The Life of Pi
The Life of Pi is a story of adversity and courage where a boy is stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean with an orangutan, hyena, zebra and tiger, all of whom bar the tiger is eaten in 3 short chapters. Oh, turns out the animals were allegories for humans, and the boy is the tiger. Also, Bruce WIllis was a ghost all along, Vader is Luke's father and Rosebud is the name of Citizen Kane's sled he was riding on when he was sent away as a child, which encapsulates his feelings of disappointment and abandonment.
Yes yes I'm a bad person, but chances are if you're reading this you've already read it or never planned to read it anyway. So, after my initial angry reaction at the book, I've managed to compose myself and articulate my thoughts / grievances with the book.
Firstly, Life of Pi is a very well written book. When I say well written, I mean there are large sections of the book where, when recalling a particular memory, the dialogue, description and analogy flow so smoothly that it truly is a pleasure to read.
"I am a Hindu because of sculptured cones of red kumkum powder and baskets of yellow turmeric nuggets, because of garlands of flowers and pieces of broken coconut, because of the clanging of bells to announce one's arrival to God, because of the whine of the reedy nadaswaram and the beating of drums, because of the patter of bare feet against stone floors down dark corridors pierced by shafts of sunlight, because of the fragrance of incense, because of flames of arati lamps circling in the darkness, because of bhajans being sweetly sung, because of elephants standing around to bless, because of colourful murals telling colourful stories, because of foreheads carrying, variously signified, the same word -- faith. I became loyal to these sense impressions even before I knew what they meant or what they were for"
Pi's description of the other religions are equally brilliant. Moreover, the book is packed with interesting lore about keeping animals.
"As an aside, that is why a circus trainer must always enter the lion ring first, and in full sight of the lions. In doing so, he establishes that the ring is his territory, not theirs, a notion he reinforces by shouting, by stomping about, by snapping his whip. The lions are impressed."
The book is also filled with anecdotes and facts which make it interesting to read. So, if it's so great, why do I hate it?
Sadly, most of those sections I mentioned earlier are situated at the beginning of the novel. A full third of the book is pure exposition, little of which have any real bearing on the actual story. Attention is brought to the fact that Pi loves all three religions (Hinduism, Christianity and Islam) equally. He "just wants to love God". However, there is little relevance on the story from that fact. Religion is quickly forgotten after the initial stages of being stranded at sea, until the author (Yann Martel) awkwardly tries to shoehorn the impact of religion on Pi at the end of the book. It's as if he's completely forgotten about it until he's realised he's at the end, and tries to link it back to that facet of Pi's life. It's very similar to a common essay mistake.
Secondly, as alluded to before, there are problems with the pacing of the story. The first third of the book is pure exposition until Part Two, where it suddenly throws Pi (and the reader) into the sea with little warning. Martell quickly establishes the circumstances of how the animals got on the boat. However, most of the animals are quickly shuffled off this mortal coil in the span of three or four chapters. The reader also finds out Pi is stuck at sea for 227 days. However, there is little sense of time. One chapter he's figuring how much food and water is on the boat, the next he's trying to catch food because he's starving, and that he's already even eaten the cigarettes. Jarring to say the least. Part One suffers from disruptive interludes where the fictional interviewer describes Pi with his own eyes. These interludes also add little to the story. The end comes suddenly, and trails off ineffectually.
Thirdly, near the end of Pi's ordeal, the addition of nonsensical/fantastical events of the story also destroys the overall feel an atmosphere of the book. A canivourous algae island? A french cook on a lifeboat? Why?
Fourthly, the ending is just so...bad. Oh, the animals were actually allegories for people, and Pi was the tiger. What the hell? What kind of ending is this? I had suspected it, but had dismissed it due to the pure ridiculousness of it. Not because it wasn't believable, but because it was such a terrible way to end the story I thought no author would do something like that. It's tantamount to the typical primary school story where "it was all a dream". Stupid. Unsatisying, though by the end I had all but given up on the story recovering to some semblance of decency. Still, it's a good book if you can ignore the story. I know how that sounds, but it's true. Happy reading.
Love is hard to believe, ask any lover. Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist. God is hard to believe, ask any believer.
posted by jaseypoo! @ 8:48 PM
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