Where to buy life of pi

You can change your cookie preferences. Call Accept Reject Personalise my choices. Netflix Netflix. Life of Pi 12 2h 7m Movies Based on Books. Based on Yann Martel's best-selling novel, this coming-of-age tale recounts the journey of Pi, an Indian boy who is the sole survivor of a shipwreck.

Watch all you want. This stunning adventure won Oscars for direction, cinematography, original score and special effects. More Details. This movie is Kinda slow. Also, that never actually happens t People often see me walking down the street, casually, minding my own business, and they always stop and ask me, "Yo, Justin, what are you reading these days?

Also, that never actually happens to me. Or does it? Anyway, I did tell a few people I was reading Life of Pi and every single one of them said, "Oh yeah, isn't that the book about the guy and a tiger on a raft? The book about some guy on a boat with a tiger. And they are absolutely right. I mean, if you needed a one sentence synopsis of Life of Pi you would say it's about some dude floating around on a raft or a boat or something with a tiger, and that would be it.

You nailed it. Except Pi isn't on a lifeboat with Richard Parker the tiger until about halfway through the book. So that synopsis isn't enough because there is so much more going on in Life of Pi. So much more. So let's start with the biggest reason this book gets a coveted five star rating from me: I got to learn all about zoos and the animals that inhabit them. I'm kidding, a little, kind of, but the beginning of the book is just fascinating to read.

Pi weaves in stories of his childhood with facts about India, religion, animals, zoos, family, and all kinds of other stuff. One scene in particular that I loved was when Pi was trying to determine his religion and the choice that follows. Just humorous, insightful stuff all around, and I forgot all about what the book is really about. I won't remind you. The story moves from all of that stuff, like a memoir I guess, to an adventure story. Now, I'm not a huge adventure story kind of guy, but the writing was so engaging and the audiobook narration was so intoxicating that I kept plugging along with all the craziness Pi finds himself in.

It gets pretty violent and a little disgusting at times, but you're reading about wild animals and about a guy who is caught in a horrible tale of survival. It's not too bad. Then, the end of the book comes along, and oh my god I can't even tell you about the end of the book. It's awesome though.

Just trust me on this one if you haven't read it already. You've probably read it already. You've probably seen the movie, too, you awesome person you. Look at you go, all awesome and stuff. I'm gonna watch the movie as soon as possible. Looking forward to it. This was a fantastic audiobook that I spent almost a month listening to during my morning commute. Whatever I pop in next has a tough act to follow.

January has been a pretty solid month of reading for me. Definitely ended it on a high note. I don't rate books five stars very often because I'm am overly critical book critic, but this is a five star read that deserves a little bit of your time.

View all 24 comments. Aug 20, s. Recommended to s. All this praise lauded upon the cover is instantly telling that this is a novel that has reached a wide audience, and is most likely aimed towards wide critical acclaim.

That is all fine, and bravo to Mr. Martel for being able to leave his mark on the bestseller list, something I can only imagine in my wildest of wildest dreams, but sometimes when reaching for a large audience you have to elbow out a small percentage of readers. This is a difficult novel to review as, firstly, I did enjoy reading the book. I gave in to reading this book that I have been purposely avoiding after reading the excellent review from mi Hermana.

I had a lot of fun discussing this book with her, texting her my shocks and suprises in the plot, and discussing the book in several threads with fellow Goodreaders. As anyone can see with a quick glance at the overall ratings, this book seems to really strike a chord in many readers, yet also brings a large crowd of dissenters.

In all fairness to the novel, and to my usual reading list, I have to dissect this book with the same views of novels that I would any other. Life of Pi was a pleasurable read that suffered from a heavy-handed serving of morality. While Martel delivers one charming phrase after the next with a graceful flow, he would have greatly benefited from a touch of subtlety.

All to often, Martel would draw conclusions for the reader. Martel spoils the moment by explaining that Mr. Even more obscure ideas are spoiled in such a manner. It is that special moment of understanding an allusion in literature that keeps me reading a wide variety of texts, and it seems insulting to have someone to make connections without giving you an opportunity.

It is a noble goal, and it gets people who do not typically read to like and enjoy a book, so I cannot necessarily knock him for it as that was his goal, but this is all to my chagrin. The question now is, does Martel conclude things properly? I personally loved the conclusion to this book. He successfully pulls the rug out from under the reader and exposes the real message behind the book. The twisting of it to bring out its essence?

Notice that! Remember what we talked about!? Which, once again, is not a bad thing, if that is what you are looking for. It reminded me of something a professor once told me in a World Religions course. He described church as something that, and this is his opinion, is a crutch for those who needed it.

He compared the obligation to attend to telling a girlfriend you only hang out with them because you feel you have to and are obligated to. While his opinion is a bit harsh and easily offensive, what he was really trying to say is you should believe because you want to, not because you have to. Once again, in hopes to reassure and reach a large audience, Martel rudely elbows out the remainder.

However, I really feel uncomfortable discussing beliefs on the open seas of the internet, and I really hope nothing said here offends you as that is not my intention.

Please understand I am only speaking in relevance to my thoughts on a book, not on religion. The insistence of Martel to wrap a cool concept with spirituality is a major reason why it is so difficult to talk about this book.

The whole point here is that a lot of what Martel says has been said before, better, and with more willingness to evoke a change in the reader. All that said, there is a lot that I truly enjoyed about this book. If you push all the aforementioned details aside, this was a wild ride. This made me want to visit zoos and hug a tiger. After reading this book, you will know why you should never, ever try to hug a tiger or take a wild animal for granted. He makes an interesting point how we force cute cuddly animal toys on children and make them think they are some domestic pet.

Are cute cuddly animal toys then religion? I also enjoyed how the animal story is also chock full of scientific facts and details, which fuses the idea of religion and science together instead of showing them as opposites.

Thre were some symbolism, the ones he left untainted by a forced explanation, that really struck me. The tiger itself is open for many views, either as God, Pi, or life itself - something we must face and tame lest it destroy us.

However, could it be the killer inside us all, an urge and animalistic force we must keep in check in order to exist in a civilized society? In a way, I felt that the ending could almost be an attack on religion, showing it as nothing more than a pretty way of viewing a world as ugly as our own. I felt that the tarpauline served as a similar symbol. It was a feeling of security, something to stand on, but underneath was the violent truth of a deadly tiger. Perhaps it was our personal sense of security which is actually just thin and flimsy.

When Martel doesn't slap us with his meaning, it is quite good. I was simply not the intended audience for this novel. However, Martel has a positive message that he wanted to reach a wide audience in hopes to spread peace to a world badly in need of it, so I cannot be too harsh on him. He achieved his goals for the novel, but his novel did not reach my goals for literature. Still, this was a fun read and I would recommend it. Because you deserve them Aug 30, Jenny rated it did not like it Shelves: fiction.

Once, while riding the bus, I told a friend I hated this book. A guy I'd never met turned around to tell me that he was shocked and this was a beautiful book. I can sum up my hatred of this book by saying this: At the end of the book a character asks "Do you prefer the story with animals or without?

Aug 11, Teresa Jusino rated it really liked it Shelves: readandreviewed. On the surface, it's the story of a 16 year old Indian boy named "Pi" who, when he and his zookeeping family decide to transplant themselves and some animals to Canada, ends up stranded on a lifeboat with a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a lb Bengal tiger named "Richard Parker.

In reality, this book is an examination of faith in all its forms. Young Pi loves God, and to prove it he becomes Christian and Muslim in addition to his nat On the surface, it's the story of a 16 year old Indian boy named "Pi" who, when he and his zookeeping family decide to transplant themselves and some animals to Canada, ends up stranded on a lifeboat with a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a lb Bengal tiger named "Richard Parker.

Young Pi loves God, and to prove it he becomes Christian and Muslim in addition to his native Hinduism. He also loves animals, and much of the book examines animal psychology and its relationship to human psychology in a vibrant, interesting way. This book had me asking questions about my life, my beliefs, and my society on just about every page If ever there was a novel that could be called a litmus test, it's this one.

Favorite quotes: "I felt a kinship with him. It was my first clue that atheists are my brothers and sisters of a different faith, and every word they speak speaks of faith. LIke me, they go as far as the legs of reason will carry them - and then they leap. I don't mean to defend zoos. Close them all down if you want and let us hope that what wildlife remains can survive in what is left of the natural world.

I know zoos are no longer in people's good graces. Religion faces the same problem. Certain illusions about freedom plague them both. She heard 'hairless Christians', and that is what they were to her for many years. When I corrected her, I told her that in fact she was not so wrong; that Hindus, in their capacity for love, are indeed hairless Christians, just as Muslims, in the way they see God in everything, are bearded Hindus, and Christians, in their devotion to God, are hat-wearing Muslims.

Look at the world created in seven days. Even on a symbolic level, that's creation in a frenzy. To one born in a religion where the battle for a single soul can be a relay race run over many centuries, with innumerable generations passing along the baton, the quick resolution of Christianity has a dizzying effect.

If Hinduism flows placidly like the Ganges, then Christianity bustles like Toronto at rush hour. It is a religion as swift as a swallow, as urgent as an ambulance. It turns on a dime, expresses itself in the instant.

In a moment, you are lost or saved. Christianity stretches back through the ages, but in essence it exists only at one time: right now. View all 9 comments. Yann Martel 's expert and peerless mix of fact and fiction, and of adventure and magical realism, is a joy to behold. Ultimately this book has one of those ideas, that some readers may struggle with - that only you can review : I've always remembered this book leaving a deep lasting impact on me; appearing from the start to be one thing, and being by the end something completely different!

Ultimately this book has one of those ideas, that some readers may struggle with - that only you can decide what really happened on Pi's journey, but it works really well for me. One of my must-read top books. My stuck-up younger self only gave this an 8 out 12, but I'm sure a re-read will right this wrong one day. Oct 05, Richard Derus rated it it was ok. As one can readily see, no smarm or treacle has been spared. The whole world has a copy of this book, including me Over , copies of this on GR, so how many trees died just for our copies alone?

Don't go into the forest, ladies and gents, the trees will be lookin' for revenge after they read this book. There is no question that Martel can write lovely sentences: "Those first hours were associated in my memory with one sound, not one you'd guess, not the yipping of the hyena or the hissing of the sea: it was the buzzing of flies.

There were flies aboard the lifeboat. They emerged and flew about in the way of flies, in great, lazy orbits except when they came close to each other, when they spiralled together with dizzying speed and a burst of buzzing. Good, good stuff, nicely observed and handsomely rendered, and not enough to lift this dreary pseudo-philosophical rehash of Jonathan Livingston Seagull into greatness. Piscine Molitor Pi Patel does not wring my heartstrings on his spiritual quest across the vasty deep, accompanied by a tiger named Richard Parker, to a carnivorous island, thence to Mexico to answer to a pair of noxious Japanese stereotypes and, ultimately, to Canada If I were Canadian or Torontoid or whatever they call themselves , I'd be livid with fury over this crapulous insult to my homeland.

But hey, I'm Texan and Murrikin, if they don't care enough to run this yahoo outta town, why should I? The yodeling of joyous awakening that fogged this book on its debut But, in all fairness, people I love and respect lived it, so it's a mitzvah to read it, right? Public notice: My spiritual debt to the opinions of others is, with the reading of this ghastly book, herewith Paid In Full For Good. View all 55 comments. I'm a huge fan of Yann Martel's allegorical story.

I read Life of Pi shortly after it had won the Booker, heavily intrigued by the story's improbable premise boy in lifeboat with Bengal tiger. I was keen to see how the author could pull this off. But pull it off he did, taking me back to a wondrous childhood of adventure tales and fables. And you are welcome to whack me over the head with a leather-bound copy of War and Peace, but I am such a sucker for exotic book covers! Please read the book, do I'm a huge fan of Yann Martel's allegorical story.

Please read the book, don't see the film: Ditto, Captain Corelli. Oct 05, Jim Fonseca rated it really liked it. For years I noticed this book on display, particularly its cartoonish paperback cover.

Was it a children's book? This Pi stuff -- was it something about math? It's a castaway story and like all castaway and shipwreck stories it's about human endurance, indomitable spirit and man vs. The things that distinguish this story from Robinson Crusoe or Tom Hanks in Cast Away, is that the main character Pi, short for Piscine is trapped in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger.

He's Indian and multi-re For years I noticed this book on display, particularly its cartoonish paperback cover. He's Indian and multi-religious - a true believer in Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. He comes from a family of zookeepers who were transporting their animals by freighter.

This is how he wound up with a tiger in his lifeboat. It's an inspiring book, but drags in spots -- more than days at sea is a lot of fish and storm stories. I kept waiting for the multi-religious theme to play a real role in the story but it did so only peripherally, so the plot seems a bit disconnected.

In the end, we are offered two stories: one of murder and cannibalism and one of a journey in the lifeboat with animals. A key theme comes at the end of the book in a throwaway line: Which story do you prefer?

So it is with God. It's a good read and a unique plot. View all 31 comments. Oct 03, Apatt rated it it was amazing Shelves: favorites. This is not a story of a boy and his BFF tiger. This is nothing like Calvin and Hobbes.

The tiger is nothing like Tigger or Lassie. This is not a YA book. That is worth pointing out I think, because the movie poster and trailer gave me this impression. This book has teeth. My initial thoughts on Life of Pi is that it is a book that demands to be read slowly due to a rambling nonlinear narrative in the first few chapters. Actually it is not, it can be read fairly quickly once you hit your stride with i This is not a story of a boy and his BFF tiger.

Actually it is not, it can be read fairly quickly once you hit your stride with it. Any way, the novel got off to a slow start for me though I found the intro "Author's Notes" immediately appealing. That sorts itself out after a while as I settled into the author's narrative style and the book's structure.

There are some expositions about about running a zoo and animal psychology which I find very interesting. I certainly know some people who believe zoos are immoral and all the caged animals should be set free, this book presents a plausible case for why this may not be such a good idea and that the animals are unlikely to be grateful to the liberators.

I am not normally a fan of infodumps, but these expositions are affably written and mostly non-technical. Once the main part of the story begins, where poor Pi is cast away on a life boat with some wild animals the books becomes very engaging and I was devouring his adventure and could not wait to find out what happen next.

The ocean adventure part of the book is really a riveting read. As Pi settles into his life on the life boat the book becomes trippy and metaphysical in parts.

If you read online discussions about this book you will find several interpretation of what it all means and what really transpires in the book. To go into too much detail about this ambiguous aspect of the book would risk spoiling the book for potential readers, suffice to say that the book left me with plenty of food for thought which is still swirling in my head as I write.

Art by Neanderthal-Jam There are elements of humour scattered throughout the book, the style of humor tend to be fairly subtle, my favorite humorous scene involves three bickering wise men and a boy of multiple faiths.

I also love how the major supporting character Richard Parker came by his name. My favorite aspect of the book is the prose style which is lyrical, accessible and generally very pleasant to read. Here is one of my favorite passages: "I will not die.

I refuse it. I will make it through this nightmare. I will beat the odds, as great as they are. I have survived so far, miraculously. Now I will turn miracle into routine. The amazing will be seen every day. I will put in all the hard work necessary.

Yes, so long as God is with me, I will not die. This book is often classified as a fantasy but I wonder if it is actually more scifi? Some strange places and things are rationalized with scientific assumptions, particularly a mysterious island that appears in the last section of the book. Some people are understandably frustrated and annoyed by the epilogue of the book where everything seems to turn upside down, or not depending on how you want to interpret this part of the book.

It surprised the hell out of me but adds to the enjoyment of the book, and I don't think it invalidates anything that goes on in the preceding chapters. Looking at other Goodreads reviews Life of Pi seems to be divisive among its readers. Quite a few people find the book pretentious and not as intelligent or profound as the author presents it to be. They may be on to something, I don't really know.

Oftentimes I find the reviewers just as pretentious as the book they are criticizing, is this a case of an eye for an eye? Personally I just wanted it to be entertaining and interesting and it meets these criteria in spades.

A little pretentiousness does not bother me as long as the book is a good read. I have no qualms at all about recommending this book, may be you will love it like I do, may be it will make you mad and you will throw it at the wall.

I really don't know how it will be for you. Totally worth a shot in my opinion. Art by gluecifer View all 16 comments. Apr 14, J. Sutton rated it really liked it. As a sort of parable on the value of storytelling, Yann Martel's fantastical adventure, Life of Pi, is astonishing.

In the most desperate of circumstances, while Pi is on his lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, imagination and storytelling are the keys to Pi's incredible story of survival. Issues about believability, what really happened on the boat, take a backseat to wonder, love, creativity and to a certain extent, madness. The novel is heavy on spirituality, but it is compelli As a sort of parable on the value of storytelling, Yann Martel's fantastical adventure, Life of Pi, is astonishing.

The novel is heavy on spirituality, but it is compelling and Pi's evolving relationship with Richard Parker keeps their days at sea interesting. View all 5 comments. Sep 27, Paul Bryant rated it liked it Shelves: novels , bookers. Oh finally I get it. I read this a couple of years ago and it was supposed to be all about God. But no, it's not a religious allegory at all. It's about the collapse of communism.

As the ocean liner of communism sinks under the weight of its own massive incompetence a good idea, but the captain was drunk and the crew were sticky-fingered rascals , you leap overboard, clamber on to the only available boat capitalism only to find that there's a giant tiger on board which will eat you unless you Oh finally I get it.

As the ocean liner of communism sinks under the weight of its own massive incompetence a good idea, but the captain was drunk and the crew were sticky-fingered rascals , you leap overboard, clamber on to the only available boat capitalism only to find that there's a giant tiger on board which will eat you unless you can keep feeding it your hapless fellow-creatures. When I thought this novel was about God I gave it 2 stars. It didn't make sense. But now I realise - it's a perfect metaphor - three stars.

As near as I can say, this should probably be 3. I was disappointed in this novel, but not really surprised at this. Rather I was somewhat prepared for it, because the ratings for it, specifically by my GR friends and reviewers people I follow , are all over the place.

This is the highest percent of bad ratings for a Booker award winner since among these people. And, as indicated by my own r As near as I can say, this should probably be 3. And, as indicated by my own rating, there were things I liked about the book. But before I get into any more detail, I will warn readers that there are some mild spoiler type comments in what follows.

Most of these are general comments about the structure or message of the book. In one place where I say something very specific about the plot I have used the normal spoiler alert. So … what I liked about the book was surprise probably most of it. I found the main storyline taking place in the boat not only an enjoyable read, but even quite believable. I would be willing if most of the novel had been published as an actual memoir by a sea disaster survivor to believe even the bit about the companion that he survived with.

I thought the explanation given of how the relation developed between Pi and his feline companion made enough sense to believe. But there were a number of things about the book that I really disliked. I always read this stuff, and I was quite confused when I read this note. Of course I assumed it was a genuine comment by Martel, but finally realized that it is itself part of the fiction.

Besides being confused by this material, I was amazed that the author seemed to be claiming that the story he was about to relate would make me believe in God. But more on that later. He studied philosophy at Trent University, worked at odd jobs--tree planter, dishwasher, security guard--and travelled widely before turning to writing.

He was awarded the Journey Prize for the title story in Title: Life of PI. Format: Paperback. Product dimensions: pages, 7. Shipping dimensions: pages, 7. Published: October 10, Publisher: Knopf Canada. Language: English. Appropriate for ages: All ages. ISBN - Customer Reviews.