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.