Life of Pi
by Yann Martel
|
List Price: Our Price: $12.47 You Save: $10.53 (46%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $4.50 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Life of Pi
Book Review: One terrific read!
Summary: 5 Stars
I don't know what to add about this book.
It is based on a true story,the central character is now a Canadian citizen, one fact I can add to anyone who bothers to read my reveiw.He is alive,living in the midwest,and about 5 years younger than myself.
If you love pictorial allegories,and appreciate the wizard of Oz, or Alice through the looking glass,then this is your next book to read.
I love Amy Tan, Margaret Atwood,and Arthur c. Clark, and Rawling's Harry Potter series.
This is an extroardinary book.It is not like anything I read before,including the abovementioned.
I bought my first copy of this book in a Toronto airport in 2003;I began reading it in the plane,I was headed for Madrid,and when I got there,I boarded a bus to take me through town,past juan miro and picasso and other Spanish artists' work on display in public boulevards...
It was 7 AM ,when I arrived in Madrid. I looked at the outdoor art on boulevards between reading snatches of the last chapters of this book.
I was annoyed to be told by the tour guide to observe works by Miro(may God forgive me!)and ,the guy called Bigassole.ahem.Picasso. This story kept me awake for 14 hours,and I was not tired in the least.
Maybe Barcelona is the only place that could divert my eyes off the pages of this book.
Maybe.
But it didn't work for me in 2003...I read this book,cover to cover,for about 16 hours.
I wanted to find out how this Indian teenager survived the Pacific ocean,with a tiger on board, no food or fresh water.
He did.
good thing I finished it before hitting Barcelona.
One of the best of the best books written.It's Darwin,Jung,Freud,Kahil Gibran,with a touch of Ekhart Tolle.
Book Review: Heartbreakingly Beautiful
Summary: 5 Stars
I read Pi in 2003 and I loved it then...so much. It was one of the best book club discussions we ever had. So imagine my delight when I discovered a new, first edition in my local bookstore where Yann Martel will be visiting later this week for his new book. This new edition is just as lovely as my original Winnie the Pooh book that I received as a gift when it was originally published in 1961 and was only available at Harrods of London.
The paintings are so beautiful... beautiful beyond description. They pop up in all sorts of unexpected places at just the right moment. All of the paintings are of what young Pi might be witnessing, so we get to look through his eyes, his perspective. The story made me laugh, made me anxious all over again, made me cry with both sadness and joy (both feeling were present as Pi, a devout vegetarian kills his first fish) and made me sigh with satisfaction and relief.
This book may not be suitable for very small children, but it does look suspiciously like a children's book. I would recommend it to any child who can deal with the moral life and death issues in Harry Potter, but not to a child who is so young that Winnie would really float their boat.
One can read all over the net what the actual story is about. That's not how I like to review books. But if you like graphic novels and art and adventure, then purchase this book now! It is deeply spiritual, funny, wise and will take you on a voyage impossible to ever forget. I do wish there would have been a bit more from Mr. Martel about the artwork, but you can see the process on the Amazon.com products page. So that is satisfying enough. 5/5 stars.
Book Review: Where's God?
Summary: 4 Stars
I don't understand what "Life of Pi" has to do with God. The references to various religions in the first part of the book don't amount to anything more than name-dropping of some significant figures in the religions and minimal descriptions of some basic religious beliefs. It's not an exploration in the vein of, for example, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." It's just a catalog that's not even as interesting as the catalog of animals under Pi's father's care.
Contrast the lack of depth to the religious discussion with the book's author's claim that Pi's story made him believe in God. Where's this coming from?
This is just one of the ways in which the book doesn't quite meet its potential. Although "Life of Pi" is highly imaginative and entertaining, it's burdened by a number of weaknesses. For example, the framing mechanism of the author who hears the story and then finds Pi doesn't seem essential. What does the author add to the picture? Or, Pi's slip into immediate anonymity in Canada isn't believable in our media-saturated world. And what did he conclude about religious belief in the 20-plus years since he was rescued? We don't find out.
The best part of the book, from my perspective, comes when Pi finds the island of seaweed. It's an eerie existence with an astounding ending, and it's a series of images that will remain in my mind for years and years.
So read the book and enjoy it. But don't expect too much.
Book Review: This is what schools should assign!
Summary: 5 Stars
Oh. My. Goodness.
This is the kind of assigned reading they should have in schools. This book had so much to offer psychologically, symbolically, and philosophically and yet it was a FACINATING story. If you really wanted to, you could read it exactly as it's written, just a story. But you have the ability at the end to go back and see everything with wider eyes.
Boy doesn't like his name. Boy gets trapped on a lifeboat with a tiger.
That's all I knew.
I started this book in the evening, and finished it the next morning(after staying up all night). I was that enraptured (Plus I had to have it finished by that morning for school. Heh.).
And even if you're going through the whole book going "What in the world is going on. I'm so confused." know that it's totally worth it at the end.
MY WARNING: It really helps if you read this book and then have someone to discuss it with. I would recommend an entire book club. For me, I had my mom. I would have been completely shocked and frozen by this book if it hadn't been for my mom telling me, "Calm down, this is what happened:" Also, there's a bit of gore. After all, he had to kill his own food.
Ah! I loved it!
Book Review: Great book and beautiful illustrations
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first read it I enjoyed the story so much and found it so interesting that I did not want to put it down. We shared this book with all of our family members, each person passing it on to the next once they finished it. Everyone had a slightly different take on the story and the ending.
I know that there are many extended reviews of the book but I believe it is best to be your own judge. Read a copy for yourself and see what you think. It is short enough to get through quickly and I'm certain that you won't regret wasting your time. The mingling of religions in the spiritual formation of the title character alone provides plenty of food for thought, not to mention the twist to the narrative at the end of the book.
I bought this book as "Used". It came without delay and I am very satisfied with the condition of this hardback version. I previously owned this book in soft cover. I wanted to buy a copy to keep in our permanent library and this illustrated version serves the purpose very well.