Life Of Pi: Winner of the Man Booker Prize

Pi Patel is the son of a zookeeper in Pondicherry, India. He was given the full name of Piscine Molitor after a Parisian swimming pool frequented by a family friend. But when kids at school took to calling him Pissing, he shortened it to Pi, that familiar figure for the ratio of a circle's circumference divided by its diameter. At one point he says: "And so in that Greek letter that looks like a shack with a corrugated roof, in that elusive, irrational number with which scientists try to understand the universe, I found refuge."Although occasionally uncomfortable at school, Pi is incredibly happy at home surrounded by a veritable wonderland. He learns that the zoo animals live by habit and, once their basic needs are met, are content to repeat the same rhythms and rituals every day. Change the routine in the slightest way, however, and the animal will express confusion, anger, or retreat into a safe place. He grows up knowing not to anthropomorphize — assign human characteristics — to the animals. In one very scary scene, Pi's father demonstrates than animals are ferocious beasts who are driven by their hungers and passions. He also teaches the boy about how a circus animal trainer is able to control large animals by assuming the position of the alpha male, demonstrating dominance and an ability to provide for their needs.Pi's parents are secularists with no interest in religion. This teenager, who is a Hindu, finds himself also attracted to Christianity and Islam. Although he thinks that Jesus' ministry can't hold a candle to the exotic adventures of Hindu gods, his message of love seems very important. He begins to meet regularly with a Catholic priest and soon asks to be baptized. Pi finds Islam to be "a beautiful religion of brotherhood and devotion." After meeting a Sufi mystic in the market, he puts a prayer rug in the garden facing Mecca and prays five times a day. However, once the local leaders of each religion discover what he is doing, they try to convince Pi that he must choose one over the others. But this ardent teenager refuses to give up his multifaith path of loving God.All of this spiritual practice leads to a mystical experience which he describes this way: "I left town and on my way back, at a point where the land was high and I could see the sea to my left and down the road a long ways, I suddenly felt I was in heaven. The spot was in fact no different from when I had passed it not long before, but my way of seeing it had changed. The feeling, a paradoxical mix of pulsing energy and profound peace, was intense and blissful. Whereas before the road, the sea, the trees, the air, the sun all spoke differently to me, now they spoke one language of unity. Tree took account of road, which was aware of air, which was mindful of sea, which shared things with sun. Every element lived in harmonious relation with its neighbour, and all was kith and kin. I knelt a mortal; I rose an immortal. I felt like the centre of a small circle, coinciding with the centre of a much larger one. Atman had met Allah."When Pi's father decides to leave India and move to Winnipeg, Canada, he closes the zoo and arranges to distribute its inhabitants to other facilities. The family and some of the animals board a Japanese cargo ship. Then the unexpected happens, and the boat sinks in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Pi makes it to a lifeboat where his only companions are a zebra, a hyena, a orangutan, and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. The sixteen-year-old boy watches horrified as the war begins for supremacy between the animals. In the end, of course, just he and the tiger are left.Luckily, the lifeboat is stocked with survival supplies and a detailed survival manual. Pi sets up equipment to collect water, learns to fish and catch turtles, and makes a raft for those times when he needs to stay some distance from Richard Parker. Everything he has learned about animals serves him well. In shark-infested waters, with no land in sight, Pi attends to the needs of the 450-pound tiger. This section of Martel's phantasmagorical novel is absolutely enthralling, a true adventure where Pi's physical prowess, intellectual courage, and spiritual perseverance are all tested. At one point, he observes: "For the first time I noticed — as I would notice repeatedly during my ordeal, between one throe of agony and the next — that my suffering was taking place in a grand setting. I saw my suffering for what it was, finite and insignificant, and I was still."Throughout his journey, Pi practices religious rituals — "solitary Masses without priests or consecrated Communion hosts, darshans without murtis, and pujas with turtle meat for prasad, acts of devotion for Allah not knowing where Mecca was and getting my Arabic wrong." But these provide a stay against despair and loneliness and his grief for his lost family. The worst enemy is fear. He observes:"It is life's only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. It is a clever, treacherous adversary, how well I know. It has no decency, respects no law or convention, shows no mercy. It goes for your weakest spot, which it finds with unerring ease. It begins in your mind, always. One moment you are feeling calm, self-possessed, happy. Then, fear, disguised in the garb of mild-mannered doubt, slips into your mind like a spy."One of the things that makes Life of Pi such an extraordinary read is that it covers so many fascinating subjects with aplomb. Martel provides overviews of animal behavior, survival at sea, the limits of reason, and a boy's coming of age. The novel is a work of spiritual adventurism, a expression of mystical awareness, and a salute to the ample powers of imagination and the versatility of storytelling. During his long stay aboard the lifeboat with the tiger, Pi notes: "My greatest wish — other than salvation — was to have a book. A long book with a never-ending story. One I could read again and again, with new eyes and a fresh understanding each time. Alas, there was no scripture in the lifeboat."This ambitious novel is stuffed with ideas, interesting people, and exciting situations. Each reader could spend quite a bit of time pondering the spiritual implications of the deep relationship that develops between Pi and Richard Parker over the course of their confinement together. At first, the teenage is scared out of his wits that the animal will eat him. Then he tries to keep the tiger happy with food, fresh water, and regular routines. The final level of their interaction is a surprise that will only startle those who haven't had the delight of close mystical relationships with animals.Life of Pi is a multileveled exploration of the beautiful mysteries that light up our lives and have no rhyme nor reason of their own. Yet without them, we would be nothing more than wonder-deprived creatures.

It's a bit of a tricky situation when reviewing a book on amazon. Do I review the quality of the book as a capitalistic object or do I review it an intellectual entity. Well lucky for you I will do both. To begin with The book arrived on time, was in great condition and by the texture of the pages and the quality of the book it is safe to say that the book I received was an original work and not a pirated copy. This however is a subjective experience I have had experiences when the books I have received were nit of that great quality. The Books Gods were happy with me that day.Now let us talk about the book in regard's to its content. A little but of background though: I had ordered this book last moment as it was a prescribed reading in my syllabus for Canadian literature. And at first I was like: wait you're telling me canada has also contributed to literature??? I thought their contribution in world economy was of maple syrup and importing kids for education. Anyways I bought this book and rest is history. As evident in the video and the excessive tabs I have used it was one of my best purchases this year and I am so glad I bought it because I would really hate myself if I had read it online and enjoyed it this much. It's fast paced novel but at the same time has very intellectual monologues and thoughts that our central character has which is such a nuanced look on life in general. One problem with this book however is that after you finish reading it you will have this inexplicable urge to recommend it to your friends in order to have a discussion and they will reply with their stupid smirk saying "oh but I have already seen the movie" you will have an impulse to slap them. Please control that.

I bought the paperback version of Life of Pi, and the delivery was very quick — Amazon did a great job on that front. The paper quality is decent, though not exceptional. The story itself is absolutely brilliant — imaginative, deep, and beautifully written.However, I do feel the paperback price is a bit on the higher side, especially since the Kindle and Audible versions are available at a much lower cost. Still, it’s a wonderful read and worth having in your collection if you prefer physical books.

Amazing book and a beautiful story

I am amazed that in such a reasonable price I got an original copy of the book and I feared otherwise. The pages are slightly yellowing from the edges and have few stains but in the given price the drawbacks can be overlooked. The purchase won’t make you regret. And as a cherry on top the book was wrapped with a note written on it which I found sweet.

Nice book. Seen the movie so bought the book. I loved this book. Must buy.

It is very good

The Book's cover has a matt finish. It's Beautiful.But it had a Bruise as you can see in the pics. But it's fine. ☺

This book is one of my favourite stories. Martel blends reality and fantasy so well that I had to keep examining the book jacket to see if it said "based on a true story" anywhere.

When I finished reading, I was stunned and lost for words. Lots of wonders and lots of thoughts. This book reminds me of "Lord of Flies." Deeply hidden human weakness and strength surface when small numbers of people (and/or animals) are trapped in a small space in pressing life-threatening conditions. How do we react from our fears, hopelessness, and desperation when we face the power of wild animals and wild nature? It is when our human strength, power, and wisdom as well as vulnerability come out. Some readers may react because we don't want to face our potential weakness or evil that may exist within ourselves. But I personally think it's good to face and realize, so that we can minimize risks that come from human weaknesses.This book is full of implications, symbolisms, and philosophical, religious, and moral questions. What makes humans being humans? What makes animals being animals? What is a crime? How far is self-defence justified? Facing death, what kind of actions are crimes and what kind are not? Where can we draw a line in moral code? We can find a few dozens extremely challenging questions to ponder in this book. Some readers may simply enjoy the breath-taking, fast-moving adventure aspect of this book. Some readers who are interested in zoology and animals may find the detailed information interesting; while some who are not interested find boring at the beginning. This book is intellectually stimulating and emotional moving from time to time.My favorite quotes: "You must fight hard to shine the light of words upon it. Because if you don't, if you fear becomes a wordless darkness that you avoid, perhaps even manage to forget, you open yourself to further attacks of fear because you never truly fought the opponent who defeated you."I'm hoping that people don't simply label or judge this book because the topics are quite taboo matters. They are not light-hearted, simple, and easy matters. I applause the courage of the author who challenged these profound topics together with his great writing skills.

Tertemiz ve elime hızlı ulaştı teşekkürler

delivered as promised

Yann Martel’s Life of Pi raises a question that no other novel has ever done before. In proper paradox, the author catalogs the tale that Pi tells of his voyage and one in which one in which replaces the barbaric animals with human beings, seemingly questioning both the Japanese officials and reader’s faith one token. 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?The son of a zookeeper, Piscine “Pi” Molitor 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. Much in the story is left up to the reader’s imagination as it leaves out key details that prove to be crucial to the story such as the sinking of the Tsimtsum and the disappearance of Richard Parker.In part one of the book, Yann Martel sets up the theme of religion by establishing Pi’s poly-religious worshipping preferences: Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. More so, Martel’s introduction and analysis of the zoo give the reader thoughtful insight into his purpose for the book. Martel hopes to inspire readers’ thoughts by using animals to symbolize how similar people are in fact to other species.In part two of the book, the reader is unaware of the significance of the novel (which could be perceived as ineffective by some at this point), and what Yann Martel is trying to bring to his or her attention. At this point in the novel, Martel relies on his extremely gifted storytelling abilities, giving the reader the impression that Life of Pi is just another entertaining modern survival novel. However, the author makes sure to give subliminal messages throughout the novel, almost all of which carry a heavier significance by part three of the book.There are times when Martel pushes the didactic agenda of his story too hard. One episode involving a bizarre ''Gandhian'' island of carnivorous seaweed -- populated by an enormous herd of South African meerkats -- struck as a little too baldly allegorical, however magical in its imagery. Despite this Martel is able to keep his feet on the ground by focusing on the physical and logistical details of his hero's predicament.Moreover, in the book's final chapters Martel gives Life of Pi an intriguing twist. After the lifeboat comes safely to shore in Mexico (and Richard Parker disappears without ceremony into the jungle), Pi finds that his wild narrative is not believed by the officials sent to debrief him. And he knows exactly why: ''You want a story that won't surprise you. That will confirm what you already know. That won't make you see higher or further or differently. Urged to provide a more credible explanation for his survival, Pi placates the officials with a story that contains just the kind of ''dry, yeastless factuality'' they're looking for. But is this more straightforward (and tigerless) version of events actually closer to the deeper truth of his adventure? It's a testimony to Martel's achievement that few readers will be tempted to think so. Whether the first or second story is accurate is left up to the reader to decipher.Perhaps the best indication of Life of Pi as a contemporary Postmodern novel is its theological destitution: instead of being interested in the theological basis of Pi’s soul, it is really interested only in the theological basis of storytelling. The former is or could be a day to day, lived reality; the latter is only a piquant but now familiar contemporary abstraction. Yann Martel’s prose leads the reader to believe Pi’s abstract story as told with conviction and establishes a bridge between religion and the moral of the story being hope: without hope the situation seems helpless and barbaric but with hope the situation is romanticized and tells the tale of love and admiration. The novel leaves the reader desiring more of the story and will leave him with a better understanding of animals, the barbarity of the human race and will leave much to ponder about the story of a young man and his journey with a Bengal Tiger.