Yann Martel - Life of Pi: A Novel

Pros: Poetic prose concerning an unbelievable believable tale

Cons: Not one

The Bottom Line: I'll trot out the trite phrase "hard to put down" but this one is impossible to put down.

Review: I had heard about this book months before I bought it. I bought the book months before I read it. I buy and read several books (sometimes 2 or 3 at the same time, well, not literally at the same time, but you know what I mean). "The Life of Pi" ...

Pros: Well written, character of Pi well developed, much to think about after reading

Cons: The cover

The Bottom Line: Go out and read this book! It's wonderful!

Review: I saw Life of Pi sitting in the bookstore for a long time before I finally got to it. I had heard nothing but good things about it, but I guess I thought it was safer to stick with the stuff by authors I knew, often stuff that I had already read. This ...

Pros: One of the best examples of story-telling I've seen in a while.

Cons: None.

The Bottom Line: A great story about a boy, his tiger, and faith (no, not Calvin and Hobbes).

Review: This is a novel of such rare and wondrous storytelling that it may, as one character claims, make you believe in God. Can a reader reasonably ask for anything more? - from the dust jacket I'm not a religious man, so after seeing that ...

Pros: excellent prose, one of the original works ive read in a while

Cons: none

The Bottom Line: A wonderfully imaginative novel that deserves a look at for any fan of literature.

Review: It's rare to come by books that seem to break the most conventional modes of storytelling. Life of Pi does that for me; it does not seem to fit into any genre, but is clearly a story, in the sense that it is not so radically written that it is the mere ...

Pros: Great storytelling...

Cons: Slow start...

The Bottom Line: Soon to be a movie...read it now before the "hype" arrives.

Review: “Interpretation is not the art of construing but the art of construction. Interpreters do not decode poems, they make them.” – Stanley Fish (Is There a Text in This Class?) “The circus lions don’t care to know that their leader is a weakling ...

Pros: A great story, endless interpretive possibilities.

Cons: Slow to get going.

The Bottom Line: Whatever you choose to read into this book, you're bound to be moved and intrigued in some way. An awesome achievement.

Review: Writing about religion can be a tricky business. If you're too controversial, you're pretty much guaranteed to upset an awful lot of people (although it never did Dan Brown any harm). Go too far the other way, and it can all seem a bit dogmatic, ...

Pros: Amazing! So much better than his first novel, it blows your mind.

Cons: A little boring at times and some discoveries in the novel hard to believe.

The Bottom Line: An inspirational tale that can be enjoyed by everyone, Martel has truly created a masterpiece with Life Of Pi. The writing is intelligent, inventive, and highly memorable.

Review: Yann Martel, an award-winning Canadian short story author, released his first novel "Self" to great anticipation. His novel was not only dismissed by critics but also ignored by readers (so much so that it is now out of print). As a result, expectations ...

Pros: beautifully written. wonderfully story. thought provoking!

Cons: hard to get into. parts are monotonous.

The Bottom Line: I recommend reading Life of Pi. The book is masterfully written, and everyone will find a deep meaning between it's covers.

Review: When my Aunt first recommended this book and told me the premise, (a boy is shipwrecked and survives on a lifeboat with a Bengal Tiger,) I thought she'd lost her mind. That does not sound like a book I would be interested in, it sounds like a weird ...

Pros: Funny, charming characters. Yet also serious issues. Reader's opinion is very important to story.

Cons: some sticklers for reality won't be able to get immersed in the story

The Bottom Line: The best novel I've read in years.

Review: 319 pages, Harvest/Harcourt Inc., 2001 With reading group guide version available (questions in the back of the book). It is difficult to overstate the broad appeal of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi. Witty, profoundly moving, achingly innocent, and at ...

Pros: Engaging. Witty. Powerful imagery. An honest-to-God STORY.

Cons: None

The Bottom Line: Life of Pi is wondrous. If you don't read it, life will not be as satisfying to you.

Review: ATTENTION: Some spoilers below!!!

A sense of disquiet moves me to write this opinion/analysis/criticism. I defy any person to read Life of Pi and not gain this wordless feeling of unease. Oh, it’s a good feeling of unease - don’t get...