Tuesday 26 May 2015

Life of Pi by: Yann Martel

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Adventure 
Published: August 29, 2006 by: Seal Books
Pages: 356
Rating: 5/5 stars


Life of Pi is a story about hope, faith, and love. It follows Pi Patel, a young Indian boy whose family runs a zoo. The family and their animals load onto a ship in search of a better life in Canada. However, a tragic accident occurs and suddenly Pi finds himself stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific with no one besides a hyena, a chimpanzee, a zebra and an adult Bengal tiger. Pi must rely on his faith and optimism to survive; if he can tame the animals.

This book was beautiful, full of intricate writing and an amazing lesson. I had to read this for my English class, and everyone warned me that it was such a bad book. I went in expecting the worst, but what I got was a thrilling tale that made me think.

I loved the writing in this book. It was so clever and emotionally-driven, and every line was captivating. It is quite a sad book, but Pi provides enough comic relief to make me fall in love with this heartwarming character. He was so positive about life, and he didn’t let anything stand in his way.

I liked how this book had a lot of psychology in it. It taught me a lot, but it wasn’t so heavy. I didn’t find that this book was hard to understand, I actually thought it would be perfect for teenagers because the lessons in the book would be able to stay with us for our entire life.

Religion plays a big role in this book, but I think it would be an amazing book for anyone, no matter what your beliefs are. It accepted diversity, with the main character being committed to three religions. It was such a unique book.

Overall, I fell in love with this book. It taught me so much, the ending was so brilliant and it gives you a glimpse of what it’s like when you lose everything, but build it back up.

Have you read Life of Pi? What did you think?


Emily @ Paperback Princess

8 comments:

  1. I saw the movie for Life of Pi a year or two ago and it really tugs at the heartstrings. I haven't read the book yet (shame, shame *hides*), but I plan to as soon as I can get my hands on it. I love books that are light reads but also make you think. I recently read The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma which I think is another great example of books that weren't exactly hard to understand yet challenged everyday thinking. I'm looking forward to it more now that diversity was included, I always enjoy seeing that in books.

    Claire @ Cover to Cover

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The movie and the book were both so beautiful, hope you get to read it soon! I haven't read The Walls Around Us, but I'm really into those kind of meaningful book nowadays :)

      Delete
  2. I really want to read the book now! There's a copy in my school's library so maybe I'll take it for grabs :) I haven't completely watched the movie yet, but only little parts that I remember, such as the scene where the man and the Tiger were floating along the sea. You're right, it IS emotionally-driven, but I'm only saying that because I saw parts of the movie. Maybe the book will be different :) I'd love to give it a try someday!

    Thanks for the review Emily!

    Jillian @ Jillian's Books

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would really recommend it, as it such a unique book! It changed my perspective on many things :)

      Delete
  3. I really want to read this book! I love that the character is Indian, - being a Sri Lankan myself, that culture is the closest I can relate to when it comes to fiction- and I always love it when my books have a steady world building and descriptive writing.
    Wonderful review Emily!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I loved how I could learn about a different culture in this book!

      Delete
  4. I'm so glad that you liked reading this book! My friends read this about a year ago and loved it. They couldn't stop talking about it! I haven't read it, but I plan to in the future, and I also want to watch the film version someday. Anyway, this is a great review and I'm excited to see what you read next. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! Both the movie and book were so clever, I was amazed throughout :)

      Delete