I am always skeptical of books like this one. They stay on the New York Time's Bestseller List and become quite popular. Second and third editions of the book have questions for book clubs at the back and if you read these questions ahead of time, you spoil the story. I of course learned this the hard way. That said, Life of Pi is a great book. Martel weaves a beautiful story about a 16-year-old Indian boy trapped on a rescue boat with a giant Bengal tiger. I worried initially about the monotony of the narrative. No dialogue, no nothing for all the time Pi is trapped in the boat with the tiger but I was pleasantly surprised. Pi's voice never gets old. I never tired hearing about the different sea animals he eats, how he gets freshwater, how he lives on a small boat with a tiger without being eaten.Books that detail survival on the open sea are always interesting. This reminded me a lot of Ahab's Wife, specifically the part where they find themselves stranded at sea. This type of situation seems to be one that allows writers to dig out the core of their characters, to find out what makes them tick and to leave questions in the mind of the reader as to what they might do in a similar situation. Could you make yourself eat another human being? Could you bring yourself to kill a sea turtle, let alone drink its blood? Pi attempts worse things in his quest for survival, and although they are comical and heart-breaking at times, his attempts make you wonder if you would be trying the same things. Read Life of Pi.
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