What readers think of Life of Pi, plus links to write your own review.

I thought the Life Of Pi was a fascinating book, although it defies interpretation - being very open ended - I'm gonna add my 2c anyhow.......For me the thing about believing in God was to do with the two stories, one was a fabulous tale filled with animals and a mysterious island, the other dry and uninspiring - at the start of the book Pi talks at length about the stories associated with the various religions he becomes associated with and how non believers reduce these to dry factuality, so for me to believe in the first story represents a decision to believe in God(s) no matter how farfetched the story might seem, the second story represents athiesm and to doubt represents agnosticism. Whether you believe in the first or second story is besides the point as the result is the same (as Pi points out to the Japanese insurance investigators), the first story is obviously more fun to believe. Personally I feel the second story was probably 'true' but I enjoyed the first far more, however none of this really matters as its a work of fiction anyway so neither story is 'true' and it doesn't matter which story the author intended to be 'true' as the reader creates the reality of the story via their own interpretation. The island bit still has me thinking, I think its maybe a reference to the garden of Eden and forbidden fruit - maybe a metaphor for the consumption of human flesh??
Overall a great book that I'll be thinking about for a long time to come and will definitely read again.

This was a great story & I loved it.....I don't believe that it was a true story & here's why.
- The island is scientifically impossible, from the fresh water to the man eating trees.
- The blind man from the 2nd boat arrives at the same time that Pi was also blind.....big coincidence.
- Only 1 life-boat out of many survives the ocean.
- Tiger hiding in Mexico.
That's all I can remember for now.
Over all; it was a wonderful book & I would be reading it again.

As a self-admitting over-analyzer, I must say that I am utterly fascinated by this book. So many topics to explore! While most if not all of the reviews that I read on Life Of Pi seemed to view the ending as somewhat trite, I found that I've contemplated this book's and end's meaning over and over in my mind and have every time come up with a different answer. What is Martel trying to convey? That you are what you believe? Can we tell so much about ourselves as to whether we believe Pi really shacked up with a bengal tiger for 227 days or that it was simply a figuritive means of Pi dealing with his harrowing ordeal? Was Richard Parker actually Pi himself, his primeval inner will that allowed him to survive such a life-threatening experience? What was Martel trying to tell us regarding religion? I think the beauty of this book is its means of guiding but not telling, of desiring us to think, to question, to believe, as all good teachers have a knack for. I sincerely hope to question this book for a long time to come.

The Life of Pi, an epic journey of a young boy struggling to find a reason to keep on living. He has lost everything that has meant something to him. But, yet he finds the power, strength, and courage to continue fighting not in the form of a person, but the spiritual belief in God. The book starts off kind of slow in the beginning, but an unforeseen twist changes that. The book picks up in future chapters and the action keeps on going. Yann Martel writes this book to keep the reader interested and wondering what they will find on the next page and trust me it is never what you think it is going to be. This is a very spiritually motivating book. I recommend this book for any person who likes surprises and wonder what they will find next.

The Life of Pi was outstanding novel that contained enormous amount of philosophy. Issues concerning survival, hope, and companionship were fully expressed throughout the novel. I learned a great deal from Pi’s adventures and his attitude towards life. The plot was imaginative and descriptive enough to open huge pictures in my mind. The style of writing that Yann Martel provided helped me read this book faster and with more anticipation. I loved Pi and his courageous character. His brightness and responsibility impressed me. Overall I give this story a 4 because it was fun and a great learning experience on survival.

Although the first part of this book was a dozer, after the second part things started to pick up very quick. After the boat sank, it was like a whirlpool of different emotions, actions, and informations about the main character pi. I liked many parts of the book where it shows what Pi actually did to survive in the ocean. How he killed fish, ate turtles, and collected rain for water. I could actually visualize what really happened in my mind as I read the book. Overall I give this book a 4 because it had a slow start. But finished off with an exciting ending.

I have just read the Life of Pi for my AP English class. I must admit, I wasn't too excited about reading the 300 page novel over the summer. After a few chapters, however, I became instantly hooked. The Life of Pi by Yann Martel is a real page turner. Throughout the story one will be asking themself if Pi is going to survive his horrible journey. The best part about this book was the ending, which leaves the reader questioning whether the story with the animals was false all along. Was Pi's new story with humans the truth?

As I read the first couple pages of Life of Pi there was nothing interesting about it except when pi spoke about how he got his name. Though after that the rest of the book was magnificent. We recieve a first hand account about a boy who is stranded at sea and is forced to survive. He is tested by that and by his faith. Just how much of his beliefs would be affected by him pursuing to overcome this tribulation at sea. Hope, survival and religion all play critical roles in this book. This book makes us think in philosphical ways. It really wakes us up on what is real and what is not. For example if the algae island was real or was it just a symbol for pi that he needed to find land? How about when Pi told the two japanese doctors two different stories? With a few exceptions on parts I didn't understand, Overall this book is outstanding!!!