'Life Of Pi'
by Yann Martel
First Read : 29 Sept-7 Oct 03, Publisher: Canongate Books
ISBN: 1-84195-283-4, British Edition, Paperback

  'Life of Pi' by Yann Martel is an amazing book about a boy named Pi who survived a shipwreck and lived in a lifeboat with a Royal Bengal tiger for 227 days on the Pacific Ocean. The reason I chose this book dates back to the day of the Apple Race. I went to Swindon that day and met an old man, who told me about 'Life of Pi'. Therefore, when I saw the book in the Reading Corner, I decided to borrow it.

The story talks about Pi as a child, Pi as a sixteen-year-old boy during the 227 days on the Pacific, and Pi as the sole survivor of the shipwreck. Pi, as a child, suffers from other classmates' teasing about his name, which is Piscine. It sounds very much like pissing and as he does not want those insults, he reacts by telling his classmates his new name Pi (which is really clever). Pi also finds out about the different religions around the world, and believes in all of them. However, the priest that represented Christianity, the imam that represented Muslim, and the pandit that represented Hinduism came to Pi and asked him which God he believed in, as if there is only one religion in the world. Pi came up with a clever answer. "Bapu Gandhi said, 'All religions are true.' I just want to love God." This is and should be practiced around the world, as religion is one of the reasons for two countries to start a war, just like the row the priest, the imam and the pandit made when they found out Pi believed in three religions. That quotation is therefore probably the best quotation in the book.

Pi, as a sixteen-year-old boy, realizes the reality of human nature by looking at the different incidents happened to him and the other animals on the lifeboat, which consists of a hyena, a zebra, a female orangutan, and the Royal Bengal tiger. However, the story really focuses on Pi and the tiger only. It is quite amazing that they can get along with each other for two hundred days. During the two hundred days, they passed a ship, a lifeboat with another French shipwreck survivor (think of the chances!), and a carnivorous island-like crowd of algae. Pi, as the sole survivor of the shipwreck, talked to the Japanese who investigated the reason behind the shipwreck. That part is just a tape script and nothing much is brought out.

The best part of the book is certainly the scene where Pi thinks he found an island, and afterwards realized that it was actually carnivorous. Pi sits on a branch of a tree, and picks one of the 'apples' on the tree. Seeing the 'apple' close-up, however, Pi realizes it is not an apple at all. What is more, it contains a tooth. The shocking and horrifying feelings Pi has really gets deep into your heart. To conclude, I would like to recommend this book to the people who want war just because of a clash of religion. If they read this book, they might change their views on religion, and accept them and lead to world peace.