Life of Pi is an interesting title, because the book is not really about the life of Pi Patel. It’s mostly about seven months of it. Those seven months are enough adventure for a lifetime though.

At a young age, Pi’s father decides the family will to move from their home in India to Canada. Pi’s father was a zookeeper, so they are bringing all of the animals with them to sell in America. Four days out on the sea, however, the boat sinks, and Pi manages to end up in a lifeboat – with a Bengal tiger.

For the following seven months – and the vast majority of the book – Pi finds a way to stay alive out on the sea. A good deal of time is spent describing many of Pi’s methods of survival out on the open water. In fact, Martel is so descriptive in the details of Pi’s menial tasks of survival; I was under the impression for some time that I was reading a true story. It’s genuinely fun and fascinating.

When we’re not learning how Pi manages to catch fish, we discover how he manages to train the tiger so that he can maintain superiority over the animal – and keep it from eating him. It still seems to me that if a tiger was truly starving, like this tiger was, then its desire for self-preservation would outdo any training the boy had put upon it. But Martel convinces us as well as he can given the situation.

What I appreciate, above the general Hatchet-like instruction manual on survival out at sea, is the interior psychological battle that’s really interesting. Pi knows what he must do to keep himself from going insane so that he can stay alive (or perhaps go insane for the express purpose of keeping himself alive).

Life of Pi has been noted for its spiritually allegorical story, but I have had difficulty pinpointing the symbolism. It is true, in a very general sense, that Pi’s experience on the boat is a microcosm of life. He must work hard in the face of difficult trials, he must maintain hope and faith to survive, and he must make keep control of both his mind and body all throughout. While I’m sure that creative allegories can be found in Pi’s rich experiences, I was not particularly moved or touched by anything that I would consider religious or spiritual in nature.

03/05