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Beatrice and Virgil

3.05 of 5 stars 3.05 · rating details · 9,682 ratings · 2,016 reviews

Fate takes many forms. . . .

When Henry receives a letter from an elderly taxidermist, it poses a puzzle that he cannot resist. As he is pulled further into the world of this strange and calculating man, Henry becomes increasingly involved with the lives of a donkey and a howler monkey—named Beatrice and Virgil—and the epic journey they undertake together.

With all the spir...more

Hardcover, 213 pages

Published April 13th 2010 by Spiegel & Grau (first published April 2010)

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Mar 15, 2011 Melinda rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who enjoy cruelty to animals

Recommended to Melinda by: I loved Life of Pi, so I read it

I literally just finished Yann Martel's new book Beatrice and Virgil (B&V for brevity's sake) about 10 minutes ago. I am shaken with rage as the book is one of the most hateful and ghastly jumble of horrors I have ever finished. At least it is mercifully short. In fact, it is so short, it can hardly be called more than just a long short story. The main story clocks in under 200 pages, there is tons of white space and the last 8 pages are "games" that feel lifted from works about the Holocaus...more I literally just finished Yann Martel's new book Beatrice and Virgil (B&V for brevity's sake) about 10 minutes ago. I am shaken with rage as the book is one of the most hateful and ghastly jumble of horrors I have ever finished. At least it is mercifully short. In fact, it is so short, it can hardly be called more than just a long short story. The main story clocks in under 200 pages, there is tons of white space and the last 8 pages are "games" that feel lifted from works about the Holocaust ranging from Roman Polanski's The Pianist to Sophie's Choice.

I read Life of Pi when it first came out and then again last week. It will always stand as one of the best books of my reading life.

Beatrice and Virgil is a jumble: a writer who's book has just been rejected, a play that is occasionally exquisitely written that vibrates with beauty and life, a coming-to-terms with the Holocaust, the revealing of a Nazi war criminal who somehow escaped detection who is allowed to live a silent life of peace, a hungry donkey and the scream of a Howler monkey.

But what does it mean? I don't know. I think Mr. Martel had terrible writer's block after Pi (the dreaded curse of the sophomore book, even though Pi is really his second novel) and he wants to write about the Holocaust in a new way. But he overreaches. And the book references waaaay too many other works of literature. Many are mentioned by other reviewers, and even Mr. Martel quotes a story by Flaubert in long sentences, so it is hard to really even hear Martel's own voice. B&V reminds me so much of Ian McEwan's The Comfort of Strangers in that it is so short, has a bloody graphic ending that comes out of nowhere and takes place in an anonymous European city.

When it does shine through it is lovely, especially early in the book (read the 3 page description of a pear) during the play that comes to him in bits and pieces by a struggling writer (also with writer's block) clothed as a taxidermist. Both protagonists are named Henry, but usually the elder taxidermist is simply called "the taxidermist". His wife is immediately repulsed by him, the waiters down the street treat him like a leper and he gives everyone except Henry extreme cases of the willies. Henry sees brilliance in the taxidermist's play and wants to shepherd it. But the terse, oblique, removed and socially awkward taxidermist is afraid that Henry will steal his material... and as a reader, the deeper we got into the play, the less I wanted to see it.

In Pi we are caught up in moments of graphic animal violence, but it makes sense within that story and is balanced out by deep insights into spirituality. In B&V the graphic animal violence does nothing to serve the story, except to try to give a new voice to the Holocaust and it simply doesn't work. I don't want or need Martel to write a Pi sequel. But this book is so abstract and cluttered with images that it feels like Martel cut up a bunch of better books on the subject, threw the pieces up in the air, gathered them up in random order, added a hungry donkey and a monkey who howls and barfed them out in novella form. In the end, B&V was gigantic disappointment for me.

Maybe I should try to digest the book before immediately reviewing it, but I need a shower because it made me feel dirty. 0/5 stars.

UPDATE: This review has generated a lot of comments and I have actually bonded with some members of GoodReads over this review. (you know who you are). As you may tell from my statements, I was horribly disappointed with this book. But I finished it weeks ago and I saw Yann Martel speak on 4/18. I just want to put this entire episode out of my mind forever. I had pre-purchased 2 copies: one for me to have signed by the author I so admired to keep forever and one to sell in a few years if (hopefully~~at the time) it won a few awards. I have made book investments like that before and they have paid off. I had a leather bound re-issue of Bluebeard by Vonnegut that was signed and 3 weeks after his death I got $300 for it. I have some first edition Philip Roth (signed) books and a few others.. Because I despised B&V SO much I actually took the books back, even though I had read one of them. It took me less than 2 days to read it and I took the dust jacket off and handled it with such care that it could have be re-sold as totally new. I feel Karma nipping at my heels, because I have NEVER in my life taken back a book that I actually read and requested my money back. I don't like the way it feels and I have to live with that in my mind (and now out on GoodReads) forever. And my "investment" is also gone

I lately found out that I can give a book ZERO out of 5 stars, so I changed my review to reflect that. Art is so subjective: some people will look at a John Crapper toilet at the Smithsonian and say "ART" and others will say "GARBAGE" and they are BOTH right! What is the effing point of getting into an argument how someone feels about a book? Is this not why sites like this exist! They exist SO THAT PEOPLE CAN GIVE THEIR OPINIONS!!!!!! Not to fight!. So... with the exception of Douglass (who I sent a private message to contact me outside of this discussion) (Please contact me!) I have to divorce myself from this particular thread. I'm exhausted from being attacked, sucked back in, being asked questions I cannot answer and mostly, having to think about this horrible mess of a "book" again and again and again.

NEW UPDATE! I just found out that you cannot give "zero stars"..GR counts it as unrated. Even though I still despise this book, I'll give it one star, but only under protest!!!!(less)

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Nov 10, 2012 Robin rated it 1 of 5 stars

What's wrong with it? All the literary devices are stale (the play
within a novel, the big chunks copied out of a story by Flaubert that
is equally uninterestingly presented, the post-modernist writer
writing about a writer who is himself, the tedious Holocaust
allegorical back story is not even mildly interesting or mysterious,
the talking animals, the waiting for godot thing [it's been done, we
hear:]...yuck.) None of the characters are interesting. There is no
plot, really, which is OK (that can be...more

16 likes · like · see review

Apr 22, 2010 Shannon (Giraffe Days) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, 2010

You know those people who get put off by a book sheerly because of how popular it is and get it in their head that it sounds boring (the blurb gave it a self-help-fiction-ish tinge* and I loathe self-help) and is bound to be mainstream 'cause so many people are reading it? Yeah I'm one of those. I saw people everywhere reading Life of Pi for a couple of years before I caved and read it - and, I have to use a cliché here, I was "blown away" by how fantastic it was. If you haven't read it, I hope...more

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Jul 05, 2010 Maria rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own

Envolvente é a melhor palavra para definir este livro. Com uma história lindíssima, entre Beatriz e Virgílio, Yann Martel define muito bem os horrores do Holocausto.
Henry, um conhecido e reputado escritor de best-sellers sai do seu país natal quando um livro que projectara de uma forma diferente e em que relatava os horrores do Holocausto lhe é vetado pela sua editora. Decide partir com a mulher para uma outra cidade e aí fazer uma nova vida, completamente diferente do que havia feito até agora....more Envolvente é a melhor palavra para definir este livro. Com uma história lindíssima, entre Beatriz e Virgílio, Yann Martel define muito bem os horrores do Holocausto.
Henry, um conhecido e reputado escritor de best-sellers sai do seu país natal quando um livro que projectara de uma forma diferente e em que relatava os horrores do Holocausto lhe é vetado pela sua editora. Decide partir com a mulher para uma outra cidade e aí fazer uma nova vida, completamente diferente do que havia feito até agora. Nessa nova cidade Henry começou a trabalhar numa cafetaria até que conhece um seu homónimo que lhe envia um excerto de uma história um tanto ou quanto estranha: uma conversa entre dois animais (uma burra e um macaco) que falam de fruta e, sobretudo, de uma pêra. Juntamente com esse excerto vinha um outro, “A Lenda de São Julião Hospitaleiro” de Flaubert. O intuito do outro Henry era pedir-lhe auxílio, embora o escritor não soubesse efectivamente de que auxílio se tratava. Começa a procurar o autor do excerto e vai dar com uma loja de animais embalsamados e conhece o taxidermista Henry e, juntamente com ele, conhece a totalidade da história de Beatriz e Virgílio, a burra e o macaco que dissertavam sobre fruta.
À medida que vai conhecendo melhor a profissão do taxidermista, vai também explorando o diálogo que vão tendo os animais e descobre que este é uma alegoria ao Holocausto. Coincidência ou não, o mesmo tema que haviam recusado os seus editores. De uma outra forma o taxidermista comparava o extermínio dos Judeus ao extermínio dos próprios animais (alguns deles já extintos) e que ele tentava recuperar, quanto mais não seja, através de reproduções ou do embalsamento.

Excertos:
“Para mim, a fé é como estar ao sol. Quando se está ao sol, pode evitar-se criar sombra? Pode sacudir-se essa área de escuridão que se agarra a nós, sempre com a nossa forma, como se quisesse lembrar-nos constantemente de nós próprios?”

“Estava a ver o extermínio trágico dos animais através do destino trágico dos judeus.”

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Jul 14, 2010 Dianah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, literature, quotes, favorites

Wow - 9 years was certainly worth the wait!

Henry L'Hote is a wildly successful novelist who is thwarted in his desire to publish his next novel. While taking a break from writing, he receives a mysterious package from a fan who sends part of a story, part of a play and a note asking for his help. What follows could only happen in a Yann Martel novel. He makes the surreal and impossible seems normal and routine.

After much contemplation, Henry goes to meet the fan and is perplexed by the strange...more

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Jul 11, 2012 Neha rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011, kwench

“To my mind, faith is like being in the sun. The shadow is doubt. And it goes wherever you go as long as you stay in the sun.”

“We overvalue words, they are just refined grunts.”

“Words are cold, muddy toads trying to understand spirits dancing in a field.”

I always felt that words are so strong that they can shatter the silence and scream the truth hoarse... but this book just makes me believe that nothing is more powerful than silence... it can be killing, tormenting, poignant, threatening, cla...more

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Jun 24, 2012 Paul rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: hated-it

I disliked Life of Pi, but I thought, well let's give this one a try; it can't be worse. To be fair, it probably wasn't, but it was no better.
I think most available literary devices were used and you can have great fun spotting the various references to other works; many are blindingly obvious, others less so.
In brief, the two main protagonists are both called Henry; one is an author with writer's block and the other an aging taxidermist, usually refered to as the taxidermist. The taxidermist s...more I disliked Life of Pi, but I thought, well let's give this one a try; it can't be worse. To be fair, it probably wasn't, but it was no better.
I think most available literary devices were used and you can have great fun spotting the various references to other works; many are blindingly obvious, others less so.
In brief, the two main protagonists are both called Henry; one is an author with writer's block and the other an aging taxidermist, usually refered to as the taxidermist. The taxidermist sends Henry part of a play he is writing and the two spend time together going through the taxidermist's writing and his craft. Everyone else seems to hate the taxidermist, even Henry's wife (Henry is clearly not a good judge of character) and it eventually transpires the taxidermist is a Nazi war criminal.
This is an attempt at looking at the holocaust using animals as characters. Beatrice and Virgil of the title are a Donkey and a Howler Monkey (both stuffed). Perhaps it should add up to something profound, but it's all such a dislocated jumble. There is a short story by Flaubert heavily featured about Julian the Hospitaller, which describes the mass slaughter of animals. The play which is central to the book involving Beatrice and Virgil (I'm ignoring Dante) is basically Waiting for Godot. There is a spot of Proust in there. However the one image I kept getting, especially towards the end was from the film Marathon Man where a creepy Lawrence Olivier is asking Dustin Hoffman "Is it safe?" whilst flourishing a dental drill.
Most of the violence is principally towards animals and seemed pointless; the torture scene with the donkey ( I almost felt I was moving genres at that point into a whole new perverted world) was rather too well thought out and imaginative.
What really irritated me were the cards at the end with the "profound" questions on them. Examples being; your family is starving, your young son says he knows where he can get potatoes. To do this will place him in grave danger; do you let him go? Alternatively, your whole family is about to be taken into the gas chamber and your young daughter asks what is happening; do you tell her? And so it goes on. There is even a blank one at the end for you to make your own up. I was so tempted! This sort of device was, I recall, greatly used in counselling courses and motivastional training. i remember participating in a few of these in the 80s when we would be sat in groups and given one of these questions to discuss. My mate and I would look at each other with a glance that said; "Time for the pub".
This has turned from review to rant and I haven't even mentioned the horrific fate of Henry the author's pets!(less)

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Jan 17, 2013 PescePirata rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Finito ieri, sono ancora che ci penso.
Non so se sbaglio ma direi che è il primo libro di una nuova collana di Piemme, ho verificato se c'erano dati on line (ci sono http://affaritaliani.libero.it/tags/p...) ma vi riporto comunque i miei. Quando nasce una nuova collana io di base sono sempre felice, a prescindere dal genere. Poi, siccome questa nave si chiama "pescepirata aspiranti scrittori" vi fo notare che questa collana è interessata (anche) agli esordienti talentuosi.
Per quelli che leggono s...more

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Apr 27, 2010 Trish rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: animals, art, classics, fiction, literature, one-for-the-ages

My first reaction was a howl, a braying if you will, into the vastness. Martel does not allow us to look away. He puts his everyman in charge of his own story, and it is not a pretty sight. Echoing great voices in literature through the centuries, Martel chooses elements from many to create a symbolically dense, but figuratively simple narrative in which a taxidermist lovingly recreates the beauty once inherent in animals now long dead. Killed...nay, massacred, defaced, defiled, tortured, and hu...more My first reaction was a howl, a braying if you will, into the vastness. Martel does not allow us to look away. He puts his everyman in charge of his own story, and it is not a pretty sight. Echoing great voices in literature through the centuries, Martel chooses elements from many to create a symbolically dense, but figuratively simple narrative in which a taxidermist lovingly recreates the beauty once inherent in animals now long dead. Killed...nay, massacred, defaced, defiled, tortured, and humiliated...but killed, make no mistake, by everyman. The simple language, the brave humor, the loving touch, and gentle conversation between two doomed creatures who have seen much and suffered more elicits a moan of pain, sadness, and regret.

It takes a brave man to take on the big questions. Martel clearly studied the greats--those classic works of literature, art, and music handed down through the centuries--to see what links them to us now. Dante's Divine Comedy shows us man, much as he is this very day--no better, no worse. Beckett's deceptively simple dialog in Waiting for Godot , Shakespeare's complexities in Hamlet , Proust's sensual descriptions in Swann's Way are all reflected, refracted through Martel's lens. He primes us with the bright, fractured landscapes of Chagall, and the heart-stopping chords of Mozart, and onward he leads us "clueless Hamlets" to view with him the world we lived in, live in now, a world we create anew each day.

"Trivial" is not a word I would use to describe this book. "Anguished" is more the word I would choose. That animals speak for us, with us, to us makes us search anew for meaning. That the "Horrors" stands in for the "Holocaust", makes neither less potent. That man is as he is, is no less clear. And you, fair critic. Dare you walk in the footsteps of the greats? Dare you take on the challenge of making art, not war? Show us your colors.
--------------------------
Later now, I find myself still plumbing the depths of this horror. In describing it to a friend, I call it puzzling and disturbing, and that it does not really succeed as a straightforward story. One always has a brooding sense of doom, and of something much darker meant by an otherwise ordinary reference. Why does he choose a two-fingered hand jesture for his sewing kit list? Why does Virgil have a soliloquy of just one long sentence? What is the meaning of his [sic:] onelongword: evilivingroomanerroneously? Why? Why? Why?
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Jul 24, 2011 Kathy rated it 2 of 5 stars

Just opened my nook e-reader today. This was the only book I could find at the library that was available today. I foolishly only checked it out for 7 days instead of 21 and then found out the author wrote Life of Pi. So, I'm putting down my Donna Leon book and going to read my first e book. Here's to my going reluctantly into technology. Wish me luck...

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Mar 12, 2013 Bettie marked it as wish-list

I might have to break my self-imposed buying hiatus. Not doing too bad at it seeing that it is April and I've only bought 3 books so far in 2010.

Shame that two of the three were complete and utter STINKERS that will go in the wall cavity when we renew the insulation! hahahahaha. But hey ho and ho hum - onwards and upwards.

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Jul 14, 2010 Mark rated it 1 of 5 stars

I think this book now holds the dubious honor of the worst book I have ever finished. It's derivative, dull & pretentious. The story within the story-a play featuring Beatrice and Virgil, a monkey and donkey walking across a striped shirt-is a cheap ripoff of Waiting for Godot. There are other plot points, involving the narrator Henry's pets that seem to come from nowhere and lead nowhere. Finally, the book ends with a series of philosophical questions that strive to be profound, but remind...more

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Mar 12, 2011 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book snuck up on me.

I adore Life of Pi and was prepared for something along those lines, and while the writing style and voice are just alike, this book is totally different. I was not sure what this book was while I was reading it... it is discordant and has some concepts in it that dont seem to fit with others, there isnt an easy flow to the story and I can see why some people would be put off by it.

What I will say about this book is that it is like a good poem, and I think that is the po...more

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Sep 14, 2010 Shanil rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I liked what he tried to do.
I liked the cadence and the contrast with violence at the end.
I thought he could have done a better job with Beatrice and Virgil's sense of anxiety and paranoia. He tried but I think fell short of the sentiment.

At other times I REALLY enjoyed some of his simple themes. The concept of appreciating silence best when there was chaos, rather than quiet, as it highlighted what was absent.
I enjoyed his descriptions of beauty in simple things. He did that very well.

I liked t...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Samuel Evans rated it 1 of 5 stars

There is one word for this book "WEIRD!!!" What a step down from the amazing 'Life of Pi'!! The story just lacks enthusiasm and originality! Half way through I got bored and thought "Do I really care what happens!?". Well I finished the book and I'm pretty astonished at how badly written the ending is for such a good author! It was like he didn't care about the ending and just wanted the book to be over so he could have his money! Very poor book.....anyone know if there is an option to rate a bo...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Tanuj Solanki rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: library, canada

The lousiest book I've found myself reading in recent times. I will finish it. The amazement at the sheer banality of it has forced me till now, and I hope Martel saves it from here on.

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Aug 10, 2010 Michelle added it

I've put off this review for several weeks because Beatrice and Virgil is so unlike anything I was expecting. After I finished listening to the story, I was stunned into silence, left waffling between wanting to yell WTF and yet proclaiming Martel's brilliance as loudly as possible. After two weeks of thinking about it, therein lies the appeal of Beatrice and Virgil. It forces the reader to stop and think, refusing to let the reader slide without forming some opinion. Furthermore, regardless of...more I've put off this review for several weeks because Beatrice and Virgil is so unlike anything I was expecting. After I finished listening to the story, I was stunned into silence, left waffling between wanting to yell WTF and yet proclaiming Martel's brilliance as loudly as possible. After two weeks of thinking about it, therein lies the appeal of Beatrice and Virgil. It forces the reader to stop and think, refusing to let the reader slide without forming some opinion. Furthermore, regardless of the opinion, the novel and its messages linger, haunting the reader for weeks after finishing. It is a tale of responsibility unlike any other, one that continues to fill my thoughts as I struggle to discern my own meaning from it.

Beatrice and Virgil continues Mr. Martel's fascinating use of animals as allegory. Of even more interest is the suspicion that Mr. Martel explores his own thoughts on literature and writing through the main character, Henry. At times, Henry's thoughts and opinions sound extremely personal, and one cannot help but wonder if Henry is a touch autobiographical. For example, Mr. Martel specifically addresses the use of animals in dialogue between Henry and the taxidermist. While he states that animals have no set expectations for behavior which makes it easy to shape and mold them, I tend to disagree. Animals have their own built-in characteristics and set behaviors one expects, thereby minimizing the need for character development. We expect a tiger to act in a certain manner, and a donkey in another. The personification of these animals is going to come with the expectations that their human representatives will act in a similar vein. In addition, there is a fine line between animal behavior and human behavior. Humans can be very animalistic and vice versa. This makes it relatively easy to have one symbolize another. As we've come to expect in Mr. Martel's novels, his own use of a donkey and a howler monkey in the taxidermist's story leave the reader questioning the reasons and implications behind their usage.

Again, similar to Life of Pi, there are enough twists and turns to throw the most astute reader off the scent of the ending and the truth. While there are red flags that indicate the story is flowing in a direction not expected, it isn't until the reader reaches this astounding ending where the red flags become apparent. No matter what, the sleight of hand works. The ending is so shocking in its abruptness that the reader is left gasping in astonishment at the truth. In fact, I would recommend not trying to deduce the climax of the novel but rather let Mr. Martel's words carry you to the end. The ending is most valuable when it is a complete and utter surprise.

I remain astonished at the simple brilliancy of this novel. It confirms the idea that people are animals and can be driven to do extraordinary things when it is essential to do so. In fact, Beatrice and Virgil hint that humans are even more dangerous than animals because any cruelty is unexpected. Readers instinctually know that the animal kingdom is cruel in the fight to survive; we do not expect the same from humans. The psychology behind this discovery forces the reader to stop and consider the implications of what Mr. Martel is trying to state. It is a disturbing truth that should be acknowledged more than it ever is and is just one of the ideas that continues to haunt me.

As much as I enjoyed the novel itself, I am not certain that audio is the best format to "read" Beatrice and Virgil. The beginning is painfully slow and almost boring as Mr. Martel introduces the reader to Henry and sets the stage for future interactions with the mysterious taxidermist. More importantly, Beatrice and Virgil is a novel that deserves to be savored and re-read many times over. One cannot savor an audio novel, and wanting to find passages to listen to again and again has proven extremely difficult and frustrating. Yet, Mr. Bramhall's portrayal of Henry, the taxidermist, Beatrice and Virgil is astounding. The reader is never left questioning who is speaking at a given time, and he does an excellent job of bringing all the characters to life. It is well worth listening to the story at least once to be able to get a feel for the characters and their voices, but having a hard copy on hand to re-read passages is essential.

Overall, I loved Beatrice and Virgil. It is a challenging read, to say the least; it does not deliver its message outright but forces the reader to wrestle with the ideas presented and truly think about the lessons being learned. Mr. Martel forces the reader to re-think the Holocaust and even what it means to be human.
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Jun 18, 2013 Alena rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Wow, that was a strange one.

Do I think it was a waste of time to read Beatrice and Virgil? No. Thanks Heavens the book is short (more a novella than a novel), and I read it in 1.5 days. And despite of its shortcomings, I think some of its parts and aspects are brilliant and will stay with me for quite a while, e.g. - in no particular order - Virgil and Beatrice themselves, the description of taxidermy by the taxidermist, the Godot-ish play (that is, in doses somewhat more moderate than what is s...more Wow, that was a strange one.

Do I think it was a waste of time to read Beatrice and Virgil? No. Thanks Heavens the book is short (more a novella than a novel), and I read it in 1.5 days. And despite of its shortcomings, I think some of its parts and aspects are brilliant and will stay with me for quite a while, e.g. - in no particular order - Virgil and Beatrice themselves, the description of taxidermy by the taxidermist, the Godot-ish play (that is, in doses somewhat more moderate than what is served to the reader in the book), the creepy bad guy who, in spite of the reader's expectations, turns out to be just...a very creepy, very bad guy.

Would I recommend it to my friends? No. No one I know would even finish it, dismissing it for being unbearably slow and too morbid.

Did I like it or enjoy it? Not really.
- I did not mind the slow pace in the beginning, but then it become a bit too sluggish, and passages of the plot-less the Shirt-play did not make it any better; in addition, I think that the subplots that should enliven the book are in fact rather redundant (Henry's clarinet lessons, theater group, his work at the chocolate cafe).
- The whole novella seems to me to be seriously uneven, patched up, perhaps as a result of re-writing and re-editing a text that in fact would not be considered for publishing at all had it not been written by an award-winning author.
- The climax of the book, i.e. the knife scene is awkwardly melodramatic and implausible.
- I did not understand really the taxidermist's obsession with the Holocaust and animals' extinction. True, he was a prison guard in the Warsaw ghetto and committed unspeakable crimes there, and then become a taxidermist as a form of repentance. And because of his trade, he is acutely aware of how fast innumerable species are dying out. But - he is an extremely cold man, a psychopath who despises people and is at best indifferent to live animals. He does not seem to be able to feel any empathy with anything alive, and yet, for years he writes a moving, emotional Holocaust memento in form of a dialogue of two very human, sensitive beings.

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Apr 24, 2013 Matt Musselman rated it 2 of 5 stars

Don't get me wrong: This was an amusing and easy read, and some little tidbits of the story were philosophically fascinating (like the chapter about the pear). But the quality of the book has to be judged after reading it, not during, and when I finished this one, I felt a lot of things:
- Like Yann Martel thought the revelation would be a lot more shocking and meaningful than it actually was.
- Worse, like the author felt the need to siphon emotional gravity from another topic, that ended up fee...more

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Feb 14, 2013 Aylany rated it 1 of 5 stars

Oh such a waste of time. Thank God book was short. I got this after liking Life of Pi a lot. Even on the book cover it says Author of Life of Pi, apparently writer has tried to use the hype he gained with Life of Pi. I bet loads of people have read this book thinking it would be as good as Life of Pi. Anyways, there you are reading this review now you know that you shouldnt read this book thinking it is as good as Life of Pi.
When I started to read the book I could feel it wasnt gonna get any ex...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Dipti rated it 4 of 5 stars

I absolutely loved Yann Martel’s first novel. Life of Pi. Borrowed it of a friend, Penelope, and was half tempted to never return it back (she has a memory of a gold fish that’s why). But I did return it, only so I could go and purchase a copy of my own to proudly display over my book shelf. Life of Pi really made me think, the book had levels unimaginable. But then again as Yann Martel puts it – what’s unlike the unthinkable to make people believe? I still do have a few questions unanswered fro...more
I absolutely loved Yann Martel’s first novel. Life of Pi. Borrowed it of a friend, Penelope, and was half tempted to never return it back (she has a memory of a gold fish that’s why). But I did return it, only so I could go and purchase a copy of my own to proudly display over my book shelf. Life of Pi really made me think, the book had levels unimaginable. But then again as Yann Martel puts it – what’s unlike the unthinkable to make people believe? I still do have a few questions unanswered from the book. If anyone knows, what did the meerkats symbolize in the book? I still have no idea. That’s the beauty of Yann Martel’s writing. He makes you think, he makes you analyze, he gets you drilling and he gets you wondering about questions that you knew were buried deep within somewhere but just needed an instigation to leap out.

I was anxious to read his second novel but he took 9 years to come out with Beatrice and Virgil. 9 years from the time Life of Pi was published in 2001 and it seemed like a freakishly long period to keep a fan waiting. Would it be worth it? Life of Pi was not just an international bestseller but a man booker prize winning book and it is always hard to scale the graph when you are already at the peak. However, the idea of his new book gave a new meaning to originality, there was a donkey and a howler monkey named Beatrice and Virgil respectively, a story of two stuffed animals and a series of conversations between the two leading to an illusionistic representation of the Holocaust beginning with the description of a fruit. It took me just two evenings to finish the book because I couldn’t stop turning the pages. All I can say is, it was worth the wait.

Beatrice & Virgil started off with the story of a writer named Henry whom I like to think of as Yann Martel’s first choice for a pen name instead of the other way around as it is portrayed in the book. Henry is intoxicated with the idea of writing a book on a subject as highly sensitive as the holocaust and decides to make a flip book of it only to be hounded like dogs by his editors who think of it as an outrageously bad idea. There starts his journey to finally discover the unforeseen lead characters for his new novel nine years later.

In praise of Yann Martel, words are magic; if he can write a whole chapter on a pear, he can without a doubt describe blue to a blind man.

Great book ! You"ll hate it or you will love it.(less)

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Feb 08, 2013 Isabella rated it 5 of 5 stars

I read this book in one sitting.

This is about Henry, a moderately successful writer, who - after having his latest effort rejected - moves to a new (unnamed) town with his wife. Having enjoyed some success previously, he receives letters from readers. One day he gets a parcel containing a copy of a Flaubert short story (with some parts about animal cruelty highlighted), a scene from a play and a note asking for his help.

He seeks out the sender, who happens to live in the same city. He turns out...more

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Feb 06, 2013 David rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I enjoyed this book but it may not be for everyone.

From the first few pages I was sucked into this odd little world of the famous author, Henry, who forced to find a new story when his proposed book is trashed by the publishers. Suffering a writer block, the author relocates to some veiled "English" country where gets a dog and a cat, begins taking music lessons, joins an amateur theater company, his wife becomes pregnant and he answers a letter of help from an aging taxidermist, who has been tr...more

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Dec 17, 2012 Eunike Gloria rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: literature, inspiring

Memang, ceritanya tidak semenarik Life of Pi, tapi sedikit banyak mampu membuat saya menikmati alur kisahnya.
Martel memberikan informasi mengenai taxidermist dengan baik dan memberikan pemahaman akan bidang yang tidak terlalu populer, pembuatan diorama alam.
Bagaimana ia menciptakan kisah Holocaust menjadi sedikit berbeda juga memberikan pendekatan baru dalam menceritakan peristiwa sejarah tersebut.

Tapi, banyak hal yang terlalu obvious disampaikan oleh Martel seperti bagaimana ia menggambarkan...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Shonna Froebel rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: canadian

I'm afraid that this book was very much not my thing and I didn't enjoy it. It is a nice short book though!
The main character is a writer, Henry, who writes under a pen name, but when his last project was essentially turned down, he decided to stop writing. He and his wife moved to an unnamed European city and took up a life there. His publishers still forward mail to him and he receives a note along with a scene from a play and a marked up short story of Flaubert's. The author of the note lives...more

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Oct 18, 2012 Cameron rated it 1 of 5 stars

Let me preface by saying that I liked The Life of Pi. I loved it, in fact. It is a fantastic novel that I would enjoy reading again and again.

When I got Yann Martel's later novel, Beatrice and Virgil, I wasn't expecting something like the Life of Pi.But, in a way, that is exactly what I got. Only it was a confused, convoluted, and atrocious version of the book that I had loved so much.

The premise of this book, where an author is convinced to help an elderly taxidermist with his allegorical off-o...more

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Oct 17, 2012 Dionne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Henry is a novelist who has won much acclaim, and a lot of award from his second book featured with animals, Is famous.But when he wrote the next book about the Holocaust, he is rejected and everyone hates the idea of having a flip book. He stops writing and moces to a new city. Henry occupies himself by learning to play the clarinet, working part time in a chocolate shop and café and also joining a local theatre troupe. And then his life turns aroung, when he recieves a strange piece of fan mai...more

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Sep 25, 2012 Regina Lindsey rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Can I just say ugh?!

Let me begin by saying that I was luke-warm about Life of Pi. I liked it but didn't rave about it. I really had no intentions of reading more of Martel's work. However, the premise of ths book really caught my attention as well as the large contract Martel received to write it. It is a fairly short book, so I chose this as my read for our flight to New York City. If it had not been for the fact that I was stuck with it I would not have finished it.

The plot revolves around a...more

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Sep 22, 2012 Bigyellowtaxi1 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 18, 2012 Sonia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Beatrice and Virgil by Yan Martel. a story about a donkey and a howler monkey, and a taxidermist and a writer, but not entirely
about a donkey and a howler monkey, but just enough about a donkey and a howler monkey to make any reader question the truths we tell ourselves vs. the lies we force ourselves to believe.
and how much pain we endure in our lifetimes and how much pain we inflict and how we cope and the people who help us cope. it's a story about a subject that's been dealt with thousands o...more
Beatrice and Virgil by Yan Martel. a story about a donkey and a howler monkey, and a taxidermist and a writer, but not entirely
about a donkey and a howler monkey, but just enough about a donkey and a howler monkey to make any reader question the truths we tell ourselves vs. the lies we force ourselves to believe.
and how much pain we endure in our lifetimes and how much pain we inflict and how we cope and the people who help us cope. it's a story about a subject that's been dealt with thousands of times, and not particularly a subject i find myself drawn to, but the allegorical (is that a word?) parallels are easily drawn but in a less (or perhaps more harshly now that i think on it a bit) harsh manner than by previous authors.
there is something about reading a story that deals with such a heavy subject matter through the anthropomorphization of animals that makes it that much more beautiful, heart wrenching, leaving a deep and memorable impression. at times i wanted to hug both animals, to protect them - and when they were separated from one another i physically felt their pain.

it's written with just the right amount of words...two of my favorite sections are when Virgil explains to Beatrice what a pear is since Beatrice has never seen, eaten, nor heard of a pear before. i have never read such a vivid description of a pear in my life - so vivid that afterwards i was literally left with the taste of a pear in my mouth. (seriously, i'm not joking!)
my second favorite section is when they are discussing 'the horrors' and how to cope and decide the irony of empty good cheer is "the first rung on the ladder to complete cosmic realization" and leads to a sort of geniune cheer afterwards.
it made me remember the anatomy of a crying fit. once when i was crying cathartically in my youth, i stopped and actually started to analyze the entire process...starting slowly, quietly with just few tears rolling down, curving under the chin and then suicidally leaping onto hands or legs or arms. eventually when the pain became too much the crying morphed into sobbing.
that heaving, shuddering kind that mimicks the same bodily motions as
uncontrollable laughter. and after a while, when the breathing turns into
gasping and you can actually hear yourself, you can't tell if it's a wretching sob or
some kind of empty laughter...and you go with the empty laughter which despite being
forced, after a while, turns genuine. because it has to.
the irony of empty cheer creating genuine cheer. or as close to it as one can get.

i won't tell you which section made me tear up, if you read the book you can figure it out yourself.

it's nice to have something outside your own life pull such emotion out of you.
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About Yann Martel

Yann Martel is a Canadian author best known for the Man Booker Prize-winning novel Life of Pi.

Yann Martel was born in Spain in 1963 of peripatetic Canadian parents. He grew up in Alaska, British Columbia, Costa Rica, France, Ontario and Mexico, and has continued travelling as an adult, spending time in Iran, Turkey and India. Martel refers to his travels as, “seeing the same play on a whole lot of

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“Just as music is noise that makes sense, a painting is colour that makes sense, so a story is life that makes sense.” — 31 people liked it

“A work of art works because it is true, not because it is real.” — 19 people liked it

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