Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Schiffbruch mit Tiger by Yann Martel

39 reviews

jenniferbbookdragon's review against another edition

adventurous dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I read this for a book club, and heard a lot of hype when it came out.  
The structure of the book is interesting,  with it written as if the main character Pi is telling his story to a writer decades after he survived a shipwreck and was on a lifeboat in the Pacific for over 6 months. Pi is likeable and is exploring religions in India as a teen when his family decides to sell the zoo they own and move to Canada. 
His story of hardship and survival is harrowing. I won't give away the big twist at the end, although I figured something was going to be revealed well before then. 
Overall,  it is well done but not the spectacular,  mind-blowing book that some critics described,  at least for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cannibalism and Murder

Starvation murder, cannibalism

fkshg8465's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I can see why this is a classic. Full of teachable moments, especially the ending. But OMG it took so long to get there! I know that’s part of the telling of the tale, but the monotony, the monotony!!! Nonetheless, I would still reread it because it is a profoundly layered book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

ambivalentneb's review against another edition

dark hopeful tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

It was a good book, but there are two interpretations one of author intent and one of reader interpretation. The one of reader interpretation is greatly better than the other in my opinion. I ranked this one on the author’s  intent though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry

Moderate: Grief, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

traciereads's review against another edition

dark informative sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death and Islamophobia

deathmetalheron's review against another edition

adventurous reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Never has a book that effectively describes one of the most repetitive existence in the most fascinating and engaging fashion. The vast majority of chapters are essentially "man on boat in ocean lives" but the book is shockingly easy to get through and was a certified page-turner.
Life of Pi is one of those books you wish you read in high school, you hope your English teachers assigns. This should be The Great Gatsby, the one book where everyone at school goes and actually unironically loves it. It's a bona fide classic.
What makes a book truly a classic is that it has enough depth for the scholar, but can easily be enjoyed by a pedestrian reader. There is so much metaphor and symbolism to be read into, Pi's role as a storyteller/unreliable narrator can be questioned, whether or not his animal friends represent concepts or other people--but like Pi in his interview at the one, he asks which story is better. The one with the tiger, of course. Honestly, you could hack off the third part and this book would still be incredible, maybe not as deep, but still incredible.
I think the most brilliant part of the ending is a part I didn't see touched on often enough--

Richard Parker leaving Pi on the Mexican beach unceremoniously. It shows that it truly was a relationship of convenience, there is no "boy and his big cat" element here, they were two kindred spirits. It is excellent for a book that clearly loves animals and their lives to establish that wild animals are still wild. But it also plays into the concept the tiger is some sort of survival instinct/id of Pi and as soon as he finds civilization again it leaves, no longer needed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Excrement, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Grief, Religious bigotry, and Murder

aquakerwitch's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I prefer the story with the animals, even though the idea of someone trying to eat tiger poo horrifies me. Wild how many characters they gender swapped for the UK touring version of the play to make it slightly more diverse as in the book I think the mum is the only woman??

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

hjb_128's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

kendal_reads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Blood, and Grief

kanjichris's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

schrödinger's cat

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

lay_kone's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail