“Life of Pi” by Yann Martell
Reading Time: 5 minutes
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The Book Oversimplified
Life of Pi is the story of Piscine Molitor Patel; an Indian boy who ends up being a castaway on a lifeboat for 277 days with a tiger.
Quotes
“I know zoos are no longer in people’s good graces. Religion faces the same problem. Certain illusions about freedom plague them both.”
“To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation.”
“People move because of the wear and tear of anxiety. Because of the gnawing feeling that no matter how hard they work their efforts will yield nothing, that what they build up in one year will be torn down in one day by others. Because of the impression that the future is blocked up, that they might do all right but not their children. Because of the feeling that nothing will change, that happiness and prosperity are possible only somewhere else.”
Takeaways
Life of Pi is a book I wish I had written and I’m thankful I’ve read, with a great movie adaptation as icing on the cake. I know I’m weird, but reading the novel only after I’ve watched the film has undoubtedly improved my reading experience, as I’ve been able to taste the flavour of every perfectly crafted detail on every perfectly crafted page. If you’ve watched the film and you’re already frowning at the idea of getting invested in a story you already know, please ignore your instincts and give it a try. Would you say no to a delicious slice of chocolate fudge only because you already know the flavour of chocolate?
Once I turned the last page, I literally spent fifteen minutes trying to find a picture or an article about the real Pi Patel. No, I’m not proud of it, but Yann Martel should.
The question is: how did he do it? Let’s see if I can pinpoint a few symptoms of masterful writing from this sweet, award-winning novel.
1. The beginning. The first third of the book seems almost irrelevant when compared to the central part and third act, but it carries an unmissable function. It sets the tone and lets the reader get used to the unique voice of Pi Patel. it makes you believe that Yann Martel is just typing Pi’s words as they come out of his mouth. Pi has a very clear idea of what should and shouldn’t be told about his story. He places a great deal of importance on the origin of his name, on the zoo, and, most of all, on his irrational and disproportionate love for God. In fact, he is Christian, Muslim and Hindu, all at the same time, and by the time Pi and his family board the ship, the reader has absolutely no doubt Pi is a real human being—though the most peculiar one. While, stylistically, this first part lays the foundations for this daring first person narration to work its magic, on a deeper level, it intertwines the story with its themes. Grace and gratitude in the face of death, the best and the worst of human condition, the value of life and what each of us would do to stay alive. Love, God and the fairy-tale nature of what we tell to ourselves, hang around each page like appreciative ghosts from this first part to the rest of the book.
2. The details. In the entire novel, there is not one single detail out of place. Every metaphor is the metaphor of a God-fearing Indian teenager. Every observation is the observation of a scared boy trying to survive. The life-boat description is so accurate only a person who had to learn his way around it could write it, and the recalling of the sea and the sky is conveyed in such depth that only one who has nothing else to do could grasp. Nothing is left unplanned. The two stories—the one with animals and the one without animals—tie up perfectly in the end; even when unexplained. The way Pi recollects the events is not chronological, but thematic, which makes sense if you consider he’s telling a traumatic story happened decades before and in which he had no way to track the passing of time. Even the dream-like nature of the more fantastical scenes seems believable in the eyes of a malnourished and dehydrated teenager with little hope to survive. This made me think of a friend of mine who got lost and wandered in the desert for 3 days before someone found him and brought him to the nearest hospital. He, too, told me about his hallucinations, which were more real than the sun and the thirst, and I believed every word.
3. The Tiger. Richard Parker is treated and described as a magical creature, at times, and at times with scientific precision. The way Pi interacts with him shapes the emotional journey the reader is on.
4. The Illusionist's tricks. Life of Pi is not one long narration. It’s a composition of 3 different sources with 3 different points of view. Obviously, there’s Pi’s story, but along with it there are a few passages from the point of view of the author himself. First of all, he opens the novel with his story; the story of an uninspired writer who goes to India to find his tale and instead stumbles upon a new, much better one. Then, here and there, there are his descriptions of Pi and his house and his family and his cuisine; masterfully designed to make you think you’re reading a piece of non-fiction. Finally, there’s the interview transcription that ties it all together, the last piece of the puzzle to give an explanation even to the magic in the story. What is all of this if not the hand distracting the audience while the magician pulls out a rabbit from a hat?
Conclusion
Life of Pi is one of the best books I've read in the last 10 years and one of my favourite ever. It is also a splendid masterclass on first-person writing, point of view and story structure, precious if you want to improve your craft.
Alla prossima
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