Book Seven: Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Life of Pi by Yann Martel, 336 pages
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.
This was one of the books I bought for a dollar at the Goodwill in Bangor. Its brand new! I really don't think any of the pages were opened before me.
It was a tad slow to start. Looking back on that first half in the end, seems like a different book altogether, though an equally important book. It was very engaging though I don't think it was necessarily as religious as it was said to be. I mean, its apparently made people believe in God? I loved it & recommend it to everyone.
Finished: January 26th, 2006.
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.
This was one of the books I bought for a dollar at the Goodwill in Bangor. Its brand new! I really don't think any of the pages were opened before me.
It was a tad slow to start. Looking back on that first half in the end, seems like a different book altogether, though an equally important book. It was very engaging though I don't think it was necessarily as religious as it was said to be. I mean, its apparently made people believe in God? I loved it & recommend it to everyone.
Finished: January 26th, 2006.