This Summer, I read Life of Pi, an extraordinary story detailing the adventures and survival of Pi Patel, a young Indian boy who fell victim to a shipwreck, and was stranded on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. This book was definitely a interesting one from my perspective, as it involves a diverse amount of characters, as well as plenty of symbolism to go with it.

I’ll try my best to avoid spoiling the book, although in describing the story, sometimes I can’t, so be aware, Spoilers Ahead! With that out of the way, the book begins with an author’s note, explaining how he was inspired to write the book because he met a mysterious man who would tell him a story that would make him “believe in god” However, it is later implied this is all part of the story.

At the start of his story, Pi would explain how he was brought up near a zoo owned by his father, as well as how he was always ridiculed for his original French name, the boys at school would often mispronounce “Piscine,” calling him names. to prevent this from happening in the future, he just told everybody to call him Pi. Later, he explains how he adheres to multiple religions, even asking to be baptized and to get a prayer rug at the same time, which is in my opinion one of the most interesting and unique parts of the book

As the years passed the family realized they couldn’t stay in India any longer. it was 1977, and the “emergency” declared by the government had no end, with traces of tyranny being shown through the leaders of Tamil Nadu, the Patels’ home state, being quietly placed into “house arrest”. Because of this, Pi’s family decided to make the decision to sell the animals and move to Canada.

Shortly after the Patels board the cargo ship Tsimtsum, it sinks, leaving Pi the only survivor along with a 300-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, a wounded zebra, a hyena, and a female orangutan. during the first week, the zebra and orangutan fall one by one to the hyena, which is shortly after killed by Richard Parker. Pi learns to coexist with Richard Parker, eventually training him to some degree, making it relatively safe for them to be on the same boat. they pass trial after trial together, braving massive storms at sea, and eventually a man-eating island. after they leave the island, Pi “turns to god” and survives the rest of his long and arduous journey at sea.

I won’t spoil the ending of the book, because the story ends with another author’s note, structured like an interview between Pi and some investigators in an extremely unexpected way. All in all, this was a great book that will make anyone interested in reading the whole thing after a few pages!

Life of Pi by Yann Martel is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.