Life of Pi, The

Martel, Yann

  1 Reviews

The story of Pi, an unusual boy, brought up in a zoo in India. When Pi's father decides to move the family to Canada and sell animals to the great zoos of America, the ship taking them across the Pacific sinks. Pi finds himself on a life-raft along with a hyena, an orangutan, a zebra, and a Bengal tiger. Winner Man Booker Prize, 2002. [Small font]

Comments from Groups

A 'great book' was the opinion of all our group. Powerful, exciting. suspenseful, beautifully written and informative. Some had seen the film and had divided opinions as to whether it added a dimension or spoilt the book, as the emotive areas were not captured on film. Palmerston North 012

A wonderfully rich, cleverly written novel. We loved the descriptive language and layers of meaning - it led to one of our best group discussions ever, and the notes were great too. Lower Hutt 006

Some found it an engaging and enjoyable read, some found it didn't 'grab them'. We had a lively discussion around fiction, storytelling and reality; animals in zoos and in the wild; and the relationship of people with the environment. Wellington 130

The author certainly has a fertile imagination! Very original and creative. It gave rise to a lively debate as to the purposes of the author. Very well written and researched. Dunedin 029

Some found the book a bit hard going, but many enjoyed it once started. Several people commented that they were glad they had read it, as it wasn't something they'd choose. This book engendered good discussion of a variety of topics. "Perfect book club book". Waiouru 001

We all found this book amazing - so imaginative and full of hidden depths. We felt it was a fable - an allegory for fear and the role fear plays in our life, "Feel the fear and use it to your benefit, or be immobilised by it....." Opotiki 001

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