Life of Pi

Time for a new style of blog post. This one won’t be much about me, even though things are going well here. Here’s a review/analysis of a book I just finished reading.

Life of Pi is a fun and interesting book. Although set in the real world the book definitely has a taste of fantasy in it. The story follows the journey of one Indian boy, Pi Patel, as he tries to make it to Canada. In the beginning of the story he is shipwrecked while he is traveling on a boat full of zoo animals and ends up in a life raft with a full grown tiger. The story chronicles how he survives.

Although the story was certainly fascinating some of the most intriguing parts of the book, for me, were the authors takes on religion. Having just finished a paper on religious pluralism for philosophy I found the books take on the subject interesting food for thought. The main character is a practicing Hindu, Christian, and Muslim. The rationale used to justify the position is fairly typical for this kind of discussion but the sections of the book dedicated to his search for God were intriguing, perplexing and thought provoking.

I’ll try not to spoil the ending for anyone who wants to read the book, it’s a twist, but there is some really fascinating symbolism. Although an elementary school kid could read the book and understand it there is quite a bit in the book that requires more than a cursory walk through. The book is quite graphic as well in some of its descriptions of survival on the raft and the interactions between Pi and the tiger. It’s an exciting read, filled with action, humor and parts to make you think. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a new read and trying stay up with current American literature. The book is already being studied in colleges and high schools and will likely earn a permanent place there.

Sorry for the new style if you didn’t like it. I’ll try to have a post about myself next week to update everyone on what’s going on.

Graduation and Happenings Since Then

Well, 4 years after I graduated from High School I did it again. This time with my B.A. in Political Science from Abilene Christian University. I also minored in Bible. The last four years were fun and educational. I learned a lot about myself, life, and political science. I apologize for not having a new blog for a couple weeks but I finally got internet at my place and so now I should resume more regularly.

I enjoyed having everyone come down and be at my graduation. I was especially surprised when Julie told me she’d be here since she had to come all the way from Bolivia. I had a lot of fun with everyone and was very thankful for all the help Mom and Dad gave me as I moved into my new place. I’ve started working at the Center for Restoration Studies in the Library. It’s actually kind of cool. There are some boring aspects, like vertical filing for hours…, but being able to hold and look at bibles made in the 1500’s is pretty cool. For Josh and Julie, ACU has the first ever protestant Spanish bible made in 1602. There are many different collections and it’s pretty easy to get lost trying to find something in the back. I’m looking forward to whatever the rest of the summer has in store for me there. My xbox360 is getting fixed up as I write this so hopefully I’ll have it back sometime next week. Rusty, I look forward to slaughtering you online J. I have several ideas for blog posts over the next couple of weeks so stay tuned. Now that I have internet I should be back to my original schedule.