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Literature & Fiction |
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Life of Pi
written by Yann Martel
Studio : Mariner Books
by Mariner Books
Publisher : Mariner Books
Released : 2004-05-03
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780156030205
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 1849 reviews)
List Price : $8.99
Our Price : $4.74
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Product Description |
The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes.
The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth." After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional--but is it more true?
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Americancivilwar.com Review |
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Yann Martel's imaginative and unforgettable Life of Pi is a magical reading experience, an endless blue expanse of storytelling about adventure, survival, and ultimately, faith. The precocious son of a zookeeper, 16-year-old Pi Patel is raised in Pondicherry, India, where he tries on various faiths for size, attracting "religions the way a dog attracts fleas." Planning a move to Canada, his father packs up the family and their menagerie and they hitch a ride on an enormous freighter. After a harrowing shipwreck, Pi finds himself adrift in the Pacific Ocean, trapped on a 26-foot lifeboat with a wounded zebra, a spotted hyena, a seasick orangutan, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker ("His head was the size and color of the lifebuoy, with teeth"). It sounds like a colorful setup, but these wild beasts don't burst into song as if co-starring in an anthropomorphized Disney feature. After much gore and infighting, Pi and Richard Parker remain the boat's sole passengers, drifting for 227 days through shark-infested waters while fighting hunger, the elements, and an overactive imagination. In rich, hallucinatory passages, Pi recounts the harrowing journey as the days blur together, elegantly cataloging the endless passage of time and his struggles to survive: "It is pointless to say that this or that night was the worst of my life. I have so many bad nights to choose from that I've made none the champion." 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 |
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A Story of stories |
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I cant think of a better story to recommend. Sometimes you do wonder if it is a novel. Pi is a great character, simple, physically weak, a non-hero, he could be any one of us. He goes through extraordinary experience out of pure luck. More extraordinary than this is the way it is described and perspective offered at every turn. It is simply beautiful. I cannot tell you more than this. As Pi says "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." This can be that book. |
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Incredible Literary Adventure |
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This is one of my favorite books. Yann Martel makes us realize how animalistic humans can be in the most enjoyable way possible. |
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try it in audio form |
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I have listened to this novel 3 times. It is a wonderful story, that many people could take many ways. but to listen to it..... the readers voice is so perfect for the story, and it lets you use all of your imagination to picture what you hear. You may think it starts slow, but don't give up, you'll be learning. And it will all be worth it. This book is such a treat. |
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Longer than necessary, slow, doesn't live up to hype |
Honestly, this book is longer than necessary and moves WAY too slowly. Normally I can finish a book this length in a couple days. It took me weeks to drag myself through this book. It was by sheer will and determination that I even finished it. This book was recommended by a friend and Americancivilwar based on other books I've read. It did NOT live up to the hype. There are so many books out there which are much better.
At no point did it ever make me want to believe in God. It's argument, God is the prettier story- or as other have put it, why not believe in God- it's a sort of hedging your bets strategy, is really not very compelling. I actually thought the "second" story was better and more compelling because it shows the truth of humanity.
I liked the contrast between the stories, and maybe that should have been developed more. And the beginning is completely confusing. |
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Worst book EVER! |
Save your bucks, people -- here's the theme: we should believe in God because...it's the prettier story. What the hell? Is this guy kidding? How incredibly naive!
Martel must be targeting an audience of children, because I can't see how a mature adult could take this nonsense seriously.
What a bunch of malarkey. What a waste of time. Hey Martel, you hack! Give me back my money!
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