Life of Pi (Yann Martel)

It was a good read.Not "Great",but it had enough depth to keep me interested.I liked the beginning very much,the middle was good and the end was a let down.It was as if the author ran out of steam and let the quality of his writing go downhill to get it over with.Still,it was entertaining over-all.

I really looked forward to reading this book when it came out. It was a pretty big thing then. I was interested of course in seeing what would happen with the tiger and the boy. As it turned out I tried to figure out what was happening with the story. The animals and all were left adrift. An orangutan was named Orange Juice there. I just loved that character. That animal was attacked by the hyena. I did not like it at all in that way and didn't get over it. I wondered how the tiger could be on the boat with him. That was symbolic also I guess as it turned out. Later it seemed the animals were symbols in a shipwreck. It was a bit confusing to me and not one of my favorites. I did not like the shipwreck setup with humans but I liked the animals without hyena. Of course, people could be sympathetic to it but it would be difficult for me. I don't know if it would plaly out exactly like that actually in a shipwreck. Orangutans are actually pretty strong and that was not shown in that at a... Read more

I left the reading of Life of Pi for some years after it had come out. Like a lot of books, I was leery of checking it out while the hot glow of critical acclaim was in effect; I find that naught but relentless enthusiasm for something often makes me feel bad if I don't think it's as fabulous as everyone else, immediately. Thankfully, it seems that there was no real chance of me disliking this book. Ostensibly a book about a shipwreck, a castaway boy named after a swimming pool, it's also a story about faith and perception. The mechanics of survival are minutely detailed within, but the malleability of worldview is the more important lesson here - and that's without touching upon the examination of syncretism in personal development. Put simply, Life of Pi is a pleasure to read. It doesn't rigidly push an agenda as such, but it's definitely successful in terms of challenging the reader to consider their moral standpoint.

This is a solidly good book - entertaining story, well written. However, i think that it's HIGHLY overrated. Metaphors were obvious. The whole thing reminded me too much of the much more memorable and wonderful "Old Man and the Sea." The end has an extremely unnecessary and very pretentious explanation of the metaphors/symbolism. It's never nice to be treated like an idiot by a not-so-amazing author.

I bought this book based upon the rave reviews here on Amazon. I found the book to be tedious, the "message" to be highly derivative, and the storyline to be slow at best. I had high expectations- clearly they were MUCH to high.

i was so caught up in the story that the end totally blew me out of the water, so to speak. makes you think twice!

Very amusing book. Perfect for holydays, for you cann't stop reading. Incredible and exciting till the end.

Altogether pretty good. Not great. Works very well as a parable.

I'm still trying to figure out what to make of this one. The storyline is spectacular: a young Indian boy is moving to Canada with his family, and being transported on a boat with his family's zoo. The boat capsizes. The boy, Pi, finds himself in a lifeboat with a dying Zebra, a Hyena, an Orangutang, and a 450 lb Bengal tiger. Nature plays its course, and soon its just the zookeeper's son and the tiger. For the rest of the voyage, Pi must use everything at his disposal to avoid being lunch. Intertwined with every page of this book is Pi's Faith in God, and his profound understanding of how animals think and react. I'm not sure if I've read a book like this, and I won't give up the staggering twist this book takes. Despite :) it's best seller status, Life of Pi is worth a read by atheists, agnostics, and believers.