Life of Pi

For the upcoming film based on the novel, see Life of Pi (film).

Life of Pi

Author	Yann Martel
Original title	Life of Pi
Language	English
Genre	Novel
Publisher	Knopf Canada
Publication date	September 2001
Publication place	Canada
Pages	356
ISBN	[[Special:BookSources/ISBN+0-676-97376-0+%28first+edition%2C+hardcover%29%0AISBN+0-15-602732-1+%28US+paperback+edition%29%0AISBN+1-56511-780-8+%28audiobook%2C+Penguin+Highbridge%29 |ISBN 0-676-97376-0 (first edition, hardcover) ISBN 0-15-602732-1 (US paperback edition) ISBN 1-56511-780-8 (audiobook, Penguin Highbridge)]]
OCLC	46624335
Preceded by	Self
Followed by	We Ate the Children Last

Life of Pi is a fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist, Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, explores issues of spirituality and practicality from an early age. He survives 227 days after a shipwreck, while stranded on a boat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger.

The novel was rejected by at least five London publishing houses before being accepted by Knopf Canada, which published it in September 2001. The UK edition won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction the following year. It was also chosen for CBC Radio's Canada Reads 2003, where it was championed by author Nancy Lee. The French translation, L'histoire de Pi, was chosen in the French version of the contest, Le combat des livres, where it was championed by Louise Forestier. The novel won the 2003 Boeke Prize, a South African novel award. In 2004, it won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature in Best Adult Fiction for years 2001–2003.

Plot

Life of Pi is divided into three sections. In the first, the main character, Pi, an adult, reminisces about his childhood. He was named Piscine Molitor Patel after a swimming pool in France. He changes his name to "Pi" when he begins secondary school, because he is tired of being taunted with the nickname "Pissing Patel" (a corrupted English pronunciation of the French name, first made by the first school teacher of the boy while reading aloud the class register). His father owns a zoo in Pondicherry, providing Pi with a relatively affluent lifestyle and some understanding of animal psychology.

Pi was born a Hindu, but as a fourteen-year-old he is introduced to Christianity and Islam, and starts to follow all three religions as he "just wants to love god." He tries to understand God through the lens of each religion and comes to recognize benefits in each one.

Eventually, his family decides to sell their animals and move to Canada due to political concerns in India. In the second part of the novel, Pi's family embark on a small Japanese freighter to Canada carrying some of the animals from their zoo, but a few days out of port the boat suddenly sinks. Pi ends up in a small lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, a spotted hyena, an injured zebra, and an orangutan. The other humans and animals on the boat all drown.

The hungry hyena tears off the zebra's leg, and spends the next several days eating the zebra bit by bit. The hyena also kills the orangutan. Richard Parker then kills and eats the hyena. Pi is left as the only other survivor. Pi finds food and water supplies on the boat, but as they grow scarce, Pi begins fishing. Pi feeds Richard Parker so that the tiger will not eat him; he also wants to keep the tiger alive to avoid total solitude on the ocean. Pi ensures that the tiger considers Pi the alpha animal and will therefore refrain from attacking him.

Pi recounts that after an indeterminate time at sea, the pair encountered a mysterious island, seemingly constructed of edible algae supporting a forest and a large population of meerkats. Following a period of recuperation, Pi becomes afraid of the island after discovering that the algae is carnivorous, and leaves with the tiger. In all, Pi survives 227 days in the lifeboat, often half delusional with thirst and hunger. The lifeboat reaches the coast of Mexico and Richard Parker escapes into the nearby jungle, so that rescuers find only Pi.

The third part of the novel is a conversation between two officials from the Japanese maritime department. They seek to ascertain why the ship sank, so they interview Pi, but they do not believe his story. Pi then tells a similar story, but this time without animals. Instead, he recounts a story of human brutality, being adrift on a lifeboat with his mother, a sailor with a broken leg, and the ship's cook, who killed the sailor and Pi's mother and cut them up to use as bait and food. Parallels to Pi's first story lead the Japanese officials to believe that the orangutan represents his mother, the zebra represents the sailor, the hyena represents the cook, and Richard Parker is Pi himself. Pi asks if this new story is acceptable, or if he should change any parts that are still too unbelievable; the officials change the subject back to the sinking of the ship. After giving all the relevant information, Pi asks which of the two stories they prefer. Since the officials cannot prove which story is true and neither is relevant to the reasons behind the shipwreck, they choose the story with the animals. Pi thanks them and says, "and so it goes with God".

Inspiration

In a 2002 interview with PBS, Martel revealed his inspiration for his novel, "I was sort of looking for a story, not only with a small 's' but sort of with a capital 'S' – something that would direct my life." He spoke of being lonely and needing direction in his life. The novel became that direction and purpose for his life.

Martel also stated that his inspiration for the book's premise came from reading a book review of Brazilian author Moacyr Scliar's 1981 novella Max and the Cats, about a Jewish-German refugee who crossed the Atlantic Ocean while sharing his boat with a jaguar. Scliar said that he was perplexed that Martel "used the idea without consulting or even informing me," and indicated that he was reviewing the situation before deciding whether to take any action in response. After talking with Martel, Scliar elected not to pursue the matter. A dedication to Scliar "for the spark of life" appears in the author's note of Life of Pi.

Characters

Piscine Molitor Patel

He acquires layer after layer of diverse spirituality and brilliantly synthesizes it into a personal belief system and devotional life that is breathtaking in its depth and scope. His youthful exploration into comparative religion culminates in a magnificent epiphany of sorts.

—Phoebe Kate Foster of PopMatters

Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel is the narrator and protagonist of the novel. He was named after a swimming pool in Paris, despite the fact that neither his father nor his mother particularly liked swimming. The story is told as a narrative from the perspective of a middle-aged Pi, now married and with his own family, and living in Canada. At the time of main events of the story, he is sixteen years old. He recounts the story of his life and his 227-day journey on a lifeboat when his boat sinks in the middle of the Pacific Ocean during a voyage to Winnipeg.

Richard Parker

A Bengal tiger much like the one that spent 227 days with Pi

Richard Parker is a 450 pound Bengal tiger that is stranded on the lifeboat with Pi when the ship sinks. The tiger lives on the lifeboat with Pi and is kept alive with the food and water Pi delivers. Richard Parker develops a relationship with Pi that allows them to coexist in their struggle.

Main article: Richard Parker (shipwrecked)

Martel named the tiger after a character from Edgar Allan Poe's nautical adventure novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838). However, there were a number of other men named Richard Parker who are relevant to Martel's choice, and that are tied to tales of cannibalism by shipwrecked sailors. Such tales abounded in the 18th and 19th centuries. For instance, in December 1835, the ship Francis Spaight was wrecked in the north Atlantic. Survivors of the wreck were known to have practiced cannibalism in order to survive. In January 1846, a second ship named "Francis Spaight" sank, and took a man named Richard Parker down with it. Another man named Richard Parker was found to be the victim of cannibalism after being set adrift with three other men on a raft in 1884, after a yacht called The Mignonette sank, leaving the crew stranded and starving.

In 1884, 46 years after Poe's novel was published, a new shipwreck shared many similarities with that story: after the sinking of their yacht Mignonette on the way to Australia, Captain Tom Dudley and three sailors were stranded in a dinghy in the Pacific Ocean. They believed they had no choice but to eat one of the party to survive. The victim was a 17-year-old cabin boy named Richard Parker. A.W. Brian Simpson's book on the subject mentions the Francis Spaight and also refers to a boat called Tiger on which a youth was cannibalized in 1766. Having read about these events, Yann Martel thought, "So many victimized Richard Parkers had to mean something."

Setting

The novel is a work of fiction set in the summer of 1977 that draws real places and events in India. The Patel household's discussions of the political situation refer to historical events. Pondicherry is a former French colony in India. It does have an Indian Coffee House and Botanical Gardens. The Botanical Garden has a toy train track. It does not have a working train, nor does the garden have a zoo, although it does have a small aquarium. Munnar, the destination for the Patel family's vacation, is a small but popular hill station in Kerala. The town has a church. Madurai, also referenced in the novel, is a popular tourist and pilgrimage site in Tamil Nadu.

Reception

In a letter directly to Martel, Barack Obama described Life of Pi as "an elegant proof of God, and the power of storytelling".

Brian Bethune of Maclean's describes Life of Pi as "[a] head-scratching combination of dense religious allegory, zoological lore and enthralling adventure tale, written with warmth and grace". Master Plots suggested the "[c]entral themes of Life of Pi concern religion and human faith in God".

Adaptations

Illustrated edition

In October 2005, a worldwide competition was launched to find an artist to illustrate Life of Pi. The competition was run by Scottish publisher Canongate Books and UK newspaper The Times, as well as Australian newspaper The Age and Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail. Croatian artist Tomislav Torjanac was chosen as the illustrator for the new edition, which was published in September 2007.

Film adaptation

Main article: Life of Pi (film)

The upcoming film adaptation is directed by Ang Lee based on an adapted screenplay by David Magee. Suraj Sharma, who has no previous acting experience, will play Pi. Life of Pi is scheduled to be released on 21 November 2012.

Theatrical adaptations

It has also been adapted as a play by Keith Robinson, artistic director of the youth-oriented Twisting Yarn Theatre Company. Andy Rashleigh wrote the adaptation, which was directed by Keith Robinson. The premier/original cast contained only six actors—Tony Hasnath (Pi), Taresh Solanki (Richard Parker), Melody Brown (Mother), Conor Alexander (Father), Sanjay Shalat (Brother) and Mark Pearce (Uncle). The play was produced at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford, England, in 2003. The company toured England and Ireland with the play in 2004 and 2007.

Keith Robinson also directed a second version of the play. He brought some of his company to work with students of the Ba Drama, Applied Theatre and Education Course at the Central School of Speech and Drama. The joint production was performed at the Minack Theatre, in Cornwall, England, in late June 2008. It was well received by the press and community.

Bibliography

• Busby, Brian (2003). Character Parts: Who's Really Who in CanLit. Toronto: Knopf. ISBN 0-676-97579-8.
• Davies, Hugh (September 2002). "£50,000 Booker winner 'stole idea from Brazilian author'". London: Telegraph Group.
• "'May Richard Parker be always at your side'". The Guardian. UK. November 2002.
• Fialkoff, Francine (December 2002). "Too Sensitized to Plagiarism?". Library Journal.
• McMurtrie, John (October 2005). "French director swept away by 'Life of Pi'". San Francisco Chronicle.

External links

General

• life of pi Releasing date

• Jennie Renton Interview textualities.net "Life is a story. You can choose your story. A story with God is the better story."
• Guardian Q&A
• Interview on Radio Praha
• The story behind the Illustrated Life of Pi
• Life of Pi reading group questions and global read-along

Reviews

• The Guardian review by Justine Jordan
• Salon.com review by Suzy Hansen
• London Review of Books
• BBC News Entertainment
• Dan Schneider at Hack Writers
• life of pi story trailer