"Pi Patel, a God-loving boy and the son of a zoo keeper, has a fervent love of stories and practices not only his native Hinduism, but also Christianity and Islam. When Pi is sixteen, his family and their zoo animals emigrate from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship. Alas, the ship sinks-and Pi finds himself in a lifeboat, his only companion a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi. Can Pi and the tiger find their way to land? Can Pi's fear, knowledge, and cunning keep him alive until they do?"

I couldn't figure out how a book about a boy and a bunch of animals in a lifeboat could make for an interesting story Well, I found this book fascinating, entertaining and at the same time sad. A story well told!
I loved the part about Pi and his religions:)
I gave it eight stars because of chapters 90 & 91. They threw me off, I didn't particularly care for them. I also wasn't too happy about the ending.

My 1 year Anniversary Bookring.
Thank you all for participating:)

1-AnitaNovel (Illinois)
2-Talon2claw (Ohio)
3-Therubycanary (Maine)
4-Tzurriz (Florida)
5-Geologygirl (North Carolina)
6-Jazmin (New Jersey)

Book has been mailed to fellow Bookcrosser AnitaNovel.

Wooo! Hooo! This book was a controlled release. Just received it in the mail today and will begin reading it tonight. Sending along a journal is a fantastic idea!

What a strangely interesting book. I don't recall the last book I read that had me thinking as long as this one about the different layers of the story telling. Like the reader before me chapters 90 and 91 had me scratching my head. I cannot for the life of me figure out why they were included. Perhaps to lend a little push to the possibilities offered in the odd ending? This book is billed as "it will make you believe in God"--I think it even says so several times in the story itself. I don't see it--Pi is a deeply religious person--but his adventures didn't cause any shift in my perception of life in general. I will be interested to read what others think of this novel. This book will be mailed out to Talon2claw tomorrow.

On October 3, 2003, this book was mailed to Talon2claw.

I got the book today, along with the journal. I'm looking forward to reading it. I've got one other book (another bookring) to read first.
Thanks for including me in the bookring!

First, I'd like to apologize for not getting the book on its way sooner. It is amazing how quickly time flies when life throws you a curve ball and you have to deal with some sort of crisis. The book is in the mail on its way to Therubycanary now.

I just loved this book so much! I even decided that I am getting a copy for my permanant library because I will definitely reread it. I loved all the talk about religions and animals. Certainly, Richard Parker will always have a place in my memory. My favorite chapter by far was #56 in which there is an awsome explaination of fear. The book made me feel much less alone. Just thinking about being stuck in a lifeboat with only a tiger that could make you an afternoon snack makes me appreciate having human beings around.
Chapeters 90 & 91 seemed to fit when I read the book. Not that I found them to be the most pleasant of the book, and imagination and hallucination would certainly have a part in Pi's mindset by that point reguardless of the truth of what actually happened. The ending of the book seemed to fit also. Who can affirm the story of one person when there are no possible witnesses?

Yea, it's here! Which is a really good thing since my SO had locked me out of the house and I ended up reading the first few chapters in the hallway waiting for him to get home. It was so captivating that it kept me from fuming and getting ridiculously mad when he got there. I don't think this is the type of book I would have picked up by myself, but I've heard so many recommendations that I caved in. Thank you!

This is a really enjoyable book. I am up to chapter 30 and the family is about to embark on their cross-ocean journey. Piscine, the curious God loving character, is very likable and makes a lot of sense so far. The discussion of zoos being a positive part of society is not one that you hear lately. My favorite passage so far has been that of the agnostic, “It is not atheists who get stuck in my craw, but agnostics. Doubt is useful for a while…If Christ played with doubt, so must we….But we must move on. To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation.” This sets the basis for Pi’s beliefs. He is the ultimate believer, believing not only on God or religion, but in all God’s forms and all religions. When his family claims that they are modern and above these old fashioned notions of religion, what they don’t see is that Pi might actually be the future. His tolerance and belief may be just what we need.

What a fantastic book and wild ride on the ocean. I believe that Richard Parker was integral to Pi's survival. One emotion that he does not seem to go through to a great extent is loneliness. I think if he had been overwhelmed by loneliness, he never would have made it, but RP kept him both scared and occupied enough to keep going.

Chapters 90 and 91 added a lot to the story for me. They show the extent to which he was starving, to the point where he was hallucinating. I believe the alternative ending given to the officials was to throw us off a little bit. There is no reason that we should believe the story that we've just been told, other than that we've been told it. It's entirely plausible that he animalized human characters to be able to live with what happened, just as its plausible that he personified animals. From reading the reviews on the book cover, I don't think the book was advertised as making you believe in God, but in the power of literature. To make even the most outrageous wholly believable. Which in a way is to have a faith in a higher force that embodies more than what we see day to day.

i caught this book in the mail today, along with other spiffiness! Woo Hoo! Thanks so much for including me.

I really enjoyed this book. It didn't change how I think about G-d, but I certianly changed how I think about animals. ;)

Will send it on shortly.