Tolog Review: Life of Pi

Life of Pi
by Yann Martel
reviewed by Maya Mercade

Life of Pi by Yann Martel is a novel about literally what the title states, the life of Piscine Molitar Patel, also known as Pi. Pi grew up with his family in India’s Pondicherry district where they owned a zoo. He was born and raised a Hindu, but later on in his teenage years he decided to become a follower of Christianity and Islam. After facing issues with the Indian government, Pi’s family was forced to sell their zoo. His father brought Pi’s family and some of the animals along with them on a cargo ship going to Canada.
While aboard the ship, a few days into their journey to Canada, they experienced rough waters and storms in the middle of the ocean. The ship sank and Pi, a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan, and a Bengal tiger were the only survivors that luckily had a lifeboat to keep them on. Now Pi ventured on a new journey with these animals, but things as expected the animals got hungry and the hyena ate the zebra and the orangutan and the tiger ate the hyena. The tigers name was Richard Parker and since Pi had experience with animals having grown up in a zoo, he was able to gradually train Richard Parker not to eat him.
Pi was now stuck with nothing else in his life but a Bengal tiger because all his family was gone and he was stranded in the middle of the ocean. While continuing Pi’s journey with Richard Parker they came across another man who happened to be a castaway too. The castaway that they came across tried to eat Pi but Richard Parker ate the man before he was able to reach him. Time had gone by and they had finally swept up in Mexico. Because Pi was suffering from dehydration and starvation, he began hallucinating and basically went mad. Richard Parker took off into a nearby jungle leaving behind Pi without any goodbye.
Pi was taken to a hospital in Mexico and was being treated. While still in the hospital, Pi was interviewed by two men. He told the men his whole story about his family’s zoo, the ship sinking, being stranded on a lifeboat with a tiger, and washing up to shore in Mexico. He also explains to them the same story but without any of the animals. The investigators preferred the one with the animals. So the book ended off with you having to think which story was true, but Pi said that you have to “believe in the better story”.
I thought this was an interesting book, going through Pi’s journey with him and seeing everything that he endeavored. The end threw me for a loop and it left me with a lot of questions after. I liked how it ended though because it gave me chance to think of my own personal view on the rest of the story. I recommend this book for anyone interested in reading about an adventure.