Reviews

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

andylancelot's review against another edition

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5.0

Wonderful Book

I read this book on my kindle app whenever I had a moment waiting in the car for whatever reason. Consequently I think it took about the same time as the 200 odd days that Pi spent in the lifeboat... In hindsight I feel this is a great way to read it

Beautifully written and the allegory is masterful - this edition with the illustrations I loved.

I've not seen the movie but I feel like I want to now just to see how they do this

Thoroughly recommended

tnews333's review against another edition

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2.0

Ug. Glad that is over. What a long winded and tortuous way to make a stupid point that, in the end, doesn't do what the foreword and hype say it will.

chaninb's review against another edition

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4.0

Wow. I cannot wait for the movie to come out now.

beckywaz's review against another edition

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1.0

Ugh! I felt like much of this text was there just for the sake of filling pages. I found myself wanting to just flip past many sections. Was disappointed after hearing such good things...

booksandthebronxgirl's review against another edition

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5.0

Amazing, funny, clever. Loved it!

chrissych's review against another edition

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3.0

Though it was quite slow at parts and almost tedious at others, it was still a fairly enjoyable and in some ways insightful read. The "characters" of the animals are, I would argue, more interesting than the main character himself, and the novel's plodding feel is likely a result of only a third of the novel bearing them as a focus.

jladuke's review against another edition

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5.0

I found this book to be moving and beautifully written. Although some of the descriptions of the lengths Pi had to go to for survival were difficult to read, it was worth it.

For me this book lived up to the hype.

laurabeth9's review against another edition

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5.0

I wasn't sure if I would live this book but it all wrapped up in the end. Loved the symbolism and the visuals. The only part I wasn't keen on was the island. Don't want to say more so as to ruin it for future readers but hopefully somebody can shed some light because I'm at a loss. This book would be great for an English paper. So much material to work with.

Loved the symbolism and how it replays a major role. This is a great book to get you thinking. Perfect for book club discussions

aseroff's review against another edition

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3.0

The first third of "Life of Pi" is an exceptionally engaging portrait that appears to be leading to greatness. Given the book's jacket summary divulging the future shipwreck, I was sold on the first portion's substance to receive great payoff throughout the duration of the book, yet it was his time on land that I felt was a more interesting read.

I do not fault the novel for conveying the trials of Pi at sea to be long and drawn out, but it is its lack of immediate substance that is the fault I quickly grew weary of. My narrative journey felt very similar to that of the protagonist's - stranded on a slow-moving ship, aware of the deep ocean of potential, yet only able to be engaged by what floated at the surface. The only thing keeping my reading going was the hope that maybe the next page would deliver something other than the barren sea, though I doubt it was crafted so intentionally self-referential.

Along with its strong start, the other fields the novel excelled at were the gruesome realities of survival, zoological curiosities, and a strong internal voice, which is satisfactory to keep the novel afloat. Ultimately, however, religious allegory remained mostly a mirage.

camcambananaman's review against another edition

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

4.5

The main character is so lovable, it’s been a while since I read about a main character who is so charming, gentle and genuinely good. It was a pleasure hearing Pi’s story<3