Book Review: Life of Pi - Yann Martel

 

What do you say about a modern epic that lands up in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, its 18-year-old protagonist lost at sea with only a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger for company? Laugh in amused disbelief? Gawk at the utter ludicrousness of such a situation? Gasp in horror at the terrifying implications of such a predicament? You will experience all these reactions and more in rapid succession as you chart the territory of this amazing novel. Yann Martel’s imaginative and unputdownable Life of Pi is a magical reading experience, an endless blue expanse of storytelling about adventure, survival, and ultimately, faith.

 

Piscine Molitor Patel, known to all as Pi Patel, is the son of a zookeeper in Pondicherry. Growing up among the wild beasts, Pi gathers an encyclopedic knowledge of the animal world- something that is to later save his life. We are provided with a fascinating glimpse into the world of zoo-keeping, abounding in intriguing and informative zoological facts. Interwoven into this narrative of zoo-life are Pi’s personal experiences of growing up. Young Pi’s curious mind leads him to explore religious faiths other than his native Hinduism, and he practices Christianity and Islam equally with joyous abandon. And though the local pandit, imam and priest have a highly comic tussle over Pi and the virtues of their respective religions, Pi manages to cling to all three in his earnest desire to just “love God”.

 

Following an ill-fated decision, the family decides to sell most of the zoo and immigrate to Canada. Along with a few animals bound for new homes, the family boards a Japanese cargo ship. But only a few days into the voyage, the vessel encounters a storm and sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, the sole human survivor, his only companions being a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

 

At first glance the setting seems almost perfectly suited to an anthropomorphized Disney feature. However, incredible though the situation appears, it is real, and the tale of how Pi survives through it all is truly, as one character puts is, “a story that will make you believe in God”. Stunned and nearly deranged with shock, horror, grief and despair, Pi initially gives up all hope of survival: “ I was alone and orphaned, in the middle of the Pacific, hanging on to an oar, an adult tiger in front of me, sharks beneath me, a storm raging about me.” But the relentless instinct for survival takes over, and he refuses to let the odds overwhelm him. However, the harrowing experiences that follow are enough to unnerve the toughest of mortals. Before Pi’s shocked eyes, the zebra and orangutan are devoured by the hyena, which is in turn dispatched with ruthless ferocity by the ravenous tiger. All the creatures are dead, and Richard Parker and Pi are left alone in a terrific battle for survival against hunger, thirst, seasickness, the elements- but above all, against each other.

 

What follows is pure mastery of plot and narration. Pi has to summon every iota of zoological knowledge he has amassed since childhood. He realizes that if he is to live, Richard Parker must be tamed. Using the tiger’s fundamental animal requirements as his major weapons fuelled by his own fear and desperation, Pi gradually establishes himself as what he calls the “super-alpha male” on the boat- the dominant animal asserting his ascendancy through sheer psychology.

 

Interspersed within this intriguing tussle are innumerable incidents- descriptions of strategies to obtain food and water, efforts to fight overwhelming feelings of hopelessness occasionally bordering on insanity. In the course of his 227-day ordeal, Pi encounters whales, a floating carnivorous island, temporary blindness, and another castaway, who is tragically killed by Richard Parker. In rich, hallucinatory passages, Pi recounts the harrowing journey as the days blur together, elegantly cataloging the endless passage of time and his struggles to survive: “It is pointless to say that this or that night was the worst of my life. I have so many bad nights to choose from that I’ve made none the champion.”

 

The language is intensely vivid, crisp and witty. Martel, in this engrossing tale, demonstrates skills so well honed that the story appears to tell itself without drawing attention to the writing. On one level, the book is a suspenseful adventure story, a demonstration of how extreme need alters a man’s character; on another level, this is a profound meditation on the role of religion in human life and the basic nature of animals- wild and human. Grisly reality, outlandish plot and inventive setting make this novel a sure winner. A wonderful and terrifying tale of what it means to be human.

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