Kanwar Singh Singh itibaren Massapê
I re-read this book on August 26, 2013. I can't believe I gave this five stars!! I found this book to be tedious. Every point was beaten into the reader as though the reader had no intelligence. Part of me wonders if the writer was trying to depict the voice of an older Indian man. I know many such men who speak by belaboring their points, stating the same thing in a number of ways to make themselves clear. But in this book, I found it annoying. I felt as though the author simply wanted to put on display how much he learned about completely random topics...animals, zoos, boats, religions, etc. The author also assumes that the reader will not connect their own dots, and thus blatantly states conclusions that are otherwise easily drawn. The most obvious example is when the two Japanese engineers at the end of the book draw parallels between the people story and the animal story. I think I understand the author's main point of the story. If two versions of events end in the same place with the same overall results, then why not believe the more beautiful of the stories? In other word, life can be described with or without a god, so why not go with the story that contains a beautiful, loving god? Ok...I got that point. But the symbolism...none of it made sense. For most, I could not find a meaning. Why 100 chapters? Why was Pi named after a swimming pool? (It makes me wonder if the author wanted us to imagine that Pi's parents didn't know what the name meant and simply liked the sound of it...makes no sense with the established intelligence of the characters.) Why was Pi being a swimmer so relevant? As for the algae island, that entire segment could lift right out without any effect on the story. I could understand if it was included to enhance the fantastical nature of the animal story. But if that was the case, then this book lacked a good balance in describing other beautiful, fantastical facets of the animal story. Ugh...there are too many issues to write about. Original review: I love this book. I have nothing bad to say about it at all. Just read it...you might love it too!