Life of Pi
Ratings804
Average rating3.8
Counting this as my Spain book around the world. I liked it, but felt like the end was a bit too ambiguous for my taste.
I should give this book another read.. I only hated it because they made us read it in HS and I waited til the night before to read the entire thing and yeah... I'll read it again!
In the book ‘Life of Pi' Yann Martel's beautiful and fluent writing gives a clear picture of the life of a spiritual man. The author has told his story beautifully and added beautiful philosophy to it. And the main attraction of the book is Pi's sea struggle expedition, which is so brilliantly portrayed that the reader will feel that he too is on the sea with Pi. And the ending was both happy and sad at the same time. Overall the book is a master piece.
Just read it to be able to compare with Moacyr Sciliar's book, Max e os felinos. It is a poor copy - he really should have read the whole book since he wanted to use the idea.
By far my favorite assigned reading from high school! I was not expecting to enjoy this story so much. I know some people do not like this book and if I went back and read it as an adult I may understand why, but I refuse to do so! The ending was great for young-adult me and I will not say more for fear of spoiling it for others!
Breathtakingly fantastic! This book is one unforgettable journey of survival. Yann Martel has created a masterpiece here.
A teenage boy and a royal bengal tiger stuck in a lifeboat for 227 days. What follows is a story of survival, as their boat drifts off across the vast expanse of the Pacific ocean. The story will make you experience all kinds of emotions and feel them all through its beautiful prose and narration.
I finished it in less than 10 hours and it's one of the best books I have read. Probably the best I read this year. Would love to end the year with it. A must read book that I would recommend that everyone give it a try. If you're looking for a book to shake your soul with some hardcore motivation, this is it.
Contains spoilers
The beginning of this book was incredibly slow. There was so much extra information that I didn’t need but it just went on and on. I enjoyed about 1 chapter from the beginning when it was talking about the differences in three of the world’s major religions. But then it just kept going on with the same topic for what felt like forever. When it got into the main part of the story, where Pi is in the sinking ship, it starts to get good. From then it feels fast paced and exciting, but after the lion has finished eating the hyena it goes back to being slow again. Like I get it Pi your fishing, I’ve heard enough. In the last 100 pages it gets really good. It is super disturbing and far more interesting. I think it’s because a large part of the book is set in the same place that it becomes boring to me, so the change of scenery into the carnivorous island I found very enjoyable. To sum up, I hated half of the book; I loved half of the book. Worth the read but only if you have a lot of free time.
This book was wild. It's an exciting, terrifying, unbelievable story about survival against all odds and, at the same time, a beautiful picture of religion, faith, and truth. I loved it. Honestly should be required reading.
If you've seen the movie, maybe wait to read the book until you've forgotten all but the most basic plot points of the movie. There are a few moments that would be a lot less rewarding to read if you knew what was coming.
Also, fair warning, it starts pretty slow. The first 20% of the book is about his childhood in India and details his relationships and his varying religious beliefs. It's fascinating, but if you don't start the book prepared for that content, it'll be hard to make it to the “action” of the book.
Age range: 16+
Violence and gore to an extent that would probably be jarring to younger readers. Also, a pretty challenging moral aspect.
On page 70 Pi wrote that “There are always those who take it upon themselves to defend God, as if Ultimate Reality, as if the sustaining frame of existence, were something weak and helpless. These people walk by a widow deformed by leprosy begging for a few paise, walk by children dressed in rags living in the street, and they think, “Business as usual.” But if they perceive a slight against God, it is a different story. Their faces go red, their chests heave mightily, they sputter angry words. The degree of their indignation is astonishing. Their resolve is frightening.”
Pi is most certainly right and he also states at the start that this read about his life will make one believe in a god. Me? I don't believe in superstars organic food and foreign cars I don't believe the price of gold the certainty of growing old that right is right and left is wrong that north and south can't get along that east is east and west is west and being first is always best but then I don't believe I will be reincarnated as Don Williams either.
I may not be as keen on this fantasy as most. For what was an attempt at a philosophical discussion on belief, it seemed that the writing plodded along far too much at times and got bogged down in its own attempt to be profound. I did however enjoy the Japanese investigators.
The story was okay but i couldnt get over how badly the misinformation on animals was
It is an interesting story I am glad I finally read (heard). But having gone in being aware of the twist, having been spoiled by movie goers, I felt the ‘twist' was largely lackluster.
i found it in my closet and just decided to read it. I can relate to Pi a lot, his thoughts about survival, religion, animals and his storytelling at sea with a tiger. one of the books that have really resonated with me and i've grown to like it a lot.
Gripping, well written, and heartbreaking. I genuinely did not see the twist coming because I was so enthralled in the story.
I feel it's easy to try and understand this book at surface level and just take it for what it is. However my interpretation is of a human who has experienced something extremely difficult and in conclusion of this story he wanted to gift us with his means of survival rather than the main focus being for us to believing this outlandish story of his survival. I guess my conclusions is we have to ask ourselves why is one story easier for us to believe than the other and how much the power of interpretation can help in situations of extreme difficulty.
Visually stunning and tasty, Martel has a strong handle on how to craft delectable prose. Vivid details regarding some of the more violent sections were so easily pictured I found my stomach churning as if I was with Pi on the sea. The book was a beautiful blend of the mesmerizing fantasy of being lost at sea and the depressing elements of what that reality would look like. (Possible poilers ahead) My biggest frustration regards the ending. As a writer, I can appreciate it. As a reader, it took the wind out of my sails a bit, and a book that had made me hopeful and thirsty for adventure instead left me with a bittersweet after-taste in my mouth. However, I'm still thinking about the book, which to me is a sign that was, indeed, a quality literary work.