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…
