Yann Martel - Life of Pi

[Patty, free birdeaucrat]

So I'm reading Life of Pi, finally, and it seems like a lot of you read it and enjoyed it, so I thought I'd start a thread.

I'm about half way through it, enjoying it.

The author seems to have gone to a lot of trouble to make it a "true" story. (The author's note, the periodical interviews with the main character...)Why is this so important? Does it make a difference to the story? Will the answers to these questions come clear as I get further into it?

[Matt, e-monk]

Patty wrote: "The author seems to have gone to a lot of trouble to make it a "true" story. (The author's note, the periodical interviews with the main character...)Why is this so important? Does it make a difference to the story? Will the answers to these questions come clear as I get further into it?"

could be

[Jim]

Our book club read this book a few months ago and there's a lot to the book as well as to its writing

one of our club members said the author had a couple of poorly received earlier books and just decided to write a book that had all the characteristics of a best seller
In the process of doing so, Martel wrote a book that is really fun to discuss

[Patty, free birdeaucrat]

I finished it last night. One thing I'll say for it, it made me want to keep reading. I'd love to know what sort of insights your book club came up with, Jim. I really have none, but I thought it was a good story.

[[deleted user]]

I wish I could see the last part with the inspector so I could comment on that. It was an interesting view of religious belief or faith and story telling. I also was surprised by the want to keep reading it. An excellent story!

[Jim]

our club concluded that Richard Parker represented the survival amoral nature of any animal including humans when confronted with killing versus starving to death or versus any desperate situation any one finds themselves in
also the telling of two stories about what happened where neither can be proven or disproven was thought to be whether "one reality' does exist

[[deleted user]]

If you have to believe in something wouldn't you rather believe in something interesting?

[Jim]

Yes

[Matt, e-monk]

how about this instead: if you witnessed something that terrible is it possible that in order to cope with it you might turn it into something a little less realistic? a little more of a fantasy, like something out of children's book turned terribly wrong

[[deleted user]]

absolutely. The minds coping mechanisms.

[Jim]

No I wouldn't want to cope by using fantasy at least in the following scenario that my Mother experienced

My Mother was a teenager in Warsaw in World War II and saw many horrible things but I don't think She would have survived the Nazis rule of terror for 4-6 years if She had fantasized her reality then and there

[Tracy]

I loved this book, and I think the movies does the book justice for sure. In the end he gives us a choice. Which do you prefer? I choose the story with the Tiger in it. :-)