Book :: Life of Pi
Hello friends,
When someone recommended me to read the Life of Pi, I kind of refused to do. I am not a big maths fan, and I was not in a mood to read something about that mystery Pi number used in trigonometry. However, at the bookshop, I saw the cover of the book and decided to read it. It is quite a fascinating cover. A small lifeboat, with a dark skinned boy curled up on side, and a Royal Bengal tiger on the other side of the boat, drifting on the ocean, surrounded with sharks underwater. Hmm, this doesn’t seem like anything to do with maths. I was not prepared for what I read in this book.
To make you comfortable, all you maths hater, Pi is actually a short nickname for the narrator of the story, whose real name is Piscine Molitor Patel. Pi is named after a swimming pool, which his father went to in France. Piscine is French for ‘pool.’ Pi is an Indian boy, who recounts his tumultuous childhood humorously. The highlight of his experiences is when he decides to be a Hindu, Christian and a Muslim, all at the same time. He attends the mosque on Fridays, temple on Saturdays and church on Sundays. It is so fascinating to know how Pi gets involved in all three religions, and one of the funniest passages in the book is when the Imam, Hindu priest and the Christian priest all end up at Pi’s parents house to convince them that their faith is the true one!
Pi also talks about his interest in Zoology and Religious Studies, which he double majored in at a university in Canada. He talks about the animal life, and connects the animal kingdom to how God made the animals and how they all co-relate and co-exist with one another! However, the highlight of the book, which forms the chunk of the book, is when the ship that Pi and his family are traveling in to Canada is shipwrecked, and Pi takes refuge in a lifeboat. Alongside with him on the boat are a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orang-utan… and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger!
Short, and I mean short, summary: Pi is a student of zoology and religious studies, and his childhood was spent in India, where his father was the owner of a zoo. He recounts his experiences as he dabbles with religion and other spiritual matters. His family decides to emigrate to Canada, and so they sail on a ship with all the animals. The ship is wrecked, and Pi manages to get on a lifeboat, and with him several of the animals, the tiger being the most ferocious one. The rest of the book talks about his experiences on the boat, and I am not going to talk about anything else because you have to read it!! =)
I cannot tell you how much fun I had reading this book, When I finished it, I felt like as if I was right there with Pi on his shipwrecked lifeboat. I felt like as if I had just returned to my home after traveling with Pi on the raging seas. I could still smell the tiger’s breath, the salty waters, the smell emanating from dead animals, the sounds of waves crashing against the shore and Pi’s thoughts! Ultimately, I think what the writer wanted to convey through the story was that the world is obviously created by a Creator, and when you look at nature in it entirety, it is difficult to not believe that there is a God. Life of Pi is the winner of The Man Booker Prize 2002. I don’t know where I was when this book came out! I plan on reading it again and again!
Warmly,
Mansur
When someone recommended me to read the Life of Pi, I kind of refused to do. I am not a big maths fan, and I was not in a mood to read something about that mystery Pi number used in trigonometry. However, at the bookshop, I saw the cover of the book and decided to read it. It is quite a fascinating cover. A small lifeboat, with a dark skinned boy curled up on side, and a Royal Bengal tiger on the other side of the boat, drifting on the ocean, surrounded with sharks underwater. Hmm, this doesn’t seem like anything to do with maths. I was not prepared for what I read in this book.
To make you comfortable, all you maths hater, Pi is actually a short nickname for the narrator of the story, whose real name is Piscine Molitor Patel. Pi is named after a swimming pool, which his father went to in France. Piscine is French for ‘pool.’ Pi is an Indian boy, who recounts his tumultuous childhood humorously. The highlight of his experiences is when he decides to be a Hindu, Christian and a Muslim, all at the same time. He attends the mosque on Fridays, temple on Saturdays and church on Sundays. It is so fascinating to know how Pi gets involved in all three religions, and one of the funniest passages in the book is when the Imam, Hindu priest and the Christian priest all end up at Pi’s parents house to convince them that their faith is the true one!
Pi also talks about his interest in Zoology and Religious Studies, which he double majored in at a university in Canada. He talks about the animal life, and connects the animal kingdom to how God made the animals and how they all co-relate and co-exist with one another! However, the highlight of the book, which forms the chunk of the book, is when the ship that Pi and his family are traveling in to Canada is shipwrecked, and Pi takes refuge in a lifeboat. Alongside with him on the boat are a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orang-utan… and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger!
Short, and I mean short, summary: Pi is a student of zoology and religious studies, and his childhood was spent in India, where his father was the owner of a zoo. He recounts his experiences as he dabbles with religion and other spiritual matters. His family decides to emigrate to Canada, and so they sail on a ship with all the animals. The ship is wrecked, and Pi manages to get on a lifeboat, and with him several of the animals, the tiger being the most ferocious one. The rest of the book talks about his experiences on the boat, and I am not going to talk about anything else because you have to read it!! =)
I cannot tell you how much fun I had reading this book, When I finished it, I felt like as if I was right there with Pi on his shipwrecked lifeboat. I felt like as if I had just returned to my home after traveling with Pi on the raging seas. I could still smell the tiger’s breath, the salty waters, the smell emanating from dead animals, the sounds of waves crashing against the shore and Pi’s thoughts! Ultimately, I think what the writer wanted to convey through the story was that the world is obviously created by a Creator, and when you look at nature in it entirety, it is difficult to not believe that there is a God. Life of Pi is the winner of The Man Booker Prize 2002. I don’t know where I was when this book came out! I plan on reading it again and again!
Warmly,
Mansur
posted by Mansour @ 7:09 AM
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