Book Title: Life of Pi
Author: Yann Martel
Blurb: Yann Martel’s Life of Pi is a transformative novel, an astonishing work of imagination that will delight and stun readers in equal measure. It is a triumph of storytelling and a tale that will, as one character puts it, make you believe in God. After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wide, wild Pacific. The crew of the surviving vessel consists of a hyena, one zebra (with a broken leg), an orang-utan, a 450-pound Royal Bengal Tiger named Richard Parker, and Pi – a 16-year-old Indian boy. As the ‘crew’ begin to assert their natural places in the food chain, Pi’s fear mounts, and he must use all his wit and daring to develop an understanding with Richard the tiger. Life of Pi takes the reader on an extraordinary journey – geographical, spiritual, and emotional. A rare thing, here is a novel that will change your view of the world.
Review:
Winner of the Man Booker Prize, ‘Life of Pi’ is a fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist, Piscine Molitor “Pi” Patel, a Tamil boy from Pondicherry, explores issues of spirituality and practicality from an early age. He survives the 227 days after a shipwreck while stranded on a boat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.
The readers will find a lot of this book incredibly tedious. This book is so moving. This book is composed of words and language that are both sturdy and delicate. You will feel the author’s words lingering on the skin of your brain, and you will find yourself wondering in between many moments while reading this masterpiece. Words will fall short in the appreciation of this book.
There is no use in trying to provide a brief synopsis for this ravishing tale of a young boy from India left adrift in the Pacific in a lifeboat with a tiger who used to reside in his father’s zoo in Pondicherry. There is no use because once you finish the book you might decide that this was not, indeed, what the book was about at all. There is no use because, depending on your philosophical bent, the book will mean something very different to your best friend than it will to you. There is no use because it is nearly impossible to describe what makes this book so grand.
All I can say to you dear readers is to read this book. Not because it is an exceptional piece of literary talent. It is, of course. But there are many good authors and many good books. While uncommon, they are not endangered. Read this book because in recent memory there have been no stories that make such grand statements with such few elements. As Pi says in his story “Life on a lifeboat isn’t much of a life. It is like an endgame in chess, a game with few pieces. The elements couldn’t be more simple, nor the stakes higher.” This book is a simple story with potentially life-altering consequences for its readers.
LitGleam Rating
5/5
