Life of Pi

If I had typed up this review yesterday, it probably would have been much more glowing than it will be today. You see, I finished this book on Sunday and was So.Excited. to meet with my book club to discuss it last night (if it hadn't been for the book club, I probably would have made Darrell read the book IMMEDIATELY so that I could discuss it with him) because I loved the book. It was fascinating, captivating, and had a totally surprising twist. Perfect trifecta in my opinion.

But after talking about it with my book club, I realized that there were some definite faults in this book. Things that I had totally forgotten by the time I got to the end. Granted, I still definitely recommend the book (and from what I hear, the movie as well), just not as glowingly as I would have yesterday.

Here's the rundown--a teenaged boy gets stranded on a lifeboat after the ship he is on sinks, and the only other survivors with him are zoo animals (a tiger, an orangutan, a hyena, and a zebra). Before long, he and the tiger are the only two left alive, and the novel details the remarkable story of their survival.

At least, that's what I would have told you yesterday. Because I had been so captivated by the last two-thirds of the book, I had completely forgotten about the first part of the book (which provides background information on his family life and religious beliefs). Overwhelmingly, the consensus was that the first part of the book moved slowly and then wasn't really relevant to the remainder of the book. Which, given the fact that I had totally forgotten about some of the things that had happened, I can totally agree with.

Like I said, though, the disconnectedness isn't really a deal breaker. In fact, I actually found the first part to be interesting in its own right, but it was definitely overshadowed by the story on the lifeboat. And given that his family history and/or religious beliefs didn't seem to significantly impact the story of his time on the boat, it seems like the background information could have been covered in a little less detail (hence the complaint that the first part of the book was slow).

Ultimately, I'm still really glad that I bought the book. I definitely intend to read it again, especially to see that if in my excitement and rapid-page turning through the middle/end of the book I missed some of the religious undertones that were present (plus I want to read it again now that I know the twist!). And I still plan to encourage Darrell to read the book, because I know the Boy Scout/religion major in him will definitely find it captivating. And really, I think there is something in this story that just about anyone will find interesting--especially if they power through a somewhat-lathargic first seventy-some pages.