So I finally read Life of Pi and while sadly it was not a life-changing experience for me, it was one I’m glad I finally picked up so I could see what all the fuss was about - although I’m not sure I did, fully...
.
To sum up, a young boy is trapped on a lifeboat for 227 days with a fully grown Bengal tiger. That’s about it. The miracle is that Martel actually manages to make this readable, and not insufferably dull and repetitive... even if it was sometimes a tad repetitive. For some reason it was important that story be told in 100 chapters and sometimes it is glaringly obvious that the author is scrambling for filler - there’s only so many passages I can read about fishing. But I think he does a good job of getting across the claustrophobia of the situation!
.
But this is all in the second part. The first part tells us about Pi’s childhood in Pondicherry, growing up in a zoo and falling in love with three different religions. Admittedly I found the religious and philosophical passages a bit out of my depth - but that’s on me. I should do more to widen my understandings of faith and the like, but Life of Pi isn’t the book I’d pick up when I want to do that.
.
I found the additional ‘author notes’ here and there a bit heavy-handed however - an inauthentic way of trying to make it seem authentic. And then the ending... Eh. No. I stand by Richard Parker, that’s all I’m saying.