Since I got myself so burned out on reading books at a radical pace, I've been doing my best to moderate the amount that I read each day. Which basically means that it takes me three days to finish a book instead of 1 or 2. I can't really promise that it's working out because I've learned self control. I'm fairly certain that the only reason I have been able to do it this way is because I'm a tired old lady. Reading on my lunch breaks and the little bit before bed that I can squeeze in before I fall over with exhaustion. Or before Nick goes to bed. He makes it so much more inviting to go to sleep instead of reading. At any rate, I finished Life of Pi last night after starting it Sunday I think? Not really important. Somehow I ended up with a Kindle version that had random pictures in it every once in a while as well. Which is also equally unimportant, but I found it very odd to see pictures in the story on my Kindle.
Something I've been asking myself is why I even bothered reading Life of Pi? I've had absolutely no interest in the book the entire time it's been out. Not even through all the excitement about the movie or anything. So, why now? I decided that it's because the book I really wanted to read made me go on a waiting list, and so I just picked something to read in the interim. Regretfully enough, it wasn't the best decision I've made.
There will be no spoilers in this review, but I'll tell you that I'd like to. Pi Patel is a strange, affected character. A boy with a religious zeal not to be questioned. I never really quite decided whether I liked him as a character or whether he was just a bit too outlandish and unrealistic for my tastes. The book itself consists of a few different sections that detail different phases in Pi's life, with a couple of random interjections by the man who is interviewing Pi. The final section is the one that really kind of sealed my initial dislike of the book. It's the story of being a castaway and the sole survivor of the boat that his family was traveling from India to Canada on. Some parts of it were plain ridiculous, and others were far to detailed for any reason at all. I get the idea of wanting the reader to almost be able to feel what is happening, but gruesome descriptions are too much for me. And the end.. The end just made me angry. It made the whole irregularity of the rest of the story begin to make sense and clear up, but still. Lame.
Either way, it is a critically acclaimed novel, and now a full-length film. Many people have really enjoyed it, and I'm sure found greater significance in it than I did. I know that someone mentioned having recently watched the movie and liking it, which I doubt I will ever purposely do. I think that I'll give this a 2 out of 5 on Goodreads. The writing is good, I'll definitely give you that. Yann Martel is gifted with words. I may look into reading some of his other works another time. Right now I'm reading Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter, and it's coming along fairly well. Since the sky has decided to break open and pour down a very noisy and lightning filled rainstorm I'll probably be up a while. Progress is in my future. Happy Reading to you all.
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