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Life of Pi

by Yann Martel

Life of Pi Cover

ISBN13: 9780156030205
ISBN10: 0156030209
Condition: Standard
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes. The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth." After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional — but is it more true?

Review:

"This breezily aphoristic, unapologetically twee saga of man and cat is a convincing hands-on, how-to guide for dealing with what Pi calls, with typically understated brio, 'major lifeboat pests.'" The New Yorker

Review:

"A work of wonder....[T]he kind of twist-and-turns spellbinder that's almost impossible to forget." Paul Evans, Book Magazine

Review:

"Martel's Life of Pi might sound ridiculous, but by the time Martel throws Pi out to sea, his quirkily magical and often hilarious vision has already taken hold....Martel is so mesmerized by Pi that one can't help but be enchanted too....Pi's lost-at-sea story never drags. The slow journey is spiked with fascinating survival scenes....Pi's story is so extraordinary that when he finally makes it ashore, he offers a comparatively boring version of the tale to two researchers, acknowledging that humans don't have much of a taste for the miraculous. This played-down version makes Pi's true tale, thanks to Martel's beautifully fantastical and spirited rendering, all the more tempting to believe." Suzy Hansen, Salon.com

Synopsis:

When his ship sinks, a teen emigrating with his family from India to North America finds himself alone in a lifeboat--his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger.

Synopsis:

This lavishly produced edition features 40 of Tomislav Torjanacs beautiful four-color illustrations, bringing "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel to splendid, eye-popping life. First published in 2002, the original work became an international bestseller and remains one of the most extraordinary and popular works of contemporary fiction.Harcourt Trade Publishers

About the Author

Yann Martel, the child of diplomats, grew up in Costa Rica, France, Mexico, Alaska, and Canada and as an adult has spent time in Iran, Turkey, and India. After studying philosophy at Trent University, he worked at odd jobs until he began making a living as a writer at the age of twenty-seven. He lives in Montreal.

What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 4 comments:
megcampbell3, October 9, 2007 (view all comments by megcampbell3)
A highly improbable tale passed off as a recounting of a true event is a quick read that leaves its reader wondering if in fact it is a true story… and is it? The strength of the narrative and the layers of the protagonist, Pi Patel (both what we know as well as what we know as intuitive readers), create a world as real as the one we're sitting in (what a great novel does best). This book is a marvelous bedtime story. It's a survival story, a religion story, a life-is-full-of-sorrow story, and, in the end, it's the fable that becomes the real story when Pi's "true" account of ocean survival is told simply to reassure his audience that fables couldn't possibly actually happen. A thought provoking, well-written novel on many levels.
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carrrieinsf, September 12, 2006 (view all comments by carrrieinsf)
I found Life of Pi to be a compelling read for both its content, specifically around its exploration of animal behavior, and its raising of larger issues. While many people warned me that I might be disappointed by the end, I appreciated the conclusion's ambiguity, which made for lively conversation with others afterwards.
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(8 of 17 readers found this comment helpful)
gunnercade, August 29, 2006 (view all comments by gunnercade)
This book is a great read if you enjoy questions more than ready made, spoonfed answers. No Dr. Phil here. Only a lot to think about concerning the meaning of life, God, what we choose to believe and that we are responsible for what we choose to believe.
The story is odd and unusual, but very well told. I was very skeptical when I picked it out, because of the preposterous premise, but I was hooked. In a literary world in which most books aim at putting your thinking abilities to sleep, this will keep you wide awake. It is funny, stimilating, sometimes even annoying. What it is *not* is a waste of your precious time.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780156030205
Author:
Martel, Yann
Publisher:
Harvest/HBJ Book
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Action & Adventure
Subject:
Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General
Subject:
Religious - General
Subject:
General Fiction
Subject:
General Juvenile Fiction
Edition Description:
Student
Publication Date:
May 2004
Binding:
Mass Market Paperbound
Language:
English
Pages:
401
Dimensions:
7.01x4.23x1.10 in. .46 lbs.
Age Level:
13-17
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