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Life Of Pi | 
 enlarge | Author: Yann Martel
Publisher: Canongate Books
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £0.01
You Save: £7.98 (100%)
New (39) Used (184) Collectible (4) from £0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  290 reviews
Sales Rank: 859
Media: Paperback
Edition: New edition
Pages: 348
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.9
ISBN: 184195392X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781841953922
ASIN: 184195392X
Publication Date: May 29, 2003
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: ex library - good clean condition
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Some books defy categorisation: Life of Pi, the second novel from Canadian writer Yann Martel, is a case in point: just about the only thing you can say for certain about it is that it is fiercely and admirably unique. The plot, if that's the right word, concerns the oceanic wanderings of a lost boy, the young and eager Piscine Patel of the title (Pi). After a colourful and loving upbringing in gorgeously-hued India, the Muslim-Christian-animistic Pi sets off for a fresh start in Canada. His blissful voyage is rudely interrupted when his boat is scuppered halfway across the Pacific, and he is forced to rough it in a lifeboat with a hyena, a monkey, a whingeing zebra and a tiger called Richard. That would be bad enough, but from here on things get weirder: the animals start slaughtering each other in a veritable frenzy of allegorical bloodlust, until Richard the tiger and Pi are left alone to wander the wastes of ocean, with plenty of time to ponder their fate, the cruelty of the gods, the best way to handle storms and the various different recipes for oothappam, scrapple and coconut yam kootu. The denouement is pleasantly neat. According to the blurb, thirtysomething Yann Martel spent long years in Alaska, India, Mexico, France, Costa Rica, Turkey and Iran, before settling in Canada. All those cultures and more have been poured into this spicy, vivacious, kinetic and very entertaining fiction. --Sean Thomas
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| Customer Reviews: Read 285 more reviews...
 Life of Pi, Yann Martel. January 5, 2009
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Life of Pi is the most adventurous and challenging book I have ever set eyes upon. Each chapter offering the reader a chance to explore and take a glimpse into the life of Piscine Patel a sixteen year old Indian boy. Many journeys are illustrated and captured with great emotion, from Pi's curiosity to explore all religions, to his life as a Zookeepers son, to the most extreme of being stranded on a lifeboat adrift at sea for 227 days with only the companionship of Richard Parker a great and furious Royal Bengal tiger.
Pi Patel's journey of survival, determination and sheer courage begin on July 2nd,1977. Where the cargo ship `Tsimtsum' carrying Pi and his family to a new lease of life sinks, leaving Pi only sole survivor fighting the wild and untrained pacific ocean alone, this is not the worst of his fears as aboard the lifeboat he comes in contact with a hyena, a zebra, and orang-utan and Richard Parker the 450 pound Bengal tiger.
At this very point, the reader follows and extraordinary journey that will test the potential alpha male, will question the belief of a vegetarian, will test the will power against the horrendous weather and everyday teaching a new skill in which will be adapted to this nauseating expedition.
In this novel Yann Martel allows the reader to explore deep imagination throughout this tense journey, as the most outrageous scenario is put into context in a manner in which the unbelievable could that in fact be credible. This harrowing adventure for Pi ends on February 14th, 1978 but this is not the end for the reader as Yann Martel challenges the reader with one final twist leaving great curiosity and challenging you to believe what you thought you knew and understood to be the Life of Pi.
A beautiful tale written with triumphant imagination! January 4, 2009
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The book begins with a child, called Pi, who has been brought up in India at his fathers zoo. From the introduction of this character we learn of his want for knowledge and his questionable nature of the world around him.
Yann Martell claims his novel is "a story to make you believe in God". Pi slowly starts to have faith in three religions; Christianity, Hinduism and Muslim. He claims this is because he "loves God". As an agnostic, I found it compelling that this young boy had so much belief in God, that he felt the need to practice three religions. It seemed so charming that three conflicting religions can be united in the wild imagination of a child. I especially enjoyed Martel's clever use of depicting ideas from each religion, for example he picks up on the use of capital letters in Christianity, when Pi notes "since Christians are so fond of capital letters, a Story" (pg 53).
His father decides to sell the zoo and travel to Canada for a new life. In the second part of this fictitious novel Martel throws Pi into a whirl wind of surrealism leaving Pi on a lifeboat with no other human life. His only company are the only surviving animals from his fathers zoo; a Tiger, an Orang-utan, a Zebra and a Hyena. The journey for Pi to survive is ever present to the reader throughout.
During the book it is clear to the reader that Pi has an overactive imagination, although Pi's time on the boat with the animals causes the reader to question, has he created the animals in his mind or are they real? The line between realism and surrealism is clearly faint in this novel and creates curious questions for the reader.
One of a kind January 4, 2009
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
There's one word that describes ''Life of Pi'' the best - interesting. Indeed, the word is banal and simple but in case of this novel it fits perfectly. ''Life of Pi'' is unusual. It captures attention, it's one of those books that you can't stop reading and promise yourself to stop reading as soon as you reach the next page, yet you know that these are empty promises and you never really stop when you planned to. In case of the ''Life of Pi'' this happens because of the way the book is written. Yann Martel makes it amazingly easy to read. The flow of thought is addictive in the way that it's hard to stop reading and then return to your own boring thoughts. The author also shows a completely new type of relationship that evolves between the boy and the tiger. It is impossible to describe it with just one word. It's not a friendship yet it's not a selfish co-existence either. It's more of a connection that is hard to explain.
This ''Life of Pi'' isn't just about a certain event in life of the 16-year old Pi; it's about life in general. Yann Martel shares his thoughts on life, religion, psychology, this world; yet his thoughts are a part of the storyline. It's like a big puzzle brilliantly put together, where every single bit fits perfectly and is interesting on its own yet altogether these bits make a stunning picture. ''Life of Pi'' might seem weird but in my opinion, weird is not the word. It's different, in a good way. It's a unique mixture of thriller, philosophy, adventure, story of a person's life, some true facts and some fiction. It's a tasty one of a kind cocktail that is definitely worth trying.
MangoChesney November 26, 2008
Pi is a skinny little ethnically confused boy who obscurely finds himself trapped on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean with no food and only a random collection of wild animals for company. This book tells of his amazing bid for sanity and survival. I absolutely adore the unbelievably true story that is told in this book. I have no idea if this really happened but desperately want to believe so! If you love solitude, escapism and enjoy a colourful tale that will stretch your imagination you will enjoy the Life of Pi.
Love it or Hate it?? -- Loved it!! November 22, 2008
Life of Pi appears to be of those books that you either love or hate. I fancied trying something different ... I normally read thrillers and crime novels and after reading some of the reviews on here I thought I would give this one a go. Sooo glad I did. I absolutely loved it. It was the first book I have read in quite some time that I just couldn't put down. I just had to know what happened to Richard Parker! It didn't make me believe in God or even think about religion, but I did think differently about animals and particularly animals in captivity. I have always been one of those that think animals are better off in the wild. Lovely, quirky little book that has you believing in ridiculous things. Liked the little twist at the end too!
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