The Life of Pi by Yann Martel (Paperback)

 The Life of Pi by Yann Martel (Paperback)

Yann Martel’s Life of Pi is the story of a young man who survives a harrowing shipwreck and months in a lifeboat with a large Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

The beginning of the novel covers Pi’s childhood and youth. His family owns and runs a zoo in their hometown in India, and his father is emphatic about being aware of the wildness and true nature of animals, namely that they are not meant to be treated like or thought of as people. Early in Pi’s life, his father realizes that his son’s naiveté about the tiger in their care may put Pi in danger. To illustrate how true and real the threat is, he forces the children to watch the tiger kill and eat a goat.

Pi goes through a significant religious awakening in his formative years, eventually subscribing to a variety of religions: Hinduism, Catholicism, and finally Islam. Although the religious leaders don’t accept Pi’s plural religions, his family gradually does, and he remains a devout follower of all his religious paths for his entire life.