I wanted to like the book. It was a nominee and recipient of various awards, and the movie looks intriguing. The idea of an Indian boy and a Bengal tiger surviving in a life boat on the Pacific Ocean for over 200 days seemed like The Old Man and the Sea on speed. I thought it would have the excitement that Hemingway’s classic lacked.
In the end, I grew to appreciate the book, but I cannot say that I liked it. I will attempt to explain why without giving any spoilers.
The premise is that an author wants to write his next book and is looking for a story to tell. He travels to India, where it is suggested that he contact Pi who is now living in Canada. The adult Pi tells his story to the author, and thus the action takes place in his younger years with some breaks in the story-line that bring us to the current day Pi, the author, and their interactions interspersed throughout.
When Pi’s family sells their zoo in India, they board a Japanese freighter with the remainder of their animals. They intend to move to Canada where they will sell the rest of the wild animals. However, during a storm, the ship sinks, and Pi, a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, and a handful of animals are the only survivors in a lifeboat. Pi and Richard Parker survive for over 200 days before washing ashore in Mexico.
The beginning of the book was a bit slow for my taste. I kept waiting for him to get on the boat and get to the anticipated action and drama, but several chapters were devoted to describing his family’s zoo and the natures of the animals within. I wondered if I had accidentally picked up a wildlife book that explained animals’ behaviors, instincts and habitats. I lost momentum.
However, once he actually made it on the boat, I understood why the information was important. I still think he could have condensed it a bit to increase the pace of the story.
Here is the very personal reason I did not enjoy reading the book: Once he got on the boat, it was gross. I’m not ruining the story by letting you know that he was on the boat with a Bengal tiger and other animals. Eventually it is just him and the tiger. You can fill in the details with your own imagination. Later, as they were afloat for hundreds of days and trying to avoid starvation and dehydration, other details of his survival tactics were…well…gross.
Now, if you love watching survival shows, or the gruesome details of predator vs. prey documentaries, then that part of the book (half of it) won’t bother you a bit, and you may have a completely different reaction than I did.
Finally, the book was intended to be an examination of faith. I think the reader’s appreciation for this journey through faith vs. religion and finding truth will largely depend on her current faith and belief system. For me, I appreciate his statements on finding faith and religion. I commend the author’s craft, because it is very well-written. However, I found that it fell a little flat. He incorporated some of the major religions in the main character’s life, which I understand and appreciate, but I think he could have spent some time developing this a bit more before Pi got on the boat.
The end of the book threw me for a bit of a loop. I wasn't expecting it, and I love that the author was able to write an ending so surprising that it caused me to go back and re-read certain parts to see if they were cast in a different light with my new knowledge.
I appreciate the way Martel essentially leaves the reader with the freedom to interpret the story as she wants and to choose her reality in a sense. I think that was the statement that he was trying to make as he developed Pi’s character. We choose our reality, and faith is more than religion.
That last statement over-simplifies the concepts of the book, but I don’t want to delve much deeper and spoil the story. This is one of those books that is well-written, and the less you know about the story going into it, the more you can be immersed in the character’s world, and the more you can get out of it at the end.
Again, the book is well-written, and if you are interested at all in reading the book, I highly recommend you read it. The issues I had with it were very personal, and had I not had such an aversion to…well…to grossness, then I probably would have enjoyed it much more!
I would love to hear your reactions to the book!
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