Book Name: Life of Pi
Author: Yann Martel
Publisher: Random House of Canada
Genre: Fiction
Publication: 2001
Language: English
Main Characters: Piscine Patel aka Pi, Richard Parker
Theme: Survival, Hope, Faith, Human, and Animal psychology
Places: India, Mexico, Canada
Prizes: The Booker Prize
Introduction:
Life of Pi is a fictional novel by Yann Martel that aimed at the life story of a 16 years old Indian Tamil boy Pi Patel as the title suggests. This book is one of the best examples of work based on the imagination that delights And satisfies The Reader. Yann Martell is a Canadian author known for Life of Pi which was his second book. This book is an international bestseller published in 2001 and then was published in more than 50 territories and has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide. The book cover shows a tiger and a boy on a lifeboat surrounded by the ocean. The cover itself tells the story of survival. The book was rejected by more than five publishing houses.
The book revolves around the story of Pi and his thrilling experiences when he gets stuck in the Pacific Ocean on a lifeboat with a tiger after a shipwreck. The best part of the story is the representation of the interaction between humans and animals, the beautiful execution of hope and multifaith concept, and mystical adventure. In short, this novel is all about how Pi survived 227 days of Voyage through the ocean.
The book is divided into three parts where part describes only about pi, his family, and their zoo. The first part of the story also covers the early Life of Pi in India. The second part is all about the story that how Pi is stuck there in the ocean and What happens later. The third part describes the conversation between pi and two officials in a hospital in Mexico.
Body:
Yann Martel tried to portray religious faith through a 16 years old boy Piscine Patel aka Pi. At the very beginning, we learn about his life in Pondicherry, India. His father is a zookeeper and he spent the majority of his childhood in the zoo so he gained vast knowledge about animals, their psychology, and their behavior. Religion is a concept that everyone struggles with and his family is secular but he is a Hindu though he investigates Christianity and Islamic and decides to follow all three. He has qualities such as inner strength and immense faith.
Later Pi’s father decides to leave India and move to Canada. He closes the zoo and decides to distribute animals to other facilities. The family with some animals heads towards Canada through a Japanese cargo ship. And that is the point where tragedy happens with Pi. A shipwrecked takes place in the middle of the Pacific Ocean where he loses his family and he takes up a lifeboat where he has a Zebra, a hyena, an orangutan, and a Bengali Tiger along with him. Eventually, The Hyena kills Zebra and orangutan then Pi thinks he is gonna be the next but Richard Parker who is the Bengal tiger kills the hyena and in the end, just Pi and Richard Parker are left and his story of Survival starts here. This is the part of the novel that makes this novel different from other sea survival novels because this story is all about a boy, a tiger, and their relationship.
Everything that he had learned about animal’s behavior and his knowledge about animals served him here well to treat and keep Richard Parker and himself alive. Faith in God and spirituality kept him alive throughout the journey. So he practices religious rituals to dispel his loneliness and grief for his lost family.
“It is life only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. It is the Clever treacherous adversary how will I know. It has no decency respect no law or convention, shows no mercy. It goes for your weakest spot, which it finds with unerring ease. it begins in your mind always. One moment you are feeling calm, self-possessed happy than fear discussed in the garb of mild-mannered doubt, slips into your mind like a spy”
In short, every single thing makes this novel comprehensive. The writer has given an overview of animal behavior, survival at sea, and this novel presents spiritual adventure, power of imagination, and flawless storytelling. The novel is full of excitement and delight The Reader with its interesting story plot, characters, and exciting situations. The novel beautifully shows the bond of Pi with Richard Parker this animal-human interaction is extraordinary.
The way mortal developed characters is just flawless the characters of animals for example hyena, Zebra, and orangutang text the situation to the next level. Its animal character is developed according to their behavior and makes the story more alike than humans can do. “You must take life the way it comes at you and make the best of it”
The ending part of the novel serves as a desert. the beginning is good as the story keeps on going Pi faces more problems and how he deals with them is the basic plot. Which is again good and the ending part is like a cherry on the top of the cake it’s just perfect and heart-touching. Overall the novel can change perspective and because of emotion feel so alive.
“It is true that those we made can changer sometimes so profoundly that we are not the same afterward even unto our names”
Few chapters become boring and go slow. The language used in the novel is easy to read and the writer has written this novel in a very artistic way so The Reader can visualize the scene. The writer has put life in words that even if the boy is stuck in see the writer describes the situations sea creatures water very beautifully. The story is very gripping. The situations are unbelievable and the characters are believable so this together makes the story believable. Everyone despite age, area of interest religion, or not should read this book once and if someone is sensitive or loves philosophy I highly recommend this book.
Conclusion:
The conflict is between life and death. All together Life of Pi is a philosophical novel that makes the reader think about the relationship, mortality, humanity, and religion some part of the story makes it slow but the story emphasizes life lessons-to have faith, to give a tough fight when we are facing odd situations. The exquisite language, surprising amount of actions, the ending all together makes this novel good enough to read. No Hard words or sentences are used. The writer impresses the reader with the story.
Rating: 4.5
Author: Shweta Lohar
