Borders Book Group
After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, one solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild, blue Pacific. The crew of the surviving vessel consists of a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orang-utan, a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger and Pi - a 16-year-old Indian boy. The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary pieces of literary fiction of recent years.
Yann Martel's Life of Pi is a transformative novel, a dazzling work of imagination that will delight and astound readers in equal measure. It is a triumph of storytelling and a tale that will, as one character puts it, make you believe in God.
This is one of my favourite books of all time, and was the catalist for my now huge love of tigers. This book sat on my shelf for about 2 years before I finally decided to give it a go. Every time I read the blurb I ummed and ahhed and put it back to gather more dust. What was I waiting for? From the first page I was hooked. This has to be one of the most imaginative, beautifully written books ever. It is, in my opinion, a masterpeice. Who would have thought that a book about a zoo keepers son adrift in a lifeboat with only a tiger, hyena, orangutang and a zebra with a broken leg for company could be more amazing? I just loved it. The part where Richard Parker, this big hunk of stripey orange fur, was swotting flying fish with his paws had me howling with laugher. I read this on holiday several years ago and I still think about it now. I grab it from my bookshelf now and then and flick through the pages and smile and fall in love with Richard Parker all over again. I can't rate this book high enough; this is one of my all time favourites and remains firmly in my top 3 of all time.
