Reviews
Winner of the 2002 Man Booker Prize for Fiction "Let me tell you a secret: the name of the greatest living writer of the generation born in the sixties is Yann Martel."-- L'Humanité "A story to make you believe in the soul-sustaining power of fiction and its human creators, and in the original power of storytellers like Martel." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review "If this century produces a classic work of survival literature, Martel is surely a contender.'--The Nation "Beautifully fantastical and spirited." -- Salon "Martel displays the clever voice and tremendous storytelling skills of an emerging master." --Publishers Weekly "[Life of Pi] could renew your faith in the ability of novelists to invest even the most outrageous scenario with plausible life." -- The New York Times Book Review "Audacious, exhilarating . . . wonderful. The book's middle section might be the most gripping 200 pages in recent Canadian fiction. It also stands up against some of Martel's more obvious influences: Edgar Allen Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym , the novels of H. G. Wells, certain stretches of Moby Dick ."-- Quill & Quire, PRAISE FOR LIFE OF PI " Life of Pi could renew your faith in the ability of novelists to invest even the most outrageous scenario with plausible life."- The New York Times Book Review "A story to make you believe in the soul-sustaining power of fiction."- Los Angeles Times Book Review "A gripping adventure story . . . Laced with wit, spiced with terror, it's a book by an extraordinary talent."- St. Paul Pioneer-Press "A terrific book . . . Fresh, original, smart, devious, and crammed with absorbing lore."- Margaret Atwood "An impassioned defense of zoos, a death-defying trans-Pacific sea adventure a la Kon-Tiki , and a hilarious shaggy-dog story . . . : This audacious novel manages to be all of these." - The New Yorker "Readers familiar with Margaret Atwood, Mavis Gallant, Alice Munro, Michael Ondaatje and Carol Shields should learn to make room on the map of contemporary Canadian fiction for the formidable Yann Martel." - Chicago Tribune, PRAISE FORLIFE OF PI "Life of Picould renew your faith in the ability of novelists to invest even the most outrageous scenario with plausible life."-The New York Times Book Review "A story to make you believe in the soul-sustaining power of fiction."-Los Angeles Times Book Review "A gripping adventure story . . . Laced with wit, spiced with terror, it's a book by an extraordinary talent."-St. Paul Pioneer-Press "A terrific book . . . Fresh, original, smart, devious, and crammed with absorbing lore."- Margaret Atwood "An impassioned defense of zoos, a death-defying trans-Pacific sea adventure a laKon-Tiki, and a hilarious shaggy-dog story . . . : This audacious novel manages to be all of these." -The New Yorker "Readers familiar with Margaret Atwood, Mavis Gallant, Alice Munro, Michael Ondaatje and Carol Shields should learn to make room on the map of contemporary Canadian fiction for the formidable Yann Martel." -Chicago Tribune, Winner of the 2002 Man Booker Prize for Fiction "Let me tell you a secret: the name of the greatest living writer of the generation born in the sixties is Yann Martel."--L'Humanité "A story to make you believe in the soul-sustaining power of fiction and its human creators, and in the original power of storytellers like Martel." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review "If this century produces a classic work of survival literature, Martel is surely a contender.'--The Nation "Beautifully fantastical and spirited." -- Salon "Martel displays the clever voice and tremendous storytelling skills of an emerging master." --Publishers Weekly "[Life of Pi] could renew your faith in the ability of novelists to invest even the most outrageous scenario with plausible life." -- The New York Times Book Review "Audacious, exhilarating . . . wonderful. The book's middle section might be the most gripping 200 pages in recent Canadian fiction. It also stands up against some of Martel's more obvious influences: Edgar Allen Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, the novels of H. G. Wells, certain stretches of Moby Dick."--Quill & Quire, Winner of the 2002 Man Booker Prize for Fiction "Let me tell you a secret: the name of the greatest living writer of the generation born in the sixties is Yann Martel."--L'Humanité "A story to make you believe in the soul-sustaining power of fiction and its human creators, and in the original power of storytellers like Martel." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review "If this century produces a classic work of survival literature, Martel is surely a contender.'--The Nation "Beautifully fantastical and spirited." -- Salon "Martel displays the clever voice and tremendous storytelling skills of an emerging master." --Publishers Weekly "[Life of Pi] could renew your faith in the ability of novelists to invest even the most outrageous scenario with plausible life." -- The New York Times Book Review "Audacious, exhilarating . . . wonderful. The book's middle section might be the most gripping 200 pages in recent Canadian fiction. It also stands up against some of Martel's more obvious influences: Edgar Allen Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, the novels of H. G. Wells, certain stretches of Moby Dick."--Quill & Quire --, PRAISE FOR LIFE OF PI " Life of Pi could renew your faith in the ability of novelists to invest even the most outrageous scenario with plausible life."-- The New York Times Book Review "A story to make you believe in the soul-sustaining power of fiction."-- Los Angeles Times Book Review "A gripping adventure story . . . Laced with wit, spiced with terror, it's a book by an extraordinary talent."-- St. Paul Pioneer-Press "A terrific book . . . Fresh, original, smart, devious, and crammed with absorbing lore."-- Margaret Atwood "An impassioned defense of zoos, a death-defying trans-Pacific sea adventure a la Kon-Tiki , and a hilarious shaggy-dog story . . . : This audacious novel manages to be all of these." -- The New Yorker "Readers familiar with Margaret Atwood, Mavis Gallant, Alice Munro, Michael Ondaatje and Carol Shields should learn to make room on the map of contemporary Canadian fiction for the formidable Yann Martel." -- Chicago Tribune, PRAISE FOR LIFE OF PI " Life of Pi could renew your faith in the ability of novelists to invest even the most outrageous scenario with plausible life." The New York Times Book Review "A story to make you believe in the soul-sustaining power of fiction." Los Angeles Times Book Review "A gripping adventure story . . . Laced with wit, spiced with terror, it's a book by an extraordinary talent." St. Paul Pioneer-Press "A terrific book . . . Fresh, original, smart, devious, and crammed with absorbing lore." Margaret Atwood "An impassioned defense of zoos, a death-defying trans-Pacific sea adventure a la Kon-Tiki , and a hilarious shaggy-dog story . . . : This audacious novel manages to be all of these." The New Yorker "Readers familiar with Margaret Atwood, Mavis Gallant, Alice Munro, Michael Ondaatje and Carol Shields should learn to make room on the map of contemporary Canadian fiction for the formidable Yann Martel." Chicago Tribune
Synopsis
A MODERN CLASSIC AND INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER, WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE After the sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a wounded zebra, an orangutan??--??and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger., The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes. The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth." After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional--but is it more true?, NOW ON BROADWAY The international bestseller and modern classic of adventure, survival, and the power of storytelling is now an award-winning play. "A story to make you believe in the soul-sustaining power of fiction."--Los Angeles Times Book Review After the sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a wounded zebra, an orangutan--and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi Patel, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with the tiger, Richard Parker, for 227 days while lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth." After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional--but is it more true? Life of Pi is at once a realistic, rousing adventure and a meta-tale of survival that explores the redemptive power of storytelling and the transformative nature of fiction. It's a story, as one character puts it, to make you believe in God., NOW ON BROADWAY The international bestseller and modern classic of adventure, survival, and the power of storytelling is now an award-winning play. "A story to make you believe in the soul-sustaining power of fiction."-- Los Angeles Times Book Review After the sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a wounded zebra, an orangutan--and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi Patel, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with the tiger, Richard Parker, for 227 days while lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth." After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional--but is it more true? Life of Pi is at once a realistic, rousing adventure and a meta-tale of survival that explores the redemptive power of storytelling and the transformative nature of fiction. It's a story, as one character puts it, to make you believe in God.
