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Life of Pi

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betterthanstrawberry Dreaming out loud. from back in the atmosphere. Since: Sep, 2010
Dreaming out loud.
#1: Jun 10th 2011 at 8:49:39 PM

So... what do you think of it? The theology, the psychology, the plot?

Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure Science.
Nightwire Since: Feb, 2010
#2: Jun 10th 2011 at 9:26:20 PM

That book scared me. Good book, but too traumatizing for my taste.

MrShine Since: Jun, 2011 Relationship Status: Hoping Senpai notices me
#3: Jun 10th 2011 at 10:17:46 PM

I liked it. The comparative theology was interesting. I thought there was a chance it would be better without the final chapters, but then it would have been consigned to the bargain bin of "fantasy" rather than the road to award-winning respectability that is "magic realism".

vifetoile Since: Jan, 2001
#4: Jun 10th 2011 at 10:43:13 PM

[up] Agreed. I created the wild mass guess page to discuss why I think the Alternate Version of Events was important, because otherwise it just makes a very unsettling end to what was already a challenging book.

That said, I liked it. It's not easy, but it's really well-written and creative. Heck, the story could have gone on, sans tiger, and I would have still enjoyed it — a story of Pi and his family adjusting to life in Canada could have been interesting, too.

I hear Ang Lee is doing a movie of it.

cutewithoutthe Góðberit Norðling Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Star-crossed
Góðberit Norðling
#5: Jun 11th 2011 at 12:46:03 AM

So funny...today, my study block teacher explained the plot of this to me.

And then THIS THREAD appears? Weird.

fanty Since: Dec, 2009
#6: Jun 14th 2011 at 8:07:00 AM

I've read this book recently, and by the end I was feeling really angry. I found the second Story That Explains It All to be even less believable than the second one, so I was just left feeling frustrated about Pi refusing to tell the truth (which is how I saw it), and I felt like I was cheated out of my money.

The first half of the book was absolutely wonderful though, I've reread the part where Pi and his parents are confronted by an imam, a priest and a pandit numerous times.

annebeeche watching down on us from by the long tidal river Since: Nov, 2010
watching down on us
#7: Jun 14th 2011 at 12:41:37 PM

[up] My reaction was basically this, even though I still loved the entire book.

Banned entirely for telling FE that he was being rude and not contributing to the discussion. I shall watch down from the goon heavens.
FurikoMaru Reverse the Curse from The Arrogant Wasteland Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: He makes me feel like I have a heart
Reverse the Curse
#8: Jun 14th 2011 at 2:15:26 PM

Why should he tell the truth? They weren't asking for the truth, they were asking for something believable.

A True Lady's Quest - A Jojo is You!
vifetoile Since: Jan, 2001
#9: Jun 14th 2011 at 10:24:11 PM

He did tell the truth. There was a chapter unto itself which was just the words "The story" and then a new chapter. That was Pi telling the account of what happened, but neither man believed him.

Incidentally, I dearly appreciated the glimpse into Pi's future life (mundane as it was), with the assurance that "This story has a happy ending." Like the inverse of a Snicket Warning Label.

FurikoMaru Reverse the Curse from The Arrogant Wasteland Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: He makes me feel like I have a heart
Reverse the Curse
#10: Jun 15th 2011 at 3:24:36 AM

That's the literal interpretation, yes. You don't think it's possible that months deprived of human contact could make a guy go slightly loopy? Or at least very inwardly-focused to the point of not wanting to discuss his experiences right out of the gate?

A True Lady's Quest - A Jojo is You!
EmilyG Since: Aug, 2009
#11: Jun 15th 2011 at 9:51:33 AM

It was very mind-screwy.

I didn't understand the mind-screwiness of the plot, and I also didn't understand why the author put a completely untrue introduction at the beginning. Then, while I was thinking about it, it hit me - it's because the book is all about belief. You have to choose how much of the story you "believe."

jewelleddragon Also known as Katz from Pasadena, CA Since: Apr, 2009
Also known as Katz
#12: Jun 15th 2011 at 12:24:47 PM

[up]This.

I liked it, but I found the first half to be less appealing; it bordered on Author Tract-y in places.

FurikoMaru Reverse the Curse from The Arrogant Wasteland Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: He makes me feel like I have a heart
Reverse the Curse
#13: Jun 15th 2011 at 8:45:53 PM

Okay. I believe that it's none of my business what kind of shit a person goes through when they're isolated and clinging to survival. I believe that if he wants to tell the truth about it or tell lies about it, that's his privilege.

Most of all I believe it was a good book.

edited 15th Jun '11 8:47:11 PM by FurikoMaru

A True Lady's Quest - A Jojo is You!
zerky Since: Jan, 2001
#14: Aug 17th 2011 at 8:55:50 AM

Wow, found this thread when looking for the old Animorphs one and zerky pretty much had the opposite reaction of everyone else. She found the beginning quite trite and ignored most of the theology and read the whole thing as Hatchet ON A BOAT... WITH A TIGER! Which itself is worth the price of the book. The ending was met with a "meh, wanted more tiger on a boat and can see why those Japanese guys did too".

Then again she was lucky enough to not have to read it for school, which means that you can enjoy a book any damn way you want.

FurikoMaru Reverse the Curse from The Arrogant Wasteland Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: He makes me feel like I have a heart
Reverse the Curse
#15: Aug 17th 2011 at 1:29:50 PM

Why are you talking about yourself in the third person?

A True Lady's Quest - A Jojo is You!
Arha Since: Jan, 2010
#16: Aug 17th 2011 at 5:56:09 PM

Zerky does that. Personally, rather than seeing someone talk about themselves in the third person I want to see someone who refers to others in the first person.

glassesgrl glassesgrl from England Since: Aug, 2011
glassesgrl
#17: Aug 22nd 2011 at 7:58:34 AM

I loved life of pi. I thought it was really well written and I liked the introduction of the "second story". Though I didn't understand the bit where he found a floating mangrove island that killed people. Was that just meant to signify his slip into insanity?

That Girl With The Glasses
Bluespade from Fort Worth, Texas Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: I only want you gone
#18: Aug 22nd 2011 at 11:23:51 AM

I loved the book; I've read twice. I don't think there's any reason to get worked up over what is real. When a book flat out TELLS you to believe what you want to believe, then you shouldn't be worried about figuring out what's real.

Fight. Struggle. Endure. Suffer. LIVE.
fanty Since: Dec, 2009
#19: Aug 24th 2011 at 3:40:16 AM

^^ During an interview, the author said that that part was deliberately written in a way that broke the reader's suspension of disbelief. He wanted the reader to stop believing the story, and then, at the end of the story, he meant them to be so horrified by the second story, that they would decide to start believing the first story, all complete with the carnivorous island.

Didn't work on me at all.

edited 24th Aug '11 3:40:39 AM by fanty

zombielovescore Since: Nov, 2010
#20: Dec 3rd 2011 at 10:12:07 PM

[up] It sure as hell worked on me.

I loved the book, I thought it was great, if a bit depressing. Yann Martel is one of my favourite authors.

wuggles (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#21: Dec 4th 2011 at 9:52:37 AM

I was forced to read it in 10th grade English, so maybe that's why I don't like it. I felt like I was made to read a story for no reason. The second story, while horrifying, was more plausible to me. Also, I felt like Pi was a Marty Stu.

Sigil woof! woof! from USA! USA! Since: Dec, 2011
woof! woof!
#22: Dec 4th 2011 at 1:06:06 PM

I read this a few years back. I don't really remember much of it, so I guess it wasn't very memorable for me. I remember not really liking it though.

Zizoz Since: Feb, 2010
#23: Dec 4th 2011 at 5:17:21 PM

He wanted the reader to stop believing the story, and then, at the end of the story, he meant them to be so horrified by the second story, that they would decide to start believing the first story, all complete with the carnivorous island.
Been a while since I read it, but I remember the carnivorous island being more horrifying than anything in the second story.

zombielovescore Since: Nov, 2010
#24: Dec 4th 2011 at 10:07:58 PM

[up] Yeah, that was pretty frightening. Although the scariest (or, disturbing would probably be a better word) part of the book for me was in the second part when when (I think it was the chef?) cut off Pi's mother's head and threw it at him. Ohmygod.

Forecharmer Still Forecharmer from Wrong Planet Since: Dec, 2010
Still Forecharmer
#25: Dec 5th 2011 at 9:36:42 AM

Life Of Pi is my favorite book. I first saw it in the library; I saw the title, and thought it was a math book; then I saw the cover (A picture of a boy and a tiger in a boat at sea), and thought it was a poetry book; then I read the summary on the back, and that got me interested enough to read the book.

At first I skipped part one of the book, because I wanted to get right to the part described in the summary (the lifeboat part), so there was a few things I didn't understand at first. But I finished part two and very much enjoyed it, so after that I properly read the book. I like how each chapter was told in sections; one chapter talks about one subject, the next chapter talks about another subject, and so on.

And about part three, I think Pi isn't trying to lie to the readers. I don't think Pi wants to lie at all. When the two Japanese men wouldn't accept the tiger story. Pi told them what they wanted to hear, and all he did was metaphorically retell (what I believe was) the true story.

In between Not Even Human and Not Quite Human
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