Product Description

After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild, blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orangutan - and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary and best-loved works of fiction in recent years.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1193 in Books
• Published on: 2003-05-17
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 348 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Some books defy categorisation: Life of Pi, the second novel from Canadian writer Yann Martel, is a case in point: just about the only thing you can say for certain about it is that it is fiercely and admirably unique. The plot, if that’s the right word, concerns the oceanic wanderings of a lost boy, the young and eager Piscine Patel of the title (Pi). After a colourful and loving upbringing in gorgeously-hued India, the Muslim-Christian-animistic Pi sets off for a fresh start in Canada. His blissful voyage is rudely interrupted when his boat is scuppered halfway across the Pacific, and he is forced to rough it in a lifeboat with a hyena, a monkey, a whingeing zebra and a tiger called Richard. That would be bad enough, but from here on things get weirder: the animals start slaughtering each other in a veritable frenzy of allegorical bloodlust, until Richard the tiger and Pi are left alone to wander the wastes of ocean, with plenty of time to ponder their fate, the cruelty of the gods, the best way to handle storms and the various different recipes for oothappam, scrapple and coconut yam kootu. The denouement is pleasantly neat. According to the blurb, thirtysomething Yann Martel spent long years in Alaska, India, Mexico, France, Costa Rica, Turkey and Iran, before settling in Canada. All those cultures and more have been poured into this spicy, vivacious, kinetic and very entertaining fiction. --Sean Thomas

Review
'Extraordinary...Life of Pi could renew your faith in the ability of novelists to invest even the most outrageous scenario with plausible life.' New York Times Book Review

Guardian, 25 May, 2002
This enormously lovable novel is suffused with wonder. It[probes] the imaginative realm with scientific exactitude, twisting reality to 'bring out its essence'.

Customer Reviews

Great read!
What a wonderful book! A sublime piece of story-telling - beautiful prose, a superb flight of fancy, and written well enough to allow the reader complete acceptance of what is after all, a hugely unlikely premise.
I seem to be the only one of my friends who loved the ending, but, love it or loathe it - it certainly provides material for discussion. This is probably THE book of its year for reading clubs throughout the English speaking world!

Incredible story
The sheer number of views posted on this title and the publicity it has generated tells a lot about what should be expected from the story. It is catching. This with THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES is one of the best works of fiction that my eyes have roved through and which my mind has appreciated. I like Martel's poetic style of writing, his plot and the vivid descriptions he gave of things , characters and events results the story, which is similar to the style in DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE. I was so caught up by the book that I was unable to put it down until the last page. In the end, I saw The Life of Pi become so popular. Any reader who knows a good story may think he/or she is starting this book at a stroll but would be surprised to end it at a compelling rush. Like THE USURPER AND OTHERS, and THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN, the story is completely captivating, fast-paced, thrilling, inspiring, shocking and hilarious. I smiled, sighed, laughed and even wiped a tear while reading this book.

Nothing a pandit, an imam and a priest couldn't have told me
This is a great, well structured novel...

I'm surprised that some people feel the early chapters dragged, as I felt these offered some of the most entertaining moments of the entire novel. Moreover it gives a strong foundation for Piscine's unfaltering faith and resolve; much better to have a myriad of Gods and faiths looking after you and providing company when you finf yourself in such dire straits as he.

I've read the last 30 pages this morning in about 15minutes - the 3rd and final part of the book is an intriguing look at the man behind the book and lets you make your own judgement on just how much of what has passed is truth and how much is fantasy. Like all great experiences (not just books) it leaves you not only wanting more but thinking more too.

Well done Yann Martel.