I enjoyed Life of Pi, mostly for the good writing and the story. It was a book that held my attention throughout. It seemed to me mostly a story about the will to live, the need to take others of whatever species into account in order to do it; the power of awe etc. I found the ending unsettling. Left me with the question.... What was true. It's one that I'll be thinking about for a while. ( )

This book was written very well and captivated me the entire time I was reading it. It seems to be a very simple plot about a 16 year old boy, Pi, who is shipwrecked and stuck in a lifeboat with a tiger, but turns out to be a fascinating tale of how the two survive together. Pi is moving from India to Canada with his parents, who owned a zoo and were transporting animals at that time. After the boat sinks, Pi finds himself stranded with a tiger and connects in unusual ways with this vicious beast in order to survive. Pi helps to feed the tiger and abandons his vegetarianism in order to survive himself. The story is simple but kept me on edge, wondering how Pi would get through the tough situations that he encounters. The story ends well and I enjoyed it thoroughly. It has won many awards and is highly recommended! ( )

Must admit that this book is a big change of type for me (normally scifi/fantasy) which actually made it quite hard to get into for a while, on the other hand it's definitely worth the effort, definitely recommended to most people though.

Reviewed by Will Hickman in Booklist (v. 98 no. 18 (May 15 2002) p. 1576) Found through HW Wilson collection
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I'm really enjoying this book. Kind of took me by surprise at a few points. Will review properly when I've finished it.

Reading the Life of Pi was a wonderful treat. This enchanting story about young Piscine Patel’s search for self discovery is truly one of a kind. Through tiger taming to the basics of Islam, it would seem that author Yann Martel leaves no subject of youth discovering oneself untouched in his writing. This novel is written in such a way that you feel as though you’re flying through the pages, making the chapters both long and short, and managing to have one hundred of them. Martel also utilizes the power of having another story within his story, and thus giving the reader more enticement to continue.
This fantastical tale of a tiger and a boy living out at sea for about a year made so much sense to me. As I reader the stories of self discovery can be so repetitive, but with Martel’s main focus from the beginning being religion and animals, he is able to capture Pi’s life and thoughtful crisis of growing up. I am completely impressed with this inventive story, and how it really plays so well throughout. Never missing a beat, Martel begins the story with Piscine later in life, having graduated from college and majoring in zoology and religious studies. This spoke to me personally, having an interest myself in these areas. The beginning is a little slow at times, but has all the necessary parts in order to lead the reader to complete understanding when the book is over. This is definitely a novel I would read again, and I hope that others will take the time to read as well. ( )

To open one’s self to the world of the impossible and unbelievable, one must first be thrown headfirst through it. For Piscine in Life of Pi, this quite literally happens. As Pi’s family moving overseas to Canada to start a new zoo, the ship encounters a problem and sinks. Thrown off the cargo vessel into a lifeboat (for less heroic reasons than first assumed) Pi is literally stranded on this lifeboat in the middle of the ocean with a mangled Zebra, hungry Hyena, despondent Orangutan, and seasick Bengal Tiger. For the 223 days that follow, he must learn to survive in any way that he can, for one step off in the wrong direction, both figuratively and literally, means certain death.
This was one of the more interesting books that I’ve come across during my days of reading. Being only on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean, there is little room for action to occur, and yet, the book is filled equally with action as it is with mental reflection. As the reader continues the story, they feel pity for Pi; all of his hard work stands on such a fragile string, making it seem hardly likely that he will survive at times. And yet, at other times, while eon the brink of disaster, fortune finds him and saves his life. Full of religious interpretation and thought provoking beliefs, Life of Pi is certainly adapted to any reader, regardless of religious background. Instead of taking the neutral gray zone though, opting out of religious favor, it instead implements a sort of “neutral black”, involving many different religions into one cohesive whole. At times, these religions are indistinguishable, flowing around the same ideal. Overall, this book is definitely one for those who wish to be mentally stimulated. With revenge and danger always lurking in the shadows of the text, survival is always a tentatively taut cord. Any reader would thoroughly enjoy this book, and I recommend it to all. ( )

Life of Pi is one of those books appears out of nowhere and is amazing. When you first notice it, you may just pass it by. "Boy on a boat with a tiger." Then you start to notice that everybody's reading it, and it's apparently been nominated, and wins, this thing called a "Man Booker Prize" (which may be more relevant if you live in the UK or the Commonwealth, and less if you're in the US).

Piscine, or Pi, as he prefers, to avoid the obvious nicknames, upsets his parents when he determines that he loves God so much, that he goes out and joins two other religions, on top of Hinduism. He joins Islam as well as Catholicism. Needless to say, this not only has upset his parents, but also upsets the respective religious leaders. Nevertheless, Pi stands firm: he has justified his multiple faiths.

His father, the proprietor of the Pondicherry Zoo, determines he does not like this new Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, and wishes to relocate his family to Canada. Likewise, he manages to sell many of his animals to American zoos. So, they pack up the animals and the people, and make their way across the Pacific Ocean.

"The weather started getting rough," the popular television theme song goes, and their not-so-tiny floating menagerie sinks. Pi, one of the survivors, finds himself, a boy, on a boat, with a tiger.

The rest of the story deals with Pi's survival, Pi's religion, and a friendship of necessity.

I greatly enjoyed Life of Pi, and I know I'm not alone. If you too would like a captivating tale of the deep blue sea, the wild orange tiger, and a giant, green floating island, then you'll definitely enjoy Life of Pi, a story that only comes 'round once in a while. ( )

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was in the middle of The Life Of Pi, and by the time I got to the end of it I have to admit that I was underwhelmed. Given that it won the Booker Prize, I was expecting to be blown away, whereas I was merely satisfied by it.

The concept of it is incredible, of that there’s no doubt, but as a piece of literature I found it a little lacking. It’s just not that good style-wise. Maybe I’m being picky. If it hadn’t been awarded the Prize, I might find myself being less hard on it, but then I probably wouldn’t have picked it up in the first place.

Colour me disappointed. ( )

Ik heb het boek nog niet in mijn bezit, maar dat komt nog wel. Het is moeilijk uit te leggen waar het boek over gaat. Een overlevingsverhaal, een verhaal over godsdienst, een sprookje. Er zit heel veel in. Een van de meest bijzondere boeken die ik ooit heb gelezen. ( )

I found this book quite interesting and enjoyed the entertainment aspect of the story. I did feel that it ended very quickly and it felt rushed in closing. I did like this book however and would recommend it to anyone who loves reading for the sake of adventure and the human interest aspect. ( )

This is the worst novel I have ever had the discomfort of reading. Understand that I am not making a farce when I say it was a discomfort. Putting aside that a large chunk of the overall narrative used words and phrases that I find it hard to believe any east indian boy using, it was horriably written. At one point in the book the author decided to compair a fish out of water to a fish out of water. Never have I been so glad to have finished a book that I hope never to read again. All joking aside, the story was potentially exclent but page after page only added to the painful tourture of reading this novel. The back cover claimed it would make the reader believe in God. All reading this book made me believe was that I refuse to give up no matter what the situation is and that Life of Pi is one novel I will never read again. How anyone enjoyed it, and how it won any kind of prize, is something I can only attribute to the obvious fact that everyone has different opinions and preferences. I, for one, could not wait for this book to be over simply to have it done with. Might have been ok as a movie though, if and only if it was under 45 minutes.

I felt like the author at one point bored of carefully writing the book and decided to just dump all his notes as last chapters. He starts really good, in a very short amount time I already felt very close the main character and the setting of the book.. However the minute he decides to break the flow of the and starts telling random bits the book died for me. ( )

From the cover art, this appears to be about a boy and a tiger in a boat. And it is, though it's conspicuously lacking of seafaring felines for more than the first quarter of the book. Up to that point it talks mostly about Pi's life as the son of a zookeeper in India and his quest to find religion (which he does - three of them, in fact). At times it's a little preachy, others a little graphic, but all in all it's a fairly believable tale about survival in a lifeboat. In a nutshell: Pi Patel's family decides to move from India to Canada. They travel by cargo ship with many of the animals from their zoo which are now being shipped to other zoos around the world. The cargo ship sinks, leaving Pi stranded on a lifeboat with a few animals who escaped the ship. He spends 227 days on the ocean, his thoughts taken up by survival: how to get food, how to get fresh water, how to avoid being eaten by the 450-pound Bengal tiger that shares his lifeboat. It's a classic man-versus-nature story, and if you enjoy movies like Castaway you will probably like this book as well. ( )

Unfortunately, a book that could have been awesome, sunk together with the boat.

* SPOILER *
The fact that the mighty tiger didn't do anything at all is really ridiculous... ( )

Possibly the best book I read in recent years. Since I discovered it in 2005 I have read it again and again, as if compelled by the urge of floating once more on the boat with my best friend Richard Parker, a bengaly tiger, in the middle of the ocean. I wouldn't survive without it. The Italian translation is far from decent, so I strongly recommend reading it in English. ( )

I really enjoyed reading this book - and I loved that I had to double-check that it was finished when I was done. ( )

Loved the end! ( )

I won't say anything new that 379 people haven't said before me, but this is one of those books where you have to read it to the end, even if you don't enjoy it, because everything changes and maybe you'll enjoy it after you finish it. But just keep in mind this is a work of fiction and fiction is a bunch of lies. ( )

Interesting tale that reaches its full potential as a story of survival against the odds. The first part of the tale focuses on the spiritual side of Pi, who adopts three religions, Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism, with equal fervor in an attempt to know and love God. These chapters are interspersed with notes by the "author," who is narrating Pi's tale after the fact. This early structure is not very strong, and often lends itself to deliberate concealments, which can be confusing for the reader (such as when Pi rescues "Richard Parker" from the ocean without first alerting the readers that this creature is no person, but a tiger!)

Once marooned on a lifeboat with a tiger, hyena, orangutan, and zebra, the story really takes off. Pi's struggle to survive without dying of starvation or becoming the tiger's dinner makes for a riveting read. At times, it is reminiscent of "The Old Man and the Sea." It is a strikingly honest, no-holds-barred account of what happens in isolation when you've only your wits to get by.

The third part turns the entire novel on its ear, but is faithful to Pi's adventures in the second part, perhaps even reconciling it with the weaker first part. Together, the three parts examine spirituality and the strength of the human spirit. ( )

Although the first part of this book reads more like a lecture on theology and zoology than an actual story, from the moment young Pi finds himself in a lifeboat with a 450lb Bengal tiger, a wounded zebra, a grieving orang-utan and a ruthless hyena it becomes a gripping tale of hope, disappointment and survival that made me both laugh and cry: mesmerising. ( )

Took me a while to get into this book,but when the adventure started I could see how well crafted the story was and how many thoughts and issues it raises in the mind of the reader. I don't know about the claim it "would make the reader believe in God" but it is a thoughtful and well crafted book. I read this as an Early Reviewer and would definately re-!read ( )

An enigmatic tale with some great philosophies on religion and zoo animals. A very vivid and believable account of a Pi's time stuck on a lifeboat with Royal Bengal Tiger. ( )

Beautifully written story of a young boy finding his own religion(s) and how that helps him when all hope seems lost. It's a little hard to get into - especially as the first few chapters seem a little strange. However, it's well worth persevering because they're needed for the later story and that is a tale that could well change your outlook on life. A truly wonderful read and a great story. ( )

I received this book through an LT giveaway!

Overall I enjoyed reading this book although my interest did wain in the last 50 or so pages and I didn't find the ending a particularly satisfactory end to the book. Pi's struggle with being trapped on the lifeboat with a Bengal tiger allows insight to animal behaviours which I hadn't really considered before. The book is also well written (although I did find the explanation of what a gunnel was patronising and out of place [or perhaps I'm being picky]) and flows along whilst managing to convey the longevitiy of Pi's adventure at sea. ( )