Scan barcode
A review by katiescho741
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
4.0
When I first encountered this book, the blurb made me think it was going to be a magical story about a boy who shares a lifeboat with a zebra, orangutan, hyena, and tiger and has adventures with them.
What this books actually is, is a story of raw, horrific survival. It's so real while having a touch of the surreal.
The writing is visceral, especially the parts about Pi eating fish and turtles. But it's also beautiful, as Pi describes the tiger's habits, and the wonders he sees as he takes a "stroll" along the Pacific. This book is also a lesson in zoology and the benefit of great zoos...it almost feels like a love letter to zoos at times! Martel has obviously done his research on that topic.
There's dry humour, wonder, religious ecstasy, and pure happiness in amongst the horrors Pi sees and experiences. I always think the cover of the book makes it look like a fairy-tale, but it's more like one of those creepy dark ones by the Brothers Grimm.
There are two jolting moments when you read this book for the first time, one near the start and one at the end. I have read this book three times and knowing the jolts are coming doesn't diminish them. This book is a great one to re-read because you see the events in the lifeboat so differently.
What stops this being a tragic slog of a book is that we are reminded at the start that Pi survived, grew up, went to college, got married, had kids, and so his story has a happy ending. My only small criticisms are that the boat talk had me a little confused at times as I haven't spent a lot of time around or in boats so I struggled to picture what was going on, and the religious talk near the start dragged on a little in parts. However, mostly I found his triple religion to be wonderful!
This is just such a beautiful book and well worthy of the hype.
What this books actually is, is a story of raw, horrific survival. It's so real while having a touch of the surreal.
The writing is visceral, especially the parts about Pi eating fish and turtles. But it's also beautiful, as Pi describes the tiger's habits, and the wonders he sees as he takes a "stroll" along the Pacific. This book is also a lesson in zoology and the benefit of great zoos...it almost feels like a love letter to zoos at times! Martel has obviously done his research on that topic.
There's dry humour, wonder, religious ecstasy, and pure happiness in amongst the horrors Pi sees and experiences. I always think the cover of the book makes it look like a fairy-tale, but it's more like one of those creepy dark ones by the Brothers Grimm.
There are two jolting moments when you read this book for the first time, one near the start and one at the end. I have read this book three times and knowing the jolts are coming doesn't diminish them. This book is a great one to re-read because you see the events in the lifeboat so differently.
What stops this being a tragic slog of a book is that we are reminded at the start that Pi survived, grew up, went to college, got married, had kids, and so his story has a happy ending. My only small criticisms are that the boat talk had me a little confused at times as I haven't spent a lot of time around or in boats so I struggled to picture what was going on, and the religious talk near the start dragged on a little in parts. However, mostly I found his triple religion to be wonderful!
This is just such a beautiful book and well worthy of the hype.