roseo

I didn't expect a story that is so complex and layered as this tale. I am giving the book 4 stars but am finding myself thinking about much of what the author is saying so I wouldn't be surprised if I came back and changed it to five stars. I'll solve that problem right now. 4 and a half stars. Final say. I really like Martel's witty philosophical overtones. This appears to be a book about believers written by a believer. Believer in what? Well, anything as long as there is a God in it. I've always found that a strange road to faith and I wonder if Pi is telling his fantastic survivor tale in a way that simply makes more sense, and is more comforting to him, than the inherent cruelty of the human race that his alternate story would admit to. Pi spends the first third of the book recounting his childhood which consists of him exploring three religions in a rather amusing way. (one wonders why Pi is not attracted to Buddhism.) The rest of the novel recounts his hellish experience on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger after the ship with his family and their zoo menagerie sinks. As he struggles with surviving, which also mean avoiding being eaten, his journey becomes more fantastical even surrealist. I give Martel full credit for making this outlandish story believable to the extent that I was in suspense on how it would all turn out. It is a thought provoking and immensely enjoyable novel.

2022-10-29 03:53