Life of Pi by Yann Martel; magical realism; 326 pages
I realize I'm several years late in reading this book, so there's no need to point it out to me. I picked it up expecting a survival story about a boy and a tiger lost at sea in a life boat. But the book constantly kept me guessing--not through suspense, but rather through refusing to fit into the boxes I kept thinking it would conform to. First there's the story of Pi's life up to that point, and his varied religious experiences, which could have formed a book on their own (albeit a very different one). Then there's the meat of the story, where Pi and the tiger fight for life on the high seas. It's desperate and gory, but it's interspersed with moments of hope and even humor. And of course the ending is a complete surprise (which I won't go into too much here, except to say that I can't decide whether I need to think about it more or whether I need therapy after reading it). I can see now why this book was such a popular choice with book clubs.
I was fascinated with this book, I think for the same reason you mentioned - it just didn't fit it any box!
ReplyDeleteSomeday I will finally get around to reading this.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the reviews for his new book? They're quite harsh.