Life of Pi
A novel by Yann Martel
Author's Note, Part One: Toronto and Pondicherry, Chapters 1-29
Martel opens the novel by recounting his journey to the inspiration and completion of the story. By giving his own personal background, Martel writes himself into the text as an actual character (or at least it seemed that way to me). He proceeds with telling of his much needed trip to Bombay...here, he was in search of not only inspiration, but also of himself. He needed a fresh start, especially after the flop of his first two novels. So, on his second trip to India, Martel began to plan his next feature -- a novel about Portugal. Here, I was a bit perplexed. Why go to Bombay to clear your mind and prepare yourself to write about Portugal? Whatever. But, as I assumed would happen, his plan failed. Upon arriving to Pondicherry in south India, Martel encountered Francis Adirubasamy who would, little did he know, become the inspiration for Life of Pi.
In the opener of Part One, Pi is depicted as one who has suffered a great deal in life, leaving him dejected -- total gloom and doom. Why? I had no idea...yet. He then goes on to discuss his studious efforts in his educational aspects of religion and zoology. Randomly, he begins to describe slugs in grave detail. I almost put the book down at this point (or almost fell asleep!). I mean, who wants to hear about the slothful, lazy, indolent creatures??? But, I gave it another try and read on.
Pi misses India...that becomes apparent, but he also loves Canada. Sounds familiar, eh? He also describes missing a Richard Parker? No idea. And then randomly describes a hospital stay in Mexico, including listing his ailments and recovery efforts.
Suddenly, the point of view is switched to the author's. Martel describes Pi as a gray-headed, middle-aged, small man who runs his mouth but chooses his words wisely.
And then the focus switches again. Francis (mentioned in the Author's Note) is brought up when Pi describes his boyhood in India. Francis taught Pi how to swim, an important piece of knowledge, considering Pi was named after a pool.
Pi's father ran the zoo...ding, ding, ding. Here's where Pi's wildlife fascination must come in. He then describes his other passion in education -- religion...or lack thereof. Using his teacher, Mr. Satish Kumar an atheist communist, Pi dabbles into the experimentation of religion, belief systems, and other ideologies.
And then my stomach twisted in knots...Pi vividly describes in such gruesome detail of his father feeding a LIVE goat to a caged tiger. Somehow, this was supposed to teach Pi and his brother a lesson about the nature of the wild. But -- Pi soon realizes the most dangerous animal of all is the man. Pi describes and recognizes the behaviors of the wild -- territorial instincts, alpha male desire, and loyalty to the master.
Shifting again, Pi goes back to religion. Born into Hinduism, Pi embraces the philosophy: "That which sustains the universe beyond thought and language, and that which is at the core of us and struggles for expression, is the same thing." I'm not going to lie, I was perplexed when Pi stated that he would always be Hindu. Doesn't he keep a Bible on his night stand??? So, born into Hinduism, he became a Christian by age 14...and then a Muslim by age 15. This poor boy is so confused! As he delves deeper and deeper into religious philsophies, the author ponders more and more about Pi (or maybe his own) true beliefs.
So far, the book has been difficult to get into as it switches back and forth through religion and zoology. Nevertheless, it's a quick read (thus far) and keeps you interested (or maybe perplexed).
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