So this might be the reason I don’t like boats.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

★★★★☆

Life of Pi is one of those books you will think about for days. It’s also one of those books that stick with you. And I know Life of Pi will stick with me for a long time. I’m also sure that other readers will agree with me since more than five hundred people has classified Life of Pi under their classics shelf on goodreads. It being published in 2003 does not classify it under classic “literally”. But with it’s quality, Life of Pi will transcend generations.

Life of Pi is spiritual and informative and (most importantly) highly entertaining and thought provoking.

I honestly cannot get over the fact that sloths can sleep for twenty hours a day. Must be good to be a sloth. Yann Martel also shares a bunch of animal trivia, which do not become tedious. They’re actually good to know.

Life of Pi is told in first voice narration. The major narrator is a writer travelling, who came across Pi’s life. Pi’s life is also being narrated by first voice, so basically, it’s about a writer who is writing about Pi’s life in first voice.

Piscine Molitor Patel was old for his age. He had the innocence of a child, but the maturity of an adult. Born as a Hindu, Pi has also embraced Christianity and Islam. Pi makes so much sense. Though hard to fathom, how can you embrace all three religions?

“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.”

“If there’s only one nation in the sky, shouldn’t all passports be valid for it?”

He was mocked and ridiculed for this. He was told to take up more religions, since there are more days in the week than his religion. He was told to go to church on thursday, mosque on friday and synagogue on saturday.

His family decides to go to Canada aboard the Tsimtsum, with some animals Pi’s father sold to American zoos. But due to unknown reasons, the Tsimtsum sinks. Pi manages to stay afloat on a boat with an orangutan, a zebra, a hyena and a Bengal tiger. But they eat each other out, until it’s just Richard Parker (the bengal tiger) and Pi left, until they reach Mexico.

Pi says another version of the story without the animals as the Japanese investigators are insisting Pi to tell them how the Tsimtsum sunk. (On the boat was a wounded sailor, Pi’s mom, the chef and Pi himself. They eat each other out, until it’s only Pi left.)*

Which story would you like to believe?

Audiobook is 11 hours and 41 minutes, narrated by Jeff Woodman. Before, I blamed myself if I did not understand the audiobook I was listening too. Apparently, all I needed was a good narrator. Jeff Woodman surely delivers as much as Yann Martel.

And that concludes my review, as I have to find the DVD version of Life of Pi. I’m off to Wal-mart!

*highlight portion with () to see spoilers, only if you are extremely interested.