'Life of Pi' by Yann Martel (book)

Surrealist and beyond the classification of genre, Life of Pi is a fable (there you go, I tried) that deserves to be read and re-read.

Set initially in Pondicherry, the former French enclave on the east coast of India, our narrator and protagonist is a teenage boy named Piscine Molitor Patel. This name is the cue for many jokes from his school mates of predictable content - he gains the nickname 'Pissing' amongst others.

In an attempt to confound them, he shortens it to Pi, the number that supposedly holds the key to many unresolved questions of the universe. Indeed, the first third of the book largely consists of Pi exploring both religious and atheist philosophies, as if the name were a tag to live up to.

Simultaneously, he faces physical challenges of his own from his stubborn father, a zookeeper, who insists that Pi learn from the animals he keeps about the ruthlessness of survival of the fittest.

This knowledge soon becomes extremely relevant when Pi's father decides to move the family to Canada. All seems set fair on their journey by sea until an accident leaves Pi shipwrecked and seemingly alone.

It is at this point that the tale becomes one of the battle between a young man's de-hydrated and starved logical mind and his overactive imagination. Given the aforementioned surrealism of the novel and that he spends most of his time on the lifeboat in the company of a Bengal tiger, it is fairly easy to guess which of these wins.

In amongst the wreckage, both literal and metaphorical, of Pi's previous life are fragments of hope and courage. Even upon arrival at a mysterious tropical island, which seems to offer a safe haven, Pi remains an unselfish and sympathetic character.

Yet, Life of Pi remains open in its exploration of the darker aspects of basic survival. Despite asking much of Pi, he, and ultimately us as the readers are left with as many questions as answers at the end of the book.

Whilst this is frustrating, it also offers space for further exploration. At times I felt that Life of Pi was a bit too pleased with itself but for the most part it is an intriguing story and remarkably readable given the size of its ideas.

It is also one of the few Booker Prize winning novels that is not completely impenetrable. I now look forward to seeing if Ang Lee's film adaptation lives up to its source material.

PS: Merry Christmas to one and all!