Life of Pi
Life Of Pi
Life Of Pi written by Yann Martel could be his best till date. The book is a story of 16 years young, Pi, the son of a Zookeeper from Pondicherry. The family along with the inmates of the Zoo meet with a ship wreck , and Pi is found adrift in the Pacific Ocean in a life boat with Richard Parker, a Bengal tiger as company forms the plot of the story. Life of Pi was published in 2001 by Cannongate.
The novel is a journey both literally and metaphorically as it talks about the coming of age of the hero Pi and his journey of Faith in God and Religion apart from Pi’s experience at sea. The novel is anthromorphic (projecting a human trait on to something that is not human in nature) and it adds all the thrills in the novel. The novel got Yann Martel the Man Booker Prize in 2002 . It became a hit when it was made into a Hollywood movie with the same name by Ang Lee. The movie got seven Oscar nominations According to bookseller.com “Life of Pi sold pi number of copies”
Born to Canadian Parents in Spain in the year 1963, Yann Martel has written nine books. His first book The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios and Other Stories (1993), was well-received critically, but failed to sell. His recent work The High Mountains of Portugal (2016) too did not meet with success. To quote Garan Holcombe, 2004 (British Council) “Yann Martel approaches his themes in unusual and provocative ways. He reminds us of the power of the imagination and the need for storytelling. Wherever he goes, we can expect the unexpected.”
References:
Wheetley, Abigail CliffsNotes on Life of Pi. 03 Jan 2017
https://www.enotes.com/topics/life-pi/critical-essays
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/life-pi-sells-pi-copies
https://literature.britishcouncil.org/writer/yann-martel