Life of Pi by Yann Martell
Released September
2001
Ebook 464
pages
Publisher Canongate
Books
Rating 5
out of 5
Source Purchased
Summary…
One boy, one boat, one tiger ...After
the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the
wild, blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen year-old
boy named Pi, a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orang-utan and a
450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. The scene is set for one of the most
extraordinary and best-loved works of fiction in recent years.
My thoughts…
I want to start this review by being completely honest… I
saw Life of Pi the film advertised at the cinema a few months ago and didn’t
really give it a second thought. I then bought a tablet computer and
downloaded the Amazon Kindle app, when looking for something to read I stumbled
across the ebook version for 20p and thought I would see what all the fuss was
about.
Life of Pi is the story of a 16 year-old boy call Pi who
becomes shipwrecked in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with only a lifeboat and
a Bengal Tiger called Richard Parker for company. The book was released more
than 10 years ago and never has the saying ‘better late than never’ been more
fitting.
Like most books, this has its good and bad points. What I
loved about this book was the roller-coaster of emotions that it took me on –
there is great joy and equally great sadness, you become fearful for Pi’s
survival and belief that he will live, you laugh out loud on one page, but are
bought to tears on the next. The writer, Yann Martel, manages to bring out
every emotion possible throughout the book and by the end it leaves you
emotionally drained and my head was spinning, but in a good way!
The story seemed a simple tale of a castaway waiting to
be rescued, albeit not in a traditional sense. But the ending had the most
unexpected twist, I was literally left both open-mouthed and scratching my
head! Throughout the story I began to believe the unbelievable, thought the
impossible was possible and that pure determination in ones beliefs would see
Pi though anything that life could throw at him. While that is true to certain extended,
Pi provides an alternative story to the authorities and I am left trying to
decide which story I truly believe, or whether I want to believe any at all. To
fully understand what I mean by this you’ll need to read the book for yourself,
as I wouldn’t want to ruin it for you.
As for the bad points… there isn’t anything that I particularly
disliked. I felt that the story did drag on a little in places, but I understand
that this was intentional in order for the reader to really get a feel for the
length of time that Pi was lost at sea. I also didn’t particularly enjoy the lengthy
parts about religion at the beginning of the book, but again I understand that
this was needed for the purpose of the story and my dislike is personal as I am
not a religious person.
In summary, Life of Pi is a story that can be enjoyed by
people of all ages. It is a story that at times is difficult to read, but the
bond between Richard Parker and Pi is heart-warming and the story will leave a lasting
impression on you. In my reviews I usually like to compare to another book, but
in all honestly I don’t think there are any other books that could ever come
close to this. A truly inspirational story that I will never forget.
