Book Review: Life of Pi

By Alyssa Irby on December 2, 2012

Photo from Instagram by Alyssa Irby

With the recent premiere of the Life of Pi film, and my mom already planning a date to see it, I thought it was high time to read this book. The story is about Pi Patel and his journey while lost at sea. The book takes a while to get to the actual meat of the plot, but goes in depth looking at Pi’s life; his religion, or might I say, religions, and his time in India before his family made the transatlantic trip to Canada.

Though it does take a while to get to the main focus of the story, it’s hard to get bogged down in the background. The book is told from Pi’s point of view and he is quite funny at times, especially when he tells of how he became a member of three religions in one weekend. Pi’s life in India and his childhood, spent running around the family zoo, provide insight needed to understand how much he knew prior to his time on the boat and how much he had to learn. I should probably explain that he is not alone on this boat either, he has a companion, Richard Parker, a Bengal Tiger. The two come to an understanding of which side of the lifeboat belongs to whom and that they will only survive if they can find a way to sustain themselves (along with the essentials provided by the boat itself) until help arrives or they find land.

Written by Canadian,Yann Martel, Life of Pi is a humorous take on what could happen if one found themselves stranded in the middle of the ocean with a tiger. Despite his name, Pi has nothing to do with the numerical value and the book is not focused on math. It is quite entertaining and quick to read before visiting a movie theater near by to see the motion picture, released November 21, 2012. Pick it up today and get lost with Pi; you won’t regret it.

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