"It is true that those we meet can change us, sometimes so profoundly that we are not the same afterwards, even unto our names": Life of Pi

Ladies and gentlemen I have finally finished the wonderful story of Life of Pi. I know I know what in the heck too so long?! I won’t prattle on with excuses but I will say I am so very glad I revisited this novel after so long. I forgot much of the story is intertwined with subtext and hidden meanings even in the title in itself…The Life of Pi…let’s think about that. "Life" meaning the life of the main character Pi (Piscine) or it could mean life in general. Pi’s name could stand for Pi (Piscine) or pi (3.14) as an infinite never ending thing. 

“Life is so beautiful that death has fallen in love with it, a jealous, possessive love that grabs at what it can. But life leaps over oblivion lightly, losing only a thing or two of no importance, and gloom is but the passing shadow of a cloud...”

Without further ado Life of Pi.

The story is told through a flashback which is one of my favorite ways in which a story can be told (I am partial to Wuthering Heights.) Anyhow, we are first introduced to Pi as an older man with children, a home and a whole life we can only assume was typical. He seems just like any other family man but people are so very interested in his story which leads us to have many interpretations of the man through the eyes of multiple characters. When Pi takes us back in time, he is this animal loving vegan Hindu with parents who look after him and his brother. He had a magical childhood growing up in a zoo with his family as his father was a zoo keeper. He gains an appreciation for all forms of life from learning to care for the animals and he expresses such a reverence for them that he speaks of them as though they were human.
 
What I forgot about this novel is the huge element of religion that is present. It took me awhile to decide how to write about this segment because everyone is so willing to fight about this topic and I am by no means an expert on the subject matter. People are passionate. I think Martel sort of exposes the hypocrisy of those that fight so hard against another with differentiating ideologies. My favorite scene is when the 3 religious leaders that Pi had been conversing with met and started bickering with each other about the "true" religion of Pi. It was almost endearing how Pi gets enamored with a religion and finds a new one that has opposing ideologies and is just as enamored due to the similarities he finds, however minor they may be. He discovers three of the worlds most prominent religions and decides to follow all of them because his main objective was simply love God and in his eyes God was the same in all three. Faith is a huge element right from the start and becomes much more important with the impending doom looming over the life of Pi.
 
::SPOILERS::

Pi's family decides to uproot from everything they know and love and head off to Canada (quite a cultural change). Their exciting journey on the boat is short lived due to a cataclysmic and unexplained crash that sends the boat to the bottom of the sea. When reading about what happens during this scene, it was not unlike Noah's Arc and the great flood that occurred, except for the fact that Noah's Arc didn't bite the dust. The elements were there though, animals, flood, great death and doom. Pi was the proverbial Noah and attempts to save as many animals on board as he can while his entire carefree life was ripped from his arms. His father, his mother, his brother were no where to be found.

Now, I suppose in a state of chaos a heroic person would try to save the lives of the people or animals around him in distress but our young little Pi forgets that the animals he was trying to save were behind cages for a reason. However, due to the present situation at hand, they have commonality and that is that they are forced to coexist in the same desolate situation. But, it is in the nature of some animals to be predatory regardless of the situation so this harmonious bevy doesn't last long when a hyena on board decides to mix things up. If you chose to read this beware, some of the scenes described during this portion of the book are not for a weak stomach!

Strange that Pi forgets about the giant Bengal tiger named Richard Parker on the boat when the hyena turned into a menace. His father was really persistent on convincing Pi never ever to trust him. He was startled at first when he came to this realization but it became imperative for Pi to pick the lesser of the two evils and since the hyena seemed to be reckless and more untamed, Richard Parker (RP) seemed like a smart choice for the time being.  When Richard Parker eventually kills the hyena, Pi realizes once food runs low he might be next on the menu. So, fight or flight? In a state of panic I know I would have jumped ship and  died a horrible death drowning at sea. It beats getting your face eaten off.  Pi, decides when he can't beat him join him. He places himself in the alpha male role so RP will eventually realize he cannot live without him. They eventually form a bond with each other  and Pi does his very best to take care of both of them (not without reservations) while lost at sea.

After a long time has past and by divine chance Pi runs into a person who is also stranded and due to lack of nutrition both men went blind. The fellow castaway tries to kill Pi but being blind he didn't realize RP was on the boat. Being the alpha, RP protected Pi and got a free meal for the trouble. I think Pi's innocence can still be shown through this scene because in spite of the man trying to kill him and harvest his organs, somewhere in his mind he had hoped they could be friends. Pi buddy, I know you are stranded but you really need higher standards for friends!

::ENDING SPOILERS::

I generally do not like to include endings on my reviews but the end of the novel was my favorite part and in spite of losing my appetite it was thought provoking.

Ultimately all that happened to Pi while he was a castaway sounds very outlandish to the people trying to find out what happened the night of the crash...and I did not even get to mention the man eating island! We have to either take it on good faith that Pi is a reliable narrator or a big fat liar. There were so many elements that would not make sense but as Pi eloquently points out just because you do not see something does not make it any less true as life, love and God can not be explained.

So, to appease the men who accused his story of being a lie, Pi tells another story. This was by far the most gruesome tale I have ever read so please if you get sick to the stomach easily like I do put down your meatball sub and wait a bit before you dive in. I suppose any story with a touch of cannibalism added to it would be a tad off putting. But, the second story that was told was just as outlandish and the outline of the story closely follows to what Pi initially said happened with the animals...but the men found the tale with people more believable because of the gruesome brutality men inflict on one another mirrors reality. I think I would much prefer the story with the animals...This segment of the novel can also be tied back to the very beginning of the story when Pi is intertwined with 3 different religions. Neither story could be proved because Pi was the only soul survivor. It was all about faith.  

This book was beautiful stylistically and jammed packed with metaphors and deep meaning, the storyline was a unique spin on the castaway story we are use to, and although some people I know did not care for the ending, I found it engaging. I have to give an overall score of 4/5 just because at times the pace was a tad slow.

I can't wait to catch this on film...