Spring was in the air and the evening breeze called me out of my house to find what the coming night had to offer. It told me I could find adventure; I could find excitement; I could even possibly find love. I found instead a book.
Restlessness thrashed at the core of my being, as there were many changes happening in my life during this time. I set out to find a means of occupying my mind. I wandered into a book store on Main Street that I don’t usually frequent due to their lack of selection of used books. I asked the two men chatting near the register what book might help my current emotional unrest.
One man suggested a few humorous tales by his favourite author while the other scanned the the book laden table near the large window at the front of the shop. I told the first man that I was looking for something a little “pagier” that could keep me from thinking about my own problems in life. The second man picked up Life of Pi by Yann Martel. “This is a story about a kid that gets stuck on a life boat with a tiger” he said. I thought it would be interesting, so I purchased it.
Many, many changes have occurred in my life since that night. School had taken the front seat, living arrangements changed numerous times and many miracles and disappointments occurred during the next year. I had to put off leisure reading while these dramatic changes took place. I finally finished the book a few nights ago. What a book.
The first few chapters are slow but they build up the character so well that the slow rise in anticipation never becomes boring. It starts at a zoo in India where Pi Patel, the main character, grows to the ripe age of fifteen. On his journey to man-hood he is exposed to three spiritual paths to God and even teaches his mentors a thing or two about love. He practices Hindu, Islam, and Christianity with no inner conflict regarding so-called true faith.
A wonderful display of his faith in action is when he is faced with his three spiritual leaders asking him to choose which path is his truth, he simply tells them “I just want to love God” (87). The priest, the pandit and the imam are speechless. This anecdote shows that their is no brand of religion that can hold up against a person’s own unique spiritual path. Belief in oneself is the best faith to have.
The zoo is sold as political dissent falls upon his native homeland. The family sets sail for their new home in Canada, unaware that tragedy is waiting for them. The adventure then begins with a dangerous lesson in the fault of anthropomorphizing animals. The ship sinks and Pi is stuck on a life boat with a tiger. For the next 277 days, Pi’s journey takes an interesting turn as he realizes his own survival depends on the tiger’s very presence on the life boat.
The tale is one so unbelievable that it gets the reader thinking it just might be crazy enough to be true. The very depth of the human soul is laid out to explore. The limits of man and the power of nature are displayed side by side in such a way as to invoke awe at both. Pi’s journey is a tale for all people needing to find their own strengths in life.
The book invokes a wonderful soliloquy regarding the human condition. This book is truly about survival and tragedy, love and hate, and faith and fear. By far, this is one of the best books I have ever read. Thought and emotion provoking, the book takes the reader on a ride across the Pacific Ocean and right into the heart of faith.
