Life of Pi
Yann Martel
 (Reviewer - Donald D'Haene)
2002 Harcourt Press
ISBN: 0151008116

Adventure, survival, & faith.

16-year-old Pi Patel, the sole survivor of a shipwreck in the Pacific Ocean, is adrift in a life raft with a menagerie of animals. Raised in Pondicherry, India, the son of a zookeeper, he has, for his few years, been fascinated with the quest for faith. Attracted to “religions the way a dog attracts fleas.”

Now, alone on a vast sea (the archetypal imagery for the subconsciousness), with nothing else to do than tend the wounded animals & survive, Pi's mind also drifts & off we go on a fabulous romp through a boy's, about to become a man, imagination.

Associate Reviewer Donald D'Haene writes:

When I was in secondary school, my English teacher had me read this wonderful book called Lord of the Flies. (I know, who didn't!) William Golding's classic tale about a group of English schoolboys who are plane-wrecked on a deserted island left a lasting impression.

I predict another novel, Life of Pi by Yann Martel will be studied in a similar way by future generations.

Life of Pi is a gripping story with odd similarities to Golding's. This time, a young boy is shipwrecked & must survive on a small lifeboat drifting in the middle of the desert-like Pacific Ocean. It also explores the boundary between human reason & animal instinct, all on the brutal playing field of a vast sea. Golding won the Nobel Prize for Literature, Martel The Man Booker Prize.

Coincidence? Who knows? But perhaps Martel's prose provides clues. At one point in his main character's journey, Martel has Pi recount, “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.” Pg 230

God, I know what that means.

At the beginning of Life of Pi, in the Author's notes, Martel states this is “a story to make you believe in God.” A bold claim that smacks of self-importance, an author setting up high expectations in his audience, or perhaps a less-than-subtle subliminal wish?

I'd say all of the above.

Yes, there are parts of this book that are so moving, so exhilarating, so extraordinary that readers are left to catch their breath as they read on.

& Life of Pi will probably be studied by millions of future school children.

But maybe readers are like me -- we just want to read a good story. We don't want to analyze every possible scenario. ie. Does the Tiger really exist? Is Pi's journey just carefully constructed representations of Sigmund Freud's Id, Ego and Superego? You get my drift.

Life of Pi didn't “make” me believe in God. I don't want to read it again & again ... but Yann Martel has cooked up one hell of a good story!

Yann Martel, the child of diplomats, grew up in Costa Rica, France, Mexico, Alaska & Canada & as an adult has spent time in Iran, Turkey & India. After studying Philosophy at Trent University, he worked at various odd jobs until he began making a living as a writer at the age of 27. Martel is the prize-winning author of Facts Behind: Helsinki, a collection of short stories, & of Self, a novel. He lives in Montreal.
(11/09/03)

Donald
2003©Donald D'Haene
A RebeccasReads.Com Associate Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
My most important work to date is my memoir, Father's Touch [Author web site: www.fatherstouch.com] Do check out Rebecca's Interview with me.

I have been freelance writing since 1988. My short stories can be found in The Good Life (2000) & Memories of Elgin and Middlesex(2000). I am also an actor with Armstrong Talent in Toronto, Canada.

A short film is being produced [Phat Puppy Productions] based on the first chapter of Father's Touch. It will submitted to film festivals around the world. As well, this fall, Canada's W Network will air a half hour segment of their series, Family Secrets, based on the author's life & story.

I live in London, Ontario, with my partner, Maurice, my mother, & our three Siamese cats, Kyle, Bach-Pierre, Maxine & a cockatiel, Jay.