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Life of Pi (平装)
by Yann Martel
| Category:
Story, Award-winning books, Ages 9-12, Children's book |
| Market price: ¥ 118.00
MSL price:
¥ 98.00
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| Stock:
In Stock |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
A story to make you believe in the soul-sustaining power of fiction and its human creators. |
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AllReviews |
1 2   | Total 2 pages 15 items |
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Publisher's Weekly (MSL quote), USA
<2007-04-30 00:00>
"A fabulous romp through an imagination by turns ecstatic, cunning, despairing and resilient, this novel is an impressive achievement - "a story that will make you believe in God," as one character says.... This richly patterned work, Martel's second novel, won Canada's 2001 Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction. In it, Martel displays the clever voice and tremendous storytelling skills of an emerging master.
FYI: Booksellers would be wise to advise readers to browse through Martel's introductory note. His captivating honesty about the genesis of his story is almost worth the price of the book itself."
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The Hamilton Spectator (MSL quote), USA
<2007-04-30 00:00>
"I guarantee that you will not be able to put this book down. It is a realistic, gripping story of survival at sea. On one level, the book is a suspenseful adventure story, a demonstration of how extreme need alters a man's character…. On another level, this is a profound meditation on the role of religion in human life and the nature of animals, wild and human. His language…is vivid and striking. His imagination if powerful, his range enormous, his capacity for persuasion almost limitless. I predict that Yann Martel will develop into one of Canada's great writers." |
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B. Merritt (MSL quote), California United States
<2007-04-30 00:00>
For me, the best books are those that leave much up to the interpretation of their readers. Authors have difficulty pulling this off, mainly because publishers (at least I believe it's the publishers and/or editors at these houses) enjoy stories that spell out every last detail, leaving nothing to the imaginations of the reading population. Sometimes-rarely-a book comes along that is not only told well, with memorable characters and a compelling story, but it also allows debate once you've finished it. Such is The Life of Pi.
Yann Martel (author) gives us this gem that starts out slow and picks up speed until the very end, where the debate as to "what really happened to Pi" begins.
We're introduced to the narrator, Piscine Molitor Patel, in his hometown of Pondicherry, India. Surrounded by animals at this father's zoo, we learn the creatures that inhabit this place are an integral part of Pi. Also integral to Pi's life is his belief in God, but Pi "attracts religions like a dog attracts fleas" and he finds himself a Christian, a Muslim, and a Hindu on the same day (much to the dismay of his parents). It is his faith in God that will help pull Pi through the most trying event in his life: surviving on a lifeboat for 227 days. But I'm jumping ahead.
The book is part and parcel told by a writer who's trying to get Pi's story out of him but having great difficulty. This unknown author visits Pi at his home in Canada where our story begins and ends. Pi's life is one of rarity and hardship overcome by internal strength. And it is this story that underlies the telling of Pi's young life.
When Pi's father decides to sell the zoo and transport his family across the sea to Canada (in search of a better life), the boat they are on sinks. Pi is the only survivor. Strike that. Pi is the only human survivor. When he plops into a lifeboat, he quickly discovers that he has an orangutan, a zebra, a hyena, and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker accompanying him. As animal nature would have it, though, the lifeboats occupants are quickly whittled down to Richard Parker and Pi (it's noteworthy to mention this isn't some anthropomorphic cartoon story where animals talk and are friendly to humans). Having been closely associated with animals in his father's zoo, Pi takes on the challenge of training Richard Parker, teaching the man-eater which side of the boat is his and which is Pi's. An understanding develops and the tiger and boy live together on the boat for months and months, surviving each other as much as famine, thirst, sharks, and storms.
Once the boat lands (in Mexico), Richard Parker summarily takes off and is never heard from again. Pi is rescued by beachcombers and sent to a hospital. Here he meets up with two Japanese officials, employees of the company that own the sunken ship. Questions arise and disbelief is confronted. How could a boy survive on a lifeboat with a carnivorous tiger for over seven months? The Japanese men ask for another story, one that "doesn't involve animals" and it is here that readers have to make up their own minds. Did it happen the way Pi said it did the first time? Or is this ending version the true story? I'm not going to give away what this is; suffice to say it is compelling and intriguing and will probably blow your mind.
This novel certainly ranks up there with my favorite reads in the past few years. I'm sure I'll read it again ...and again ...and again, just to see which story of Pi's I truly believe.
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Lynne P. Caldwell (MSL quote), USA
<2007-05-06 00:00>
I read this entire book thinking that this was the actual autobiography of Pi! In other words, I thought this was a true story! Some of you are probably thinking that this reviewer is not the sharpest knife in the drawer but who on earth could make something like this up? Think about it.....this story is so illogical that it has to be true. The attention to detail that the author, Yann Martel inserts into this novel is unbelievable. I guess this is why some people are brilliant authors and some of us are just readers! I read this book as entertainment..... I rarely look for metaphors or allegories or hidden meanings; I did that in high school and college. But occasionally, someone will write something that is so gripping; it is all you can think about. If I had reviewed the LIFE OF PI immediately after reading it, I probably would have given it 4 stars. But now, months later, I keep picking up the story and thumbing through it, thinking about it, savoring it. So, I figured this is a Five Star book.
Pi is a young Indian boy who, much to his parent's chagrin, is not quite sure what religion he wants to be; so, he practices his native Hindu, Christianity and Islam as well. It is quite comical reading about his devotion to these religions; it's as if he wants to have all his bases covered. Another thing Pi is passionate about is his father's zoo. He spends his free time with the animals and tries to learn everything he can, both through observation and by his father's numerous lectures. This education will serve him well when he starts on his long journey in the small lifeboat.
Pi and his family board a ship for immigration to Canada. While at sea, the ship sinks, killing all on board with the exception of Pi. He survives by jumping into a lifeboat with a hyena, and is joined by a Zebra with a broken leg, a fierce Bengal tiger and an orangutan. Eventually only the tiger (Richard Parker) and the boy survive. Months at sea are spent trying to stay out of the tiger's way, finding food, water, cleaning animal excrement and trying to stay dry. He even tries to tame this animal. There were also storms to contend with. It was absolutely fascinating to read this account of the day-to-day, hour by hour (sometimes), activities on the high sea. This is quite a brilliant and compelling novel and I'm not being trite when I say I couldn't put it down. People have compared Martel to Margaret Atwood and I agree that this is a fair and complimentary assessment.
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Scott Delo (MSL quote), Washington
<2007-05-06 00:00>
I do a lot of reading and try to throw something with literary merit into the mix every third book or so. It makes me feel better about the mass market junk food I usually consume and I generally retain something of value from the experience. The downside is that the reading is often dry and a little more work than I'd prefer on my train commute to and from work. I picked up this novel because it won several literary awards and because I couldn't find anything better at Target. What I got was one of the best books I have ever read.
The Life of Pi is one of those rare books that is as enjoyable to read as it is enriching. The style is simple but captivating and after a few chapters you will be pulled into Pi's world. The story follows the life of a teenaged boy from India and is written in three parts. The first part deals with his life in India and his family and mentors. The boy is fascinated by religion and practices not only his native Hindu but Christianity and Islam as well. He is also fascinated by animals and has plenty of opportunity to study them since his father owns and operates a zoo. Political turmoil in India causes his father to move his family and his zoo to Canada but the ship they are traveling on sinks halfway across the Pacific Ocean. This starts the second part of the book, which is Pi's riveting tale of survival aboard a lifeboat with a 450-pound Bengal tiger. The last part of the book wraps up the story and poses an important question about the whole story and about the nature of religion. The novel can be read on the surface and enjoyed as a fine survival tale or it can be delved into to examine the religious metaphors that reside within. Either way, there should be more than enough here to satisfy even the most discriminating palate.
I usually don't talk about the ending of a story in a review but the ending of this novel was so moving I couldn't resist. If you haven't read the book then I urge you to stop here and go buy it. You will be glad you did. For those of you who have read the book and, like me, can't get the ending out of your heads then maybe this will help. My own take on the ending is that every religion, no matter how many adherents it has, is really a religion of one person. Everyone ultimately has to make their own leap of faith to find God. The existence of God can't be proven through scientific means, just like Pi's tale can't be factually proven. You either believe him when he tells you that he made the trip with the tiger or you don't believe him. Personally, I believe him because I don't think he would have had the will to live through the ordeal he lived through without the motivation of keeping the tiger appeased. I'll take the tiger any day, it feels better and makes more sense to me. |
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The New York Times (MSL quote), USA
<2007-05-06 00:00>
"... could renew your faith in the ability of novelists to invest even the most outrageous scenario with plausible life." |
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Los Angeles Times (MSL quote), USA
<2007-05-06 00:00>
"A story to make you believe in the soul-sustaining power of fiction and its human creators..." |
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Jack M. Walter (MSL quote), Baltimore
<2007-05-06 00:00>
Although many people talk about the spiritual aspects of this novel, I ended up with a lot of food for thought about humans and their relationship with animals. I enjoyed Pi, but would not run out and beg people to read it. The prose, however, is quite seamless and at times very beautiful.
The ending is intriguing, the question of course being Which version of the story is true? I am surprised that some readers prefer the more violent tale told by Pi and wonder what this says about us as people. Are we more likely to believe a horrible, painful story than a more lyrical one? |
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Sandra D. Peters (MSL quote), Canada
<2007-05-06 00:00>
The Life of Pi is actually a book in two parts. The first half is based primarily on Piscine (Pi) Patel's exploration of three very different religions - Hinduism, Islam and Christianity, as well as his family's ownership of a zoo. The second half of the book is the story of Pi's journey by barge to Canada. The boat sinks leaving Pi, a hyena, an orangutan, a zebra and Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, adrift at sea in a life boat.
I have heard many comments from others who have read the book saying that the first half was dry and mundane, while the second half was too gruesome when the animals begin to eat one another. However, the reader must remember this is a book about animal instinct and survival.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book from start to finish. There was a philosophical message to be learned from the exploration of various religions and the journey itself was an unbelievable and miraculous one. Martel is a well-educated man and an incredibly talented writer. To sit down and chat with a man of his experiences and beliefs would indeed be a pleasure. The "Life of Pi" is one of the most phenomenal books in print today and highly recommended.
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Tammy Maher (MSL quote), USA
<2007-05-06 00:00>
This was a complete surprise. The story doesn't leave you for a long time. Yann Martel weaves a tale that is multi-dimensional and colorful; so full of life. It's a tale that makes you laugh and cry. It's so visual that I eagerly await the screenplay to be written. It's the best of all famous tales woven into a wonderful yarn that weaves a quilt that has many layers to it. You won't want the story to end, but at times, out of desperation, you wish it would.
This story takes two paths...you get to choose which one you wish to believe. I always ask people who've read this book, which one they picked. It's a story that still stays with me, years after I've read it.
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1 2 | Total 2 pages 15 items |
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