Book Club: Sci-Fi/Fantasy

"Sometimes, people struggle with the necessity to find truth or to just believe. That idea is what this book is all about; do you believe because it is a better story, or do you only rely on factual evidence? Myself–I am more of a factual evidence kind of guy; I will not just believe something to be true or untrue, for that matter. The parallels Yann creates between the belief in god and the belief in Pi’s story lets readers take their own perspective at the end of the novel, instead of imposing his own views upon the reader."

"Although 'Life of Pi' works remarkably well on the pure adrenaline-and-testosterone level of a high-seas adventure tale, it's apparent that Martel is not interested in simply retelling the classic lifeboat-survival story (with a Bengal tiger playing the prickly Tallulah Bankhead role). Pi, after all, is a practitioner of three major religions who also happens to have a strong background in science; with such a broad résumé, his story inevitably takes on the quality of a parable. In fact, although the book reverberates with echoes from sources as disparate as 'Robinson Crusoe' and Aesop's fables, the work it most strongly recalls is Ernest Hemingway's own foray into existentialist parable, 'The Old Man and the Sea.''

"In his 16th year, Pi sets sail with his family and some of their menagerie to start a new life in Canada. Halfway to Midway Island, the ship sinks into the Pacific, leaving Pi stranded on a life raft with a hyena, an orangutan, an injured zebra and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. After the beast dispatches the others, Pi is left to survive for 227 days with his large feline companion on the 26-foot-long raft, using all his knowledge, wits and faith to keep himself alive. The scenes flow together effortlessly, and the sharp observations of the young narrator keep the tale brisk and engaging. Martel's potentially unbelievable plot line soon demolishes the reader's defenses, cleverly set up by events of young Pi's life that almost naturally lead to his biggest ordeal."