Life of Pi

For my highest English class, Advanced 3, I proposed reading a book through out the course instead of bringing in short readings and the students really liked the idea. So back in October the students brought in some suggestions and in the end we couldn't decide between Life of Pi and The Giver.

We ended up flipping a coin to decide which book to read and the lucky winner was Life of Pi by Yann Martel. 

When we chose the book, I wasn't even aware that the movie was coming out, and I also hadn't realized that it was so popular. I had heard of it before and heard it was good so I was ok with reading it in class. 

The book starts with a prologue that leaves you with the idea that the whole story might even be actually based on real life events, however it's highly unlikely.  The beginning is quite slow and I would say a little difficult to get into, but once you start it's hard to put down. 

Even though the majority of the book takes place on a boat and you feel like there are only so many things that can happen when you're stranded in the middle of the ocean, the story moves along and is interesting to read. Many of my students complained that they were tired of reading and reading and reading about the life boat, fishing, catching rain water, staying away from the tiger, that the story got very boring. This is completely understandable especially if you must read slower than usual and over a few months it feels as if the story just drags on. 

I was frustrated with the ending, because I was hoping for something much for climatic. When I finished the book I felt short-handed, like I wanted a sequel to find out what happens to the main character afterwards. So many pages of reading about life on a boat, just to finish the story so abruptly with no solid conclusion was disappointing. 

I would recommend this book for a light, enjoyable read, simply for pleasure.