Book Review: "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel - Isaak

                               

Life of Pi

Book by Yann Martel

Review by Isaak Kumar

    "Life of Pi" is a fiction novel written by Yann Martel in September 11, 2001. It depicts the fascinating struggle of the main character and his companion, a fully grown Bengali Tiger, as they try to survive in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Piscine Molitor Patel, also known as Pi, is a zookeeper's son in Pondicherry. Due to his background, Pi grows up familiar with animals of all different shapes and sizes. By the age of 16, Pi's family and zoo are relocated to Quebec, Canada in the Japanese cargo ship Tsimtsum. However, in the middle of his trans-Atlantic voyage, a storm suddenly strikes and sinks the Tsimtsum, with Pi barely escaping by lifeboat! As he comes to terms with his parent's death, Pi finds out that he is not the only one on in his drifting lifeboat. He is accompanied by Bengali Tiger named Richard Parker, and they both face unfavorable odds as they try to survive in the bleak Atlantic Ocean.

    Despite its seemingly bizarre plot, Yann Martel does a great job using a 1st person narrative to put the reader in Pi's shoes. This novel is narrated through the main character's eyes, and the reader is able to 'see' through his point of view. By using illustrative adjectives and imaginative metaphors, the author describes settings how Pi sees them. For example, Martel describes the Atlantic ocean as an impassable desert, imprisoning slowly driving the main character insane, instead of the haven of life it really is. This unique point of view helps the reader empathize with Pi's actions and recognize what he goes through.

    "A thought ran through my mind like an angry shout: "You fool and idiot! you dimwit! You brainless Baboon!"" (Martel 160)

    The use of 1st person narrative also helps the reader understand Pi's thoughts and emotions. With the use of Pi's dreams and even hallucinations, Martel is able to convey the mental toll from Pi's "227 [day] …trial" (Martel 145) in the Atlantic. Also, we see Pi fantasize and daydream to adapt to a lifestyle lacking basic human needs. For example, when Pi struggles to find enough food to nourish his weak body, he dreams of "mixed vegetable sagu and vegetable korma and potato masla and cabbage vadai and masala dosai and spicy lentil rasam"(Martel 243) to adjust to his situation. These details give the reader a sense of how much Pi suffers and struggles in his afflictions, and makes the book much more realistic.

    "In such a short period of time I could go from weeping over the muffled killing of of a flying fish to gleefully bludgeoning to death a dorado." (Martel 185)

    With the use of 1st person narrative, the reader is able to experience firsthand the drastic change Pi undergoes when faced with life or death situations. Before his life-changing experience, Pi was a smart, skinny, Indian vegetarian. His time stranded in the Atlantic forced him to change his diet, his appearance, and his mindset. We see that Pi struggles to adapt to his environment at first, but realizes that not adjusting quickly enough could result in his death. Activities such as killing fish and making rafts are not familiar to Pi, but he is forced to learn them in order to survive. This 'adapt and overcome' theme shows us how important it is to change to your surroundings, and teaches the reader an important life lesson.

    Overall, I really enjoyed this book. There are so many other topics that amazed me in this book, but Martel's use of 1st person enhanced this novel in so many ways. The unique point of view helps the readers empathize with Pi and understand what he goes through. The 1st person narration also gives us a firsthand perspective of how Pi adapts and overcomes his obstacles. The start of this book is a little slow, but Yann Martel makes every second of Pi's journey across the Atlantic interesting to read. I love this novel and would recommend it to readers who are interested in philosophy, the human mind, and a good fiction book.