Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780156030205
ISBN: 0156030209
Label: Mariner Books
Languages: Array
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 420
Publication Date: 2004-05-03
Publisher: Mariner Books
Studio: Mariner Books

The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes.

The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth." After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional--but is it more true?

Yann Martel's imaginative and unforgettable Life of Pi is a magical reading experience, an endless blue expanse of storytelling about adventure, survival, and ultimately, faith. The precocious son of a zookeeper, 16-year-old Pi Patel is raised in Pondicherry, India, where he tries on various faiths for size, attracting "religions the way a dog attracts fleas." Planning a move to Canada, his father packs up the family and their menagerie and they hitch a ride on an enormous freighter. After a harrowing shipwreck, Pi finds himself adrift in the Pacific Ocean, trapped on a 26-foot lifeboat with a wounded zebra, a spotted hyena, a seasick orangutan, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker ("His head was the size and color of the lifebuoy, with teeth"). It sounds like a colorful setup, but these wild beasts don't burst into song as if co-starring in an anthropomorphized Disney feature. After much gore and infighting, Pi and Richard Parker remain the boat's sole passengers, drifting for 227 days through shark-infested waters while fighting hunger, the elements, and an overactive imagination. In rich, hallucinatory passages, Pi recounts the harrowing journey as the days blur together, elegantly cataloging the endless passage of time and his struggles to survive: "It is pointless to say that this or that night was the worst of my life. I have so many bad nights to choose from that I've made none the champion."

An award winner in Canada (and winner of the 2002 Man Booker Prize), Life of Pi, Yann Martel's second novel, should prove to be a breakout book in the U.S. At one point in his journey, Pi recounts, "My greatest wish--other than salvation--was to have a book. A long book with a never-ending story. One that I could read again and again, with new eyes and fresh understanding each time." It's safe to say that the fabulous, fablelike Life of Pi is such a book. --Brad Thomas Parsons

Customer Rating:
Summary: SweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeT!
Comment: If I could find a couple words to describe this novel, they would be the words "philosophical", "deep", or "exciting". The main reason for this is the point of view. Pi, the main character, is a practicing Hindu, Christian, AND Muslim ALL AT THE SAME TIME. So when faced with a life or death situation (floating in the middle of the Pacific on a lifeboat with a tiger), it causes Pi to fall into an extremely philosophical mindset. This causes the book to sort of reach down into the human mind at peril, and it is VERY interesting to read.
Also, this book is extremely unpredictable. Just when you think everything's going to be okay, things take a sudden, explosive turn for the worse. When you think Pi's life is at its end, a miracle occurs. The one that most sticks out in my mind is when Pi finds an island, just to find out that is eats people at night. Now, just in case you didn't read clearly enough last sentence. THE WHOLE ISLAND IS CARNIVOROUS. That's what I call bad luck. But it keeps the story going, and will keep you hooked all the way through.
And last but not least, this is one of the few books that actually puts pictures in my head. I can just imagine myself looking at the endless ocean from my little boat,keeping an eye on Richard Parker (the tiger)to make sure he didn't pass his side of the lifeboat.
To sum it all up, this is an extremely addictive and exciting book, and you will finish it with a different outlook on life.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A Story of stories
Comment: I cant think of a better story to recommend. Sometimes you do wonder if it is a novel. Pi is a great character, simple, physically weak, a non-hero, he could be any one of us. He goes through extraordinary experience out of pure luck. More extraordinary than this is the way it is described and perspective offered at every turn. It is simply beautiful. I cannot tell you more than this. As Pi says "My greatest wish--other than salvation--was to have a book. A long book with a never-ending story. One that I could read again and again, with new eyes and fresh understanding each time." This can be that book.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A book to change your life
Comment: I found this book a few years ago, and it quickly became one of my favorite. I have since given this gook to many friends, and with the prices on Amazon, that's really easy to do. The book came quickly and in perfect condition.
I recommend this book to anyone and everyone, as it gives wonderful insight about politics, reigion, humanity, survival, and what it means to really be living. As simply entertaining as it is, you can read it many times finding new hidden meanings each time.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Incredible Literary Adventure
Comment: This is one of my favorite books. Yann Martel makes us realize how animalistic humans can be in the most enjoyable way possible.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: try it in audio form
Comment: I have listened to this novel 3 times. It is a wonderful story, that many people could take many ways. but to listen to it..... the readers voice is so perfect for the story, and it lets you use all of your imagination to picture what you hear. You may think it starts slow, but don't give up, you'll be learning. And it will all be worth it. This book is such a treat.

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