By Yann Martel
From Publishers Weekly
A fabulous romp through an imagination by
turns ecstatic, cunning, despairing and resilient, this novel is an
impressive achievement "a story that will make you believe in
God," as one character says. The peripatetic Pi (ne the much-taunted
Piscine) Patel spends a beguiling boyhood in Pondicherry, India, as the
son of a zookeeper. Growing up beside the wild beasts, Pi gathers an
encyclopedic knowledge of the animal world. His curious mind also makes
the leap from his native Hinduism to Christianity and Islam, all three
of which he practices with joyous abandon. In his 16th year, Pi sets
sail
with his family and some of their menagerie to start a new life in Canada.
Halfway to Midway Island, the ship sinks into the Pacific, leaving Pi
stranded on a life raft with a hyena, an orangutan, an injured zebra
and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. After the beast dispatches
the others, Pi is left to survive for 227 days with his large feline
companion on the 26-foot-long raft, using all his knowledge, wits and
faith to keep himself alive. The scenes flow together effortlessly, and
the sharp observations of the young narrator keep the tale brisk and
engaging. Martel's potentially unbelievable plot line soon demolishes
the
reader's defenses, cleverly set up by events of young Pi's life that
almost naturally lead to his biggest ordeal. This richly patterned work,
Martel's second novel, won Canada's 2001 Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction.
In it, Martel displays the clever voice and tremendous storytelling skills
of an emerging master.