Book Club - Life of Pi by Yann Martel

[Chris]

Book club discussion thread for Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

The last thread was a bit disappointing so hopefully this one will fare better.

[Spoonie]

this book is absolutely outstanding and i've lent it to several people including colleagues and my good lady and mother will be getting it next.

it starts off reasonably slowly, but because you know what happens based on the blurb, it's not tough to keep going and once the story starts to unfold, it's so well written it amazed me. not tough to read, just descriptive and gentle, even at the harshest points of the story.

there's a bit near the start where pi takes up all the religions and the way he describes and comes to follow each (particularly christianity) i found to be extremely poignant and read them over and over again.

the ending is also brilliant. you can imagine the confusion of anyone coming across him and the story he shares with the japanese guys (i think they were japanese) really made me sit up an go 'wow'

all in all, an extremely satisfying read and one of the best books i've ever had the pleasure to come across.

/x

[KarmaTsunami]

it is a wonderful novel. i didn't read it for this book club, rather i read it after having it lent to me by my girlfriend. spoonie's comment about Pi taking up the major religions is spot on and the ending is top notch.

[french_disko]

i've got this lying in my "still to read" pile at home - I'll finish "the flood" by ian rankine and start on this next.

[Spoonie]

honestly, you'll not regret it. it's beautifully written.

/x

[A.Pel]

I read this about two years ago; don't even care if it won the booker prize, I disliked it ALOT. Talking tigers? Living on a lifeboat?
Some ''inner meanings''? WITM8.

[french_disko]

Ok, started this last night after finishing my other read - only got through 4 chapters so can't really comment as yet!

[pete_inthehills]

I loved this book.

It was all sooo believeable (except for the bit on the island.)

I liked the way he included loads of facts about other survivers, ways to train Richard the Tiger, diet, what to look for when searching for land.

The bit about him catching and killing his first fish was brilliant. As a long time veggie I could relate to all his thoughts and guilt.

Just blinkin' marvellous.


Pete
inthehills

[AKMartin]

My favourite bit was his defence of the existence of zoos. I think the character is beautifully drawn and I enjoyed the ending. I can understand why people find it somewhat of a slow read, but it's worth persisting with.

AKM

[Spoonie]

it certainly starts off slowly, but I think that's really necessary because it builds this little guy up in your mind and shows you his compassion which is necessary later on for justifying his actions.

/x