Friday, July 28, 2006
Life of Pi
Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, was an interesting slow-paced book. Pi Patel is an Indian who is simultaneously a Christian, a Hindu and a Muslim, despite objections from a priet, an imam and a pandit.
Pi and his family own a zoo in India. However, due to Mrs. Ghandi and her political movements, the family decided to sell the zoo and move to Canada. The family board a ship, which will sink after 4 days in the sea. Pi was thrown overboard, which he found a little rowboat. He is joined by Richard Parker, who is a Bengal tiger, an orangutan, a hyena and a zebra. However, only Richard Parker and Pi survive the remainder of the "journey" at sea. They were stranded for 227 days.
The most interesting part, for me, was when Pi retells the story to 2 Japanese men. The story was retold because the Japanese men could not believe Pi's original story. They told him to retell it and he provided a watered down version.
Overall, I enjoyed this book although it was slow-paced, especially when they were lost at sea. Anything that deals with being lost at sea or stuck behind on an unknown island usually loses my attention. For example, Cast Away, with Tom Hanks. Ugh! However, what made this book enjoyable were Pi's explanations of animals and the their behavioral patterns. For example, all cats purr. However, only small cats can purr breathing in and out while big cats can only purr while exhaling.
So, check it out whenever you can...that is, if you like those lost-at-sea stories.
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