Book Review: "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

The Life of Pi is a story of a boy, a boat, a tiger, and faith. Or is it? Actually, the novel is about so much more than that. It's a story of faith. Pi Patel, a nickname for Piscine Molitor Patel, is an Indian boy whose favorite hobby growing up was religion. Pi took to various religions as people nowadays take to TV shows. Practicing Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism, he was an enigma to his family, religious leaders, and community. Also, he grew up on a zoo, and learned much about animals. Unfortunately, the family business did poorly, and Pi and his family went on a ship to Canada, animals and all. The ship sunk, and Pi survived after being thrown overboard. Onboard his ship were bugs, a rat, a hyena, an injured zebra, and a tiger, named Richard Parker. After a few days, only Parker and Pi survived, and went on a harrowing journey spanning almost a year. They encountered whales, flying fish, sharks, meerkats, and a carnivorous algae island before being rescued in Mexico. Parker escapes, and Pi is questioned by those who owned the sunken ship. In a stellar ending, the entire story is throw into question. The interrogators don’t believe Pi’s story, and he then tells another one. How four people survived, including his mother and an injured sailor. Long story short, the cook killed the mom and the sailor, and Pi killed the cook and somehow survived. Pi gets an insurance settlement, and lives his life in Canada.

We aren’t really sure, by the end, how much is real and how much isn’t. It’s plausible that Pi did kill the cook, and his mind crafted a false story to cope. The injured zebra was the injured sailor. The cook was the hyena, and Parker was Pi. The book itself is written so well. It’s really as if someone’s telling you a story. The first part was perhaps the strongest, detailing faith and Pi’s nature with faith. I could relate to many aspects of his thoughts. Also, the explanations of animal nature and zookeeping were fascinating. The second part, survival on the sea, was actually rather scary. I have a fear of being stuck in the sea, in open water, and his struggle created a bit of fear in me. The third part, which threw the entire story into question, was a unique and intriguing ending to a stellar book. And Pi's argument about which was the better story, the one with the animals, and his comparison with religion, was interesting. It's like life. In simple terms, you can go with religion, or with atheism. Atheism may seem "reasonable" but it's not the actual better explanation, the better "story" as you will. It comes down to faith, and in the end, that's what the interrogators believed. I'm not sure what we, as readers, as supposed to believe. We saw in painstaking detail how he survived with Parker. I find it hard to believe that all of that was pure fiction. Faith, in the end, wins, and I think that's the overall theme of this beautiful novel.