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A review by ricksilva
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-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
3.0
To introduce ("in-character") a tale as "a story that will make you believe in God" is some pretty ambitious expectation-setting, and I probably shouldn't have been surprised when Life of Pi fell short of those expectations.
The story, centered around a boy trapped on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger that was part of a shipment of zoo animals being transported to North America from India, works best in its humorous moments. The background of the main character, who embraced multiple religions growing up, is engaging and entertaining.
The survival-story that makes up the bulk of the book is intended to be primarily symbolic, but is reasonably engaging as survival stories go, with the interactions between human and tiger the most interesting aspect. The ending is dragged out, and then given an alternative narrative to end on an ambiguous note leaving the reader to decide which is the "better story", but while it made a certain logical sense, I didn't find it all that satisfying a conclusion.
This was an entertaining read, but didn't live up to the hype of either the story's setup or it's popularity.
The story, centered around a boy trapped on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger that was part of a shipment of zoo animals being transported to North America from India, works best in its humorous moments. The background of the main character, who embraced multiple religions growing up, is engaging and entertaining.
The survival-story that makes up the bulk of the book is intended to be primarily symbolic, but is reasonably engaging as survival stories go, with the interactions between human and tiger the most interesting aspect. The ending is dragged out, and then given an alternative narrative to end on an ambiguous note leaving the reader to decide which is the "better story", but while it made a certain logical sense, I didn't find it all that satisfying a conclusion.
This was an entertaining read, but didn't live up to the hype of either the story's setup or it's popularity.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Animal death, and Cannibalism