Life of Pi

a novel

by Yann Martel

No cover — Yann Martel: Life of Pi (2010, Random House Large Print, Distributed by Random House, Inc.)

456 pages

English language

Published Nov. 19, 2010 by Random House Large Print, Distributed by Random House, Inc..

ISBN:: 978-0-7393-7795-6
OCLC Number:: 980740221

View on OpenLibrary

(25 reviews)

Pi Patel, having spent an idyllic childhood in Pondicherry, India, as the son of a zookeeper, sets off with his family at the age of sixteen to start anew in Canada, but his life takes a marvelous turn when their ship sinks in the Pacific, leaving him adrift on a raft with a 450-pound Bengal tiger for company.

Pi survives a shipwreck with several animals and with intelligence, daring and inexpressible fear, manages to keep his wits about him as the animals begin to assert their places in the food chain. The plot contains graphic violence.

58 editions

technicat@bookwyrm.social reviewed Life of Pi by Yann Martel

a fun-philosophical read

4 stars

I saw the movie first, and found it a visual feast, but I enjoyed the book a bit more. The lengthy first person narrative provides both a constant thread of humor and also an almost stream of consciousness philosophical musing. I read the critical reception in the wikipedia entry with the various philosophical messages attached to it (wikipedia calls it a "Canadian philosphical novel" which are three words I never thought I'd see together) but it is perhaps best enjoyed if you just read along and don't try to read too much into it.