I was lucky enough to buy this great book just an hour before the Booker Prize was actually announced, and it was still fresh in the Indian market. Anyways, I was surely caught in by surprise the next morning when I came to know it won the Booker prize!
The story:
Without any prior knowledge one might think that Pi’s just the Greek letter used widely in Mathematics. It is, but here it’s the nickname of our protagonist, Piscine Patel. A witty lad from Pondicherry, son of a zookeeper who doesn’t know what awaits him….following the ideal of secularism he would end up being a Hindu, Muslim and a Christian all at the same time. Well, that’s the first part.
Further, due to the political instability in 1971, when the Patels decide to emigrate to Canada, the ship sinks, leaving just 5 survivors behind – all stranded in one lifeboat – that would be Pi, a nasty hyena, a zebra, Orange Juice- a female orangutan and Richard Parker, a tiger so named because of a clerical error. Now someone’s got to go…because only the fittest will survive and pretty soon after a long battle, Pi and the tiger are left. So Pi strenuously fights for his own life and survives 227 days in all on board later reaching the shores of Mexico.
Yes, there are some really queer incidences – like the strange algae island, the French sailor, and the two irate Japanese marine officials.
here’s one quote:-
’’If you take two steps towards God, God runs to you’’
My views:
The book’s got everything in it, it’s a mix-and-ready-to-relish sort of… Down-to-earth humour(could be intricate for some) , bit tragic due to Pi’s trials and tribulations and with a whole lot of ins and outs about animals and their habits and mannerisms.
Yes, the blend of culture’s just perfect- Indian, Canadian, French, Japanese etc… Its not purely ethical and religious – there are small bits about pg!
It’s a bit Darwinian (the whole lot on animals and survival of the fittest which forms the basis of his theory of evolution) and so much like Thor Heyerdahl’s voyage though reverse (the life boat in this book is the modern Kon-Tiki and Pi did fish for shark meat like Heyerdahl did!) though this all occurred in reality!
The book moves well with all that philosophical thoughts on religion and of course, animals!
Well , Yann Martel blends this so perfectly which definitely making him one outstanding storyteller!