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Synopsis |
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Winner of the 2002 Man Booker Prize for Fiction
Pi Patel is an unusual boy. The son of a zookeeper, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior, a fervent love of stories, and practices not only his native Hinduism, but also Christianity and Islam. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes.
The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth." After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional-but is it more true?
Life of Pi is at once a realistic, rousing adventure and a meta-tale of survival that explores the redemptive power of storytelling and the transformative nature of fiction. It's a story, as one character puts it, to make you believe in God.
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Praise |
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"A story to make you believe in the soul-sustaining power of fiction and its human creators, and in the original power of storytellers like Martel."
Francie Lin,Los Angeles Times Book Review,6/16/2002
"Martel displays the clever voice and tremendous storytelling skills of an emerging master."
Publishers Weekly,Publishers Weekly,4/8/2002
"Beautifully fantastical and spirited."
Suzy Hansen,Salon,8/1/2002
"If this century produces a classic work of survival literature, Martel is surely a contender."
Charlotte Innes,The Nation,8/19/2002
"[Life of Pi] could renew your faith in the ability of novelists to invest even the most outrageous scenario with plausible life."
Gary Krist,The New York Times Book Review,7/7/2002
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Biography |
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Yann Martel, the son of diplomats, was born in Spain in 1963. He grew up in Costa Rica, France, Mexico, Alaska, and Canada and as an adult has spent time in Iran, Turkey, and India. After studying philosophy in college, he worked at various odd jobs until he began earning his living as a writer at the age of twenty-seven. He lives in Montreal.
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Awards |
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| Man Booker Prize for Fiction |
| TAYSHAS High School Reading List [Texas] |
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General Subjects |
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Fiction- Literary
Fiction- Action & Adventure
Fiction- General
Juvenile Fiction- Action & Adventure
Juvenile Fiction- General
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Academic Disciplines & Course Studies |
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English Language & Literature- American Literature
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Rights Details |
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| Rights Sold: |
Selection of Book-of-the-Month Club and Quality Paperback Book Club
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| Rights Holders: |
Second Serial/Reprint: Harcourt
Canada: Random House Canada
UK: Canongate
Film/Translation: Westwood Creative Artists Ltd.
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Rights Information |
Harcourt Books
An imprint ofHarcourt Trade Publishers
A
Harcourt Education Company
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