"Life of Pi" Book and Movie Review!

Well I have completed "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel. . Let me start by saying that I was not really interested in reading this. Honestly if my brother didn't get it on audible (I use his account) I wouldn't have tried to get it on my own. That being said, I actually really enjoyed reading this. So here is a review, completely in my opinion, of the book and the movie. Before I start I should probably give you a mini-summary. It is a book about a young boy whose family runs a zoo in India. They are moving to Canada and because of all the animals, they are on a cargo ship. Something goes wrong with the ship and he ends up the only one off the ships. He tells his story of how he survived over 200 days stuck at sea with a tiger. The story is told from his perspective for the most part and also from the point of view of his therapist (I thought when reading), but in the movie it is someone who wants to write his story. All I know is that the voice changed between the two. That is basically it in a nutshell, without me getting too into detail and ruining anything for you. Sorry I am bad at summarizing, never was really good at it in middle school either.

The Book:
Like I said, I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed the book as much as I have. I liked it a bit more maybe because I was able to listen to it and it was so convenient for me most of the time. As for the actual content of the book, it was all beautifully written. Very detailed in a way that has you envisioning everything. But I feel like that may be a little misleading because it isn't very detailed at all. To me it was almost as if it was vague. There were parts where it went into full detail, such as about one of the fish changing colors when he killed it, but there were parts that were left strictly to the imagination. I understand this a little bit though, because how many times can you describe the same ocean? The book is very captivating. There were times when I just stopped what I was doing and just listened. I stood in place and I listened to the words being read to me. There were also parts that I listened to again, just because I can. I am sure I'm not the only one who has ever reread a passage from a book out there. The religion aspect that the book brings up also intrigues me. I really enjoyed hearing about all the different religions and it made me want to take a religion class, and even consider shifting my major. That detail was just enough for me because it wasn't so overbearing and in your face, it gave the perfect amount of information. Something that bothered me a little was that it took so long before he made it into the boat. The whole first half I believe was just background and his childhood and little excerpts from the therapist/writer. I was getting anxious and I think I missed some things because I was just plain impatient and wanted to get on with the story. After reading it though I appreciate it as a whole and it bothers me a little less.

The Movie:
Well, the movie is another story for me. I know that movies pretty much never live up to the book they are based on. It started off fairly accurate and I appreciated that. There was of course things that were added in there so that people who have never read the book get a little extra to better understand the movie. I wish they focused a little bit more on the childhood part of the book, considering it was such a big part. I was disappointed that they didn't add the few chapters that were about religion, they kind of just stuck him into it. They took out a couple of people that I liked in the book and that were the reason his parents found out about all his religion practicing. I missed that a bit. There was also a part that was a little bit more important, but obviously not important enough, while he was at sea that they completely disregarded. I don't want to ruin it for anyone if they are reading it, but they will see when they watch what I mean. It made no difference to the movie, but I remember that I was just waiting for it. Me and my brother who also read the book, were not the happiest about that. I understand that for time reason that they had to cut it out, but it was one of my favorite chapters. All I will say is that it involves an island, which we know by the fact that he makes it "home" that he doesn't stay on for long. It would have been cool to see the animation that would have been involved though. They missed some other things that I wasn't happy about, but I could deal with I guess.

Overall:
I think you should definitely get the book and read it and then watch it. I thought it would be heavy reading but it wasn't at all. Also the movie wasn't too bad if you want to watch it without reading. My mom and sister did that and they seemed to have enjoyed it more than me. The ending is very mind blowing (for me it was) because it has you thinking a bit. I remember I was in a daze for a bit after finishing the book and it hit me again when I watched the movie. Maybe it is just me because I get like that after reading, but because of those last couple of chapters I would recommend this book for anyone and everyone!


B/N I realize after rereading my book review that I contradicted myself a lot about the detailing of the writing, but I don't know any other way to say what I needed to say. Sorry if it is confusing, I just hope someone out there understands what I am saying. Also I should be working on my schoolwork seeing as finals are around the corner, so my mind is a bit scrambled!