heh just for fun…
oooh mich did hers (hey i added to yrs liao!)
so now i also wanna do my own johari window! lolz…
ok friends: go here to contribute (just a few simple clicks): contribute
and click here to see the latest update: update
Genre: fiction, humour
Rating: gets you hooked to the book. (It was so enchanting I finished it in 2 seatings, about 4 hours…)
‘Life of Pi’ is a book that guarantees to make you believe in God. Complacent, you say, but it’s almost true. The novel brings us the magical, fantastical yet realistic story of Pi (3.14…), an Indian boy whose real name is Piscine Molitor Patel, after a swimming pool in France.
The first part of the novel details his childhood, living with all the animals in the zoo and learning about them. (His family owned the Pondicherry zoo). In his childhood, he was extremely religious, almost fanatic. Being a Hindu, a Muslim and a Christian all at one go! His arguments for why he should be allowed to practice all these religions are as entertaining as his parents who are unable to fathom his ideas.
The second part, which forms the bulk of the novel, tells us a Robinson Crusoe-like story, of his 227-day ordeal of drifting along the Pacific Equatorial counter current, following a shipwreck that killed all the others on board. In the huge lifeboat, there was also a hyena, an orangutan, an injured zebra as well as Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. (All these animals were to be shipped to Canada along with his family who was migrating there.) From then, it was a test of the survivor of the fittest, ending with Richard Parker and Pi, who formed a delicate relationship. The novel is light-hearted and adventurous, but also brings with it undertones of psychology. For example, how Pi maintains his position as the alpha-male in his relationship with the tiger, a position vital to his own survivor.
The final part of the story gives us a form of closure. Telling how Pi was eventually rescued and the interview with the owners of the ship who were trying to investigate the reason for the sinking. It is a light-hearted, extremely humorous yet very rvealing exchange.
It is a pity for any book-lover not to read this book. Even my mother’s hooked! hahaha…
‘Life of Pi’: an in-depth review
Highlights in the novel:
On Christianity from the eyes of a boy who was brought up Hindu…
NB: I don’t mean to be irreverent to any religion here, but it’s just a refreshing way to show how some people might have their misgivings about Christianity when they don’t understand it well enough.
The first thing that drew me in was disbelief. What? Humanity sins but it’s God’s Son who pays the price? I tried to imagine Father saying to me, “Piscine, a lion slipped into the llama pen today and killed two llamas. Yesterday another one killed a black buck. Last week two of them ate the camel. The week before it was painted storks and grey herons. And who’s the say for sure who snacked on our golden agouti? The situation has become intolerable. Something must be done. I have decided that the only way the lions can atone for their sins is if I feed you to them.”
“Yes, Father, that would be the right and logical thing to do. Give me a moment to wash up.”
“Hallelujah, my son.”
“Hallelujah, Father.”
Piscine (French for swimming pool), apparently sounds like ‘pissing’ if not pronounced properly. As a result, Pi had suffered greatly from teasing… At his new school, he ingenuously comes up with a way to introduce himself. Before each new teacher could attempt to pronounce his name, he would write on the board:
My name is Piscine Molitor Patel, known to all as Pi Patel where π = 3.14
And in this clever way, he had a new nickname!
On psychology of the circus trainer and his animals:
It is interesting to note that the lion that is the most amenable to the circus trainer’s tricks is the one with the lowest social standing in the pride, the omega animal. It has the most to gain from a close relationship with the super-alpha trainer. It is not only a matter of extra treats. A close relationship will also mean protection from the other members of the pride. It is this compliant animal, to the public no different from the others in size and apparent ferocity, that will be the star of the show, while the trainer leaves the beta and gamma lions, more cantankerous subordinates, sitting on their colorful barrels on the edge of the ring.
The same is true of other circus animals and is also seen in zoos. Socially inferior animals are the ones that make the most strenuous, resourceful efforts to get to know their keepers. They prove to be the ones most faithful to them, most in need of their company, least likely to challenge them or be difficult. The phenomenon has been observed with big cats, bison, deer, wild sheep, monkeys and many other animals.
NB: Readers, look out for Chpter 23, P65, when all three Hindu, Muslim and Christian religious leaders in Pi’s town meet him and his father at the beach by coincidence together…
NB: Also look out for the really cute exchange between Pi’s parents when Pi asks to buy both a prayer rug (for Muslim prayers) AND to be baptised. (Some of us might find the way his parents talk familiar… heh)
And that’s all now! Enjoy the book! It’s a GREAAAT read!!!
My first contact with written Catalán. Boy, it looks so cool!!!
Catalán: sincerely thank my lucky stars that i took a bit of italian… it helps!
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