Cheryl's Comments: Someone in my book club warned me "don't let the first 100 pages discourageyou - it gets really good after that!" With that ominous warning, I began toread. The Life of Pi is the story of a young Indian boy growing up the sonof zookeepers in Pondicherry India. He is a thinker, observer, philosopher, zoologist, and a seeker of truth. When he is 16, his parents decide to leave an increasingly unstable political situation in India and join relatives in Canada. They board a freight ship to move themselves to a new home in Canada and the animals to new zoos scattered across the American continent. On page116, life is completely changed for Pi as he finds himself the sole human survivor of the sunken freight ship and even worse, his companions on the lifeboat are wild animals including a Bengal Tiger. It is a fantastical tale . . . even a tall tale, but it kept me reading.
The end of the story changed my perception of the book completely and at first I was very frustrated with what the author had done. But it's like being in the bright sun with very dark sunglasses on - you are comfortable and can see well enough. Take off your sunglasses and the sun becomes unbearably bright, even painful. But once your eyes adjust to your new perspective you begin to see details you were unable to see before. The author rips off our sunglasses at the end of the book and for a moment it is disorienting. Just as my friend warned me about the beginning of the book, I must warn you of its end. Be prepared to shift your perspective, for all is not as it seems. There is meaning in this tall tale if you are willing to find it. Check Status
