Life of Pi

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I got this book for christmas and have been putting of reading it for the reason one of the reviews says "it will make you believe in god". Im not religious by any means and once i read the introduction i was put off. I haven't picked it up since. Should I suck it up and read it.

― Velveteen Bingo (Chris V), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 15:52 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes, you should absolutely read it. The religious stuff at the beginning is a bit of a hurdle, but once you get to the long adventure section, you'll be thrilled to be reading and all that "make you believe in God" stuff will be a foggy memory. I can't think of another book in which there's been a larger gap between what the author intended me to walk away with (some sort of religious understanding, I guess) and what I did walk away with (gratitude for a genuine adventure).

― David Elinsky (David Elinsky), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 16:44 (twenty-one years ago)

I rather enjoyed this book and recommend it. It is a great read until the very end when I found it suddenly didactic and annoying.

― Michael White (Hereward), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 16:59 (twenty-one years ago)

I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would as it has some gorgeous flights of fancy and the low key humour appealed. Interestingly everyone in my book group had difficulty extrapolating the religious themes!

― sandy mc (sandy mc), Thursday, 24 June 2004 07:18 (twenty-one years ago)

I loved it. I thought it was a carefully constructed book. The book I have has a readers group guide or something in the back and it pointed out interesting things about the structure of the book, occurances, etc. Besides it being one of the most perfect books I've had the pleasure of reading, Life of Pi is a great adventure story. [And the ending makes the book worth it.]

― Vermont Girl (Vermont Girl), Thursday, 24 June 2004 11:32 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm thinking of reading it right after finishing the one I'm reading right now.

― Fred (Fred), Friday, 25 June 2004 10:14 (twenty-one years ago)

I agree that the religious stuff was somewhat superficial - far more about the aesthetics of religion as a kind of pretty experience than any deeper meaning. I also enjoyed the latter adventure half of the book, though on the whole I found the general tone throughout too self-consciously literary, in the sense that I kept finding myself thinking "oh! that's a beautiful sentence - could I write as well as that?" when I should have been absorbed in the story.

Also did anyone else find the strange jump-cutting at the time of the shipwreck gratuitously confusing? For apparently the only place in the book (leaving aside the general framing device), we started breaking up the continuous narrative chronology, and I was forced to go back and read the same couple of chapters about three times to figure out what was going on.

On the plus side I will never forget the floating vegetable island, unforgettably and chillingly described. Does anyone have any idea if this passage has any basis in reality?

― Matthew S, Tuesday, 29 June 2004 12:21 (twenty-one years ago)

four months pass...

I wonder how this book won a booker! I'm 80 pages into the book and the book is nothing much. Perhaps because I'm already a Hindu, I don't find it fascinating.

― Fred (Fred), Saturday, 27 November 2004 11:32 (twenty-one years ago)

I liked it a lot, actually it was the novel that took me back to reading contemporary authors. I thought it was light enough to be deep about what I felt it said both about religion and literary self-concious themes. In this sense it reminded me of Vonnegut's style (easy/light and deep). Also, its images keep coming back to mind.

― misshajim (strand), Saturday, 27 November 2004 13:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes, it is a light book.

― Fred (Fred), Saturday, 27 November 2004 19:32 (twenty-one years ago)

Ok I've read it. Turned into a Stephen King story near the end. I enjoyed it but still wonder how it won the booker.

― Fred (Fred), Tuesday, 30 November 2004 17:08 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Very Long Engagement, Delicatessen) is directing the theatrical adaptation of Life of Pi. Could be interesting.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/4374520.stm

― darin (darin), Thursday, 19 January 2006 20:51 (nineteen years ago)

Hmm, I don't know if it's filmable.

― chap who would dare to no longer work for the man (chap), Thursday, 19 January 2006 22:16 (nineteen years ago)

A very impressionistic stage version might make more sense.

― chap who would dare to no longer work for the man (chap), Thursday, 19 January 2006 22:17 (nineteen years ago)

I can't think of another book in which there's been a larger gap between what the author intended me to walk away with (some sort of religious understanding, I guess)

I still seriously suspect his framing the book that way was mostly a built-in marketing campaign.

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Friday, 20 January 2006 01:16 (nineteen years ago)

I kind of hate the author for reasons that are explained elsewhere. (I don't actually know him personally.)

― Rockist_Scientist (RSLaRue), Friday, 20 January 2006 01:16 (nineteen years ago)

lame book, I wonder how it got the booker.

― Fred (Fred), Friday, 20 January 2006 05:18 (nineteen years ago)

I think the Booker went through a phase of giving books to lightweight fluff that might broaden the appeal of the prize. (Exhibit B: Vernon God Little. Exhibit C: wasn't David Baddiel a judge at one point?) Life of Pi falls between two stools - wearing its message too heavily to work as adventure story, but Christ what a lightweight message.

― Ray (Ray), Friday, 20 January 2006 09:44 (nineteen years ago)

Lightweight fluff is too harsh. It's heavy handed, but a decent read. The Booker judges were conscious of being elitist and tried to adopt a more populist approach to the short list. It didn't last.

― Mikey G (Mikey G), Friday, 20 January 2006 12:55 (nineteen years ago)

I found the novel to be somewhat frustrating, as it started out fairly good (though I've always disliked that anti-agnosticism view that he regurgitates*) but the moment the kid ended up on that boat, it turned into complete tedium. I'm usually quite fond of literature that has a lot of "fantastic" elements, too, so it's not simply annoyance at it not being believable, or somesuch rubbish. I ended up putting it aside halfway, and doubt I'll bother finishing it. I've tried going back to it a couple of times, but a page or two is all I can stand.

*I say that as an atheist, not an agnostic, mind.

― Øystein (Øystein), Friday, 20 January 2006 15:24 (nineteen years ago)

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