raised a Hindu, but adopted Christian and Muslim beliefs in addition to his Hindu faith. Piscine was teased by the other schoolkids because of a word his name sounded like, so he gave himself the nickname "Pi", and it stuck.
Near the middle of the book, Piscine's family gets fed up with Indira Gandhi and the Indian government, so they decide to sell all of their animals and move to Toronto. The second half of the book is the main storyline. While in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a great storm arises. Piscine is the sole survivor. The bad news is that now Piscine is in a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific with a Bengal tiger.
Life of Pi is very introspective. I personally loved it, but most of my friends did not. The book has little or no action at all, and can be very boring to any reader that thrives on adrenaline. A good 200 pages is just Piscine talking about himself and his interests (while foreshadowing events from the second half of the book), so that may bore many people.
All in all, I implore any patient reader to get Life of Pi. It is definitely worth it.
http://www.amazon.com/Life-Pi-Yann-Martel/dp/0156030209/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215633260&sr=1-1
Grade: 8.5
But I am so glad I stuck with it.
Life of Pi is an excellent book. It is much like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, but much, much better. The first half of the book is devoted to Piscine explaining himself. He is an Indian teenager. His father is a zookeeper. Piscine Molitor Patel was born and raised a Hindu, but adopted Christian and Muslim beliefs in addition to his Hindu faith. Piscine was teased by the other schoolkids because of a word his name sounded like, so he gave himself the nickname "Pi", and it stuck.
Near the middle of the book, Piscine's family gets fed up with Indira Gandhi and the Indian government, so they decide to sell all of their animals and move to Toronto. The second half of the book is the main storyline. While in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, a great storm arises. Piscine is the sole survivor. The bad news is that now Piscine is in a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific with a Bengal tiger.
Life of Pi is very introspective. I personally loved it, but most of my friends did not. The book has little or no action at all, and can be very boring to any reader that thrives on adrenaline. A good 200 pages is just Piscine talking about himself and his interests (while foreshadowing events from the second half of the book), so that may bore many people.
All in all, I implore any patient reader to get Life of Pi. It is definitely worth it.
http://www.amazon.com/Life-Pi-Yann-Martel/dp/0156030209/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215633260&sr=1-1
Grade: 8.5
2 comments:
First of all, I commend your efforts on this literature blog. The benefit to you in this endeavor/hobby will forever shape your ability to reason and find precise words to share your thoughts.
“Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man.” -Francis Bacon.
Let's get back to the matter at hand. Your review, "A Well-Rounded Pi," brought back fond memories of a vacation trip to Maui a few summers ago, on which I had a chance to devour this novel. Loved it.
Even though some of the youngsters, (I can assume that when you speak of your "friends" they are of the youthful variety), were bored with Martel's description of Piscine's time in India, I found it fascinating. The premise of growing up as the child of a zookeeper provided so many opportunities for Martel to really shape and define the main character , which allowed the reader to buy into the unbelievable situation on the lifeboat found in the second half of the book. The main story line is too fantastic to survive without the background provided by Martel.
My original desire to read this book arose from my love of the ocean. I am addicted to all stories told of life on the open seas, especially shipwreck survival stories. I love the technical aspects of the sea: waves, currents, wind, flora, fauna, astronomy, etc., which determine the fate of the survivor. The vulnerability of characters in this type of situation is riveting when told by talented writers. Martel's work certainly falls into this category.
"The Perfect Storm," was the initial hook that fueled my passion for this type of literature. If you haven't read it, I must recommend that you place it on your reading list.
ha, I will test my thought, your post give me some good ideas, it's truly amazing, thanks.
- Murk
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