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Description
The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. 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... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis
Summary
The novel begins with an author’s note describing a journey to India, where he meets a man named Francis Adirubasamy in a coffee house in Pondicherry. His response to the author’s claim that he needs inspiration is “I have a story that will make you believe in God.” After which he refers the... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Cast of Characters
- Piscine "Pi" Molitor Patel: Lead protagonist and narrator of the story.
- Richard Parker: A bengal tiger and companion to Pi.
- Francis Adirubasamy: The narrator's inspiration
- Santosh Patel: Add a description of this character.
Memorable Quotes
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“The three-toed sloth is not well informed about the outside world.”
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“The reason death sticks so closely to life isn’t biological necessity – it’s envy. Life is so beautiful that death has fallen in love with it...”
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“To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation.”
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“I must say a word about fear. It is life's only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life. It is a clever, treacherous adversary, how well I know. It has no decency, respects no law or convention, shows no mercy. It goes for your weakest spot, which it finds with unerring ease. It begins in your mind, always. One moment you are feeling calm, self-possessed, happy. Then fear disguised in the garb of mild-mannered doubt, slips into your mind like a spy. Doubt meets disbelief and disbelief tries to push it out. But disbelief is a poorly armed foot soldier. Doubt does away with it with little trouble. you become anxious. Reason comes to do battle for you. You are reassured. Reason is fully equipped with the latest weapons technology. But, to your amazement, despite superior tactics and a number of undeniable victories, reason is laid low. You feel yourself weakening, wavering. Your anxiety becomes dread.”
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“I know zoos are no longer in people’s good graces. Religion faces the same problem. Certain illusions about freedom plague them both.”
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“These gentle behemoths always lifted my spirtis. I was convinced that they understood my condition, that at the sight of me one of them exclaimed, "Oh! It's the castaway with the pussy cat Bamphoo was telling me about. Poor boy. Hope he has enough plankton. I must tell Mumphoo and Tomphoo and Stimphoo about him. I wonder of there isn't a ship around I could alert. His mother would be very happy to see him again. Goodbye, my boy. I'll try to help. My name's Pimphoo." And so, through the grapevine, every whale of the Pacific knew of me, and I would be saved long ago if Pimphoo hadn't sought help from the Japanese ship whose dastardly crew harpooned her, the same fate as befell Lamphoo at the hands of Norwegian ship. The hunting of whales is a heinous crime.”
First Sentence
My suffering left me sad and gloomy.
Table of Contents
Authors & Contributors
- Yann Martel (Author)
Awards
- Man Booker Prize (2002: Best novel written in English by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe, Winner)
- Hugh MacLennan Prize (2001: Fiction)
- Governor General's Literary Award (Finalist, 2001: Fiction)
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