Life Of Pi: A Novel

Piscine Molitor Patel, otherwise known as Pi, lives in Pondicherry, where his father runs and owns the city’s zoo. When he is sixteen, his parents decide to emigrate to Canada, taking their large family with them, but tragedy strikes when the cargo ship carrying them sinks during a terrible storm.

One solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild blue Pacific. In it are five survivors: Pi, a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a female orangutan and a 450-pound Royal Bengal Tiger. The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary pieces of literary fiction of 2002.

‘Those who would believe that the art of fiction is moribund—let them read Yann Martel with astonishment, delight and gratitude.’
—Alberto Manguel

‘Like Rohinton Mistry and Michael Ondaatje, Martel is a brilliant storyteller.’
—Vancouver Sun

‘The whole fantastic voyage carries hints of The Old Man and the Sea and the magic realism of Amado and Marquez and the absurdity of Beckett…. Yann Martel does a beautiful job.’
—Globe and Mail (Toronto)

‘Martel finds dazzling ways of expressing the hitherto unexpressed.’
—Mail on Sunday

‘Martel writes like a more compassionate Paul Auster.’
—Times Literary Supplement

‘Reminiscent of Italo Calvino.’
—Independent on Sunday

‘Martel is a bright…enthusiastic writer with an original, playful mind that he is not afraid to use.’
—Quill and Quire

‘Martel has an almost otherworldly talent. He is a powerful writer and storyteller.’
—Edmonton Journal

‘An outstanding storyteller.’
—Die welt des Buches (Germany)

‘Makes a fine argument for the divinity of good art.’
—Montreal Gazette

'A great read...among the better works of fiction to have been published in recent times.'
—The Pioneer

‘Part fantasy filled with fun and humour, part faction with lots and lots of facts about animals ranging from the sloth bear that sleeps and rests on average twenty hours a day to the cruel jaws of the nightmarish tiger shark, the novel speaks in fitting terms for the excellent storyteller in Yann Martel.’
—Deccan Herald

‘Life of Pi is a brilliant piece of literary fiction and provides one a stretch of continuous reading. Martel gives a free reign to his imagination…. What lingers is a sense of satisfaction.’
—Deccan Chronicle

‘With Yann Martel's Life of Pi, we have, at last, a possible contender for Julio Cortazar's throne.’
—Nilanjana S. Roy, Hindustan Times

‘Just when you thought the age of enchantment is over, fish don't fly, tigers can't roar and adventure has become a buzz word for the tourism industry, Yann Martel has conjured up a marvellous tale that contains all these elements and more.’
—Geeta Doctor, India Today