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ellie_bronte's review against another edition
5.0
Whoa. Just, whoa. I mean don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this book a good amount before I hit the third part of it but it was definitely the last part that took this entire story and pumped it with so much more meaning.
I had to give this book a go because the premise is so out there. I mean, how could you not at least a attempt a book claiming a survival story of a sixteen year old and a Bengal tiger? How can one validate a story like this, make it plausible because wouldn't the tiger just eat the boy? And then you take nature's elements, and food, and shelter in account and, yeah, had to try it!
And it did not disappoint at all. The Life of Pi balances adventure with philosophy, with religion, with factual information, and I wasn't bored in the slightest because it was all written well, is in it felt like someone credible was telling me this story. Which this is a tall order since early on this book claims to fulfill a tall order: "This story will make you believe in God."
Well damn, okay I'll humor you and keep listening.
I kind of nodded and determined where they were going with this, that yeah of course I'll believe in God and miracles because despite everything riding against Pi, he survives. Isn't that how this kind of story usually works? But then Part 3 happens...
And the story changes entirely.
This well written story where you're rooting for Pi and you know will have a happy ending, suddenly takes on a darker connotation and from there you decide for yourself whether to accept the story with the zebra, orangutan and Richard Parker, or believe the bleaker story that's spewed out in several pages. Which would you rather believe, Pi poses this question and if there's no factual backing for either story, then what does it matter what you believe?
Whoa. Just. Whoa.
And not just that, the fact that you can now take the same story and read it all over again with the second story in mind, brings up so many more questions, such as how killing is justified if it's animals doing it and not humans, because animals kill with a reason behind it (i.e. food, threat). And how there were some moments where Pi seemed like he was hallucinating but can be grounded now in a much morbid outlook. And yet there are some elements, such as the carnivorous island, which are still unclear but to really analyze what was going through his head psychologically acknowledges some much darker aspects to him. Of course the situation is grim, but the explainable due to the animals suddenly enters the morally gray, the things we don't have the answer to.
But on top of all this, there are other themes that I really enjoyed with Pi. For example, how he chooses to follow three seemingly separate religions. And also how he would rather suffer with a tiger that could maul his face in record time, versus suffering total loneliness. And just how survival really changes a person, how the humanity has been stripped from Pi because at the end of the day he needs to do what he must to survive, and how he really isn't any different from the animals he tends to.
Ugh, this book. I need to give it another read just to see this other point of view. Five stars, definitely five stars.
I had to give this book a go because the premise is so out there. I mean, how could you not at least a attempt a book claiming a survival story of a sixteen year old and a Bengal tiger? How can one validate a story like this, make it plausible because wouldn't the tiger just eat the boy? And then you take nature's elements, and food, and shelter in account and, yeah, had to try it!
And it did not disappoint at all. The Life of Pi balances adventure with philosophy, with religion, with factual information, and I wasn't bored in the slightest because it was all written well, is in it felt like someone credible was telling me this story. Which this is a tall order since early on this book claims to fulfill a tall order: "This story will make you believe in God."
Well damn, okay I'll humor you and keep listening.
I kind of nodded and determined where they were going with this, that yeah of course I'll believe in God and miracles because despite everything riding against Pi, he survives. Isn't that how this kind of story usually works? But then Part 3 happens...
And the story changes entirely.
This well written story where you're rooting for Pi and you know will have a happy ending, suddenly takes on a darker connotation and from there you decide for yourself whether to accept the story with the zebra, orangutan and Richard Parker, or believe the bleaker story that's spewed out in several pages. Which would you rather believe, Pi poses this question and if there's no factual backing for either story, then what does it matter what you believe?
Whoa. Just. Whoa.
And not just that, the fact that you can now take the same story and read it all over again with the second story in mind, brings up so many more questions, such as how killing is justified if it's animals doing it and not humans, because animals kill with a reason behind it (i.e. food, threat). And how there were some moments where Pi seemed like he was hallucinating but can be grounded now in a much morbid outlook. And yet there are some elements, such as the carnivorous island, which are still unclear but to really analyze what was going through his head psychologically acknowledges some much darker aspects to him. Of course the situation is grim, but the explainable due to the animals suddenly enters the morally gray, the things we don't have the answer to.
But on top of all this, there are other themes that I really enjoyed with Pi. For example, how he chooses to follow three seemingly separate religions. And also how he would rather suffer with a tiger that could maul his face in record time, versus suffering total loneliness. And just how survival really changes a person, how the humanity has been stripped from Pi because at the end of the day he needs to do what he must to survive, and how he really isn't any different from the animals he tends to.
Ugh, this book. I need to give it another read just to see this other point of view. Five stars, definitely five stars.
ekmook's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
indiawilliamsrakestraw's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
arrrjae's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
3.5
henryorhank's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
4.25
dullshimmer's review against another edition
3.0
I really don't know what to think about Life of Pi. It wasn't a book I disliked that much, but yet it was also a book that I didn't really enjoy or connect with in any meaningful way. I always hate when I feel this way about books like this. Am I just not getting it? It's won awards so it must be me, right? Maybe it is just me, maybe I'm not getting what Yann Martel is going after.
The back cover of the book says this is about a 16 year old boy named Pi who winds up shipwrecked with a collection of animals; a wounded zebra, a hyena, an orangutan, and a Bengal tiger. However the book takes its time getting us to that point. We learn about Pi's childhood, about how he learned to swim from one of his father's friends, life in the zoo, how he was named after a swimming pool, and how he took on the nickname Pi in school to avoid another rather unflattering nickname that was based off of his full name. It also speaks of how he starting following Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam all at the same time.
To be honest I felt like this first section dragged. While some of these details maybe helped you understand and believe the story to come, it felt like it was about twice the length it really needed to be. However, it was fine and you got some insight into the character you would be with the entire time.
The second section of the book is where we get to the shipwreck and Pi's ordeal as a survivor of the shipwreck. This section of the book felt a bit more what we had been advertised. It was a bit bleak and maybe a bit unbelievable, however the story woven does make for a largely believable account. It does get a bit weird near the end of it with the carnivorous algae island and the other shipwrecked blind man that Pi meets when he is near death. Otherwise the middle section was as interesting as detailing life stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific could be.
Personally while it was kind of interesting seeing how he went about surviving especially with a Bengal tiger aboard his lifeboat, there was only so much variety that could be expounded on here. I won't say that it felt like it dragged too much, but it did at times feel a bit repetitive. Which is okay, since I imagine that it is supposed to in some degree. That would be generally the life of a survivor one of repetition and lack of variety of actions. It just doesn't necessarily translate into interesting story.
The third and last section is probably the most volatile of sections depending on how you take it. I think it could torpedo the whole book for some people, but it also adds a layer of interest as well. This section talks about two Japanese investigators who are investigating the sinking of the ship Pi was on. Pi tells them his story, but they don't believe him. So Pi tells them a different story that he thinks they may find easier to believe.
How you view this retelling of the story will definitely impact your view of the book. If you view Pi's original story as a fabrication you'll view this whole endeavor as a way to sidestep the truth and present a better story just for the sake of ignoring reality. So the idea of God is just an escape from reality, something to make life more palatable or more interesting even in the midst of the awful. I can understand disliking this ending very much and even though I am one who believes in God I think this is a poor reason for believing.
If you view Pi's original story as the truth, then I think what Pi is saying to the investigators is very different. He is saying that even though something may seem to be more rational, humans being horrible to each other and even killing and eating other humans, that doesn't make it a better story or even more true. It may appeal to us as not being as fantastical, but that doesn't mean that it is the true account. So I think Pi would be saying here that just because belief in God may not always be 100% rational and not based off of our limited perception, it doesn't mean that it's not the better and more truthful story.
At the end I'm not sure which story is true, of course I guess neither really is. Even within the context of the story it doesn't matter because either way something rather fantastical has happened that there is proof of within the fictional tale. Pi survived being at sea for 227 days. He was a 16 year old boy who either survived dangerous animals or a dangerous human/being completely alone for 7 1/2 months. Something being hard to believe doesn't make it untrue. Given that I think the story we're told at first by Pi is actually the true one and presenting the message of just because you don't think it's possible, doesn't mean it can't be true. I think having the story we've been told being just a fiction really tanks the story of the book and would probably lead me to rating it even lower than I have.
So those are my thoughts about the book. It's one of those books that kind of overstays its welcome and really makes you think, at least at the end anyhow. I can't say that it is my favorite book and that it was maybe not as profound as it would have liked, but it did give me something to mull over with the way the book ended. I'm not sure if this will be a book that stays in our collection or not. It's fate will probably ride in what my wife thinks about it when she reads it.
The back cover of the book says this is about a 16 year old boy named Pi who winds up shipwrecked with a collection of animals; a wounded zebra, a hyena, an orangutan, and a Bengal tiger. However the book takes its time getting us to that point. We learn about Pi's childhood, about how he learned to swim from one of his father's friends, life in the zoo, how he was named after a swimming pool, and how he took on the nickname Pi in school to avoid another rather unflattering nickname that was based off of his full name. It also speaks of how he starting following Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam all at the same time.
To be honest I felt like this first section dragged. While some of these details maybe helped you understand and believe the story to come, it felt like it was about twice the length it really needed to be. However, it was fine and you got some insight into the character you would be with the entire time.
The second section of the book is where we get to the shipwreck and Pi's ordeal as a survivor of the shipwreck. This section of the book felt a bit more what we had been advertised. It was a bit bleak and maybe a bit unbelievable, however the story woven does make for a largely believable account. It does get a bit weird near the end of it with the carnivorous algae island and the other shipwrecked blind man that Pi meets when he is near death. Otherwise the middle section was as interesting as detailing life stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific could be.
Personally while it was kind of interesting seeing how he went about surviving especially with a Bengal tiger aboard his lifeboat, there was only so much variety that could be expounded on here. I won't say that it felt like it dragged too much, but it did at times feel a bit repetitive. Which is okay, since I imagine that it is supposed to in some degree. That would be generally the life of a survivor one of repetition and lack of variety of actions. It just doesn't necessarily translate into interesting story.
The third and last section is probably the most volatile of sections depending on how you take it. I think it could torpedo the whole book for some people, but it also adds a layer of interest as well. This section talks about two Japanese investigators who are investigating the sinking of the ship Pi was on. Pi tells them his story, but they don't believe him. So Pi tells them a different story that he thinks they may find easier to believe.
Spoiler
As the second story he tells the investigators that he made it to the lifeboats with three other people. A sailor who had broken his leg, a French cook, and his mother. The Frenchman was this rather horrible person who wound up killing the sailor and Pi's mother. Pi winds up eventually killing the cook. Pi thinks the cook lost the will to live and left Pi the means to kill him.How you view this retelling of the story will definitely impact your view of the book. If you view Pi's original story as a fabrication you'll view this whole endeavor as a way to sidestep the truth and present a better story just for the sake of ignoring reality. So the idea of God is just an escape from reality, something to make life more palatable or more interesting even in the midst of the awful. I can understand disliking this ending very much and even though I am one who believes in God I think this is a poor reason for believing.
If you view Pi's original story as the truth, then I think what Pi is saying to the investigators is very different. He is saying that even though something may seem to be more rational, humans being horrible to each other and even killing and eating other humans, that doesn't make it a better story or even more true. It may appeal to us as not being as fantastical, but that doesn't mean that it is the true account. So I think Pi would be saying here that just because belief in God may not always be 100% rational and not based off of our limited perception, it doesn't mean that it's not the better and more truthful story.
At the end I'm not sure which story is true, of course I guess neither really is. Even within the context of the story it doesn't matter because either way something rather fantastical has happened that there is proof of within the fictional tale. Pi survived being at sea for 227 days. He was a 16 year old boy who either survived dangerous animals or a dangerous human/being completely alone for 7 1/2 months. Something being hard to believe doesn't make it untrue. Given that I think the story we're told at first by Pi is actually the true one and presenting the message of just because you don't think it's possible, doesn't mean it can't be true. I think having the story we've been told being just a fiction really tanks the story of the book and would probably lead me to rating it even lower than I have.
So those are my thoughts about the book. It's one of those books that kind of overstays its welcome and really makes you think, at least at the end anyhow. I can't say that it is my favorite book and that it was maybe not as profound as it would have liked, but it did give me something to mull over with the way the book ended. I'm not sure if this will be a book that stays in our collection or not. It's fate will probably ride in what my wife thinks about it when she reads it.
farfuglietti's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5, devo dire che verso la fine mi è piaciuto di più.