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A review by miajakobsen
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
This book was so beautiful and captivating. I loved how it describes faith and God. The ending gagged me with the choice to believe the “happier” version with animals, or (what I think is) the “real” version with people.
Memory is a fickle thing and Pi is a young boy who wants to survive and stay hopeful. Even when he describes coming to terms with his family’s death in the animal story, Pi says “what a thing to acknowledge in your heart!” The animal story is how Pi copes and understands what happened to him - which makes it more heartbreaking. But additionally, if you choose to read it like it is in the book (where the animal story is real and Pi has to make up a more realistic story with humans), it still makes a very strong point on how adults don't believe children.
Ultimately, Pi doesn't make the decision for us about which story is "real" because he doesn't believe just one story. He joins 3 churches because he loves God and that fact doesn't change between the different religions. The same is true for him regarding the two truthes: “In both stories the ship sinks, my entire family dies, and I suffer.”
Memory is a fickle thing and Pi is a young boy who wants to survive and stay hopeful. Even when he describes coming to terms with his family’s death in the animal story, Pi says “what a thing to acknowledge in your heart!” The animal story is how Pi copes and understands what happened to him - which makes it more heartbreaking. But additionally, if you choose to read it like it is in the book (where the animal story is real and Pi has to make up a more realistic story with humans), it still makes a very strong point on how adults don't believe children.
Ultimately, Pi doesn't make the decision for us about which story is "real" because he doesn't believe just one story. He joins 3 churches because he loves God and that fact doesn't change between the different religions. The same is true for him regarding the two truthes: “In both stories the ship sinks, my entire family dies, and I suffer.”