A review by nick13
Life of Pi by Yann Martel

dark funny tense slow-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

2.0

Look, I know this might be a bit of a hot take but this book is just...not good. If there was a better way to phrase it I would. There were so many details in this story that were just unnecessary, like that part where he lists every single thing he has on hand. It's not that I like a slow book, but like sometimes I'm just like, why are these twenty pages of nothing here? You know what I mean? And maybe I'm a bit (more like a lot) biased because I watched the movie first. Personally, most movies based on books never even strike close to what the book achieves but - how do I phrase this? - this book feels like the skeleton, the backbone that keeps the book together, and for that, I love this book, but the movie is the skin that makes it all complete. The movie is this beautiful masterpiece that takes out all of the unnecessary from the book, putting in parts that make it better, and keeps that masterful twist ending!
Basically what I'm saying is just watch the movie, it is one I always think about and is at least top ten in my favorite movies of all time and this book is, plainly, pretty less than mid-tier. 
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