Some spoilers. But nothing mega, especially if you’ve seen
the film/ a trailer for the film, and get what it’s about anyway.
I wish it was easier to be positive about some books. But I
agreed to see the good in all the books I read, so here we go.
The beginning was actually very enjoyable. The story about a
little Indian boy named Piscine, whose family own a zoo and who struggles with
the many religions he is presented with is very endearing, funny and moving. I
especially enjoyed the chapter in which his religious beliefs are questioned by
three followers of the three religions he is trying to be a part of all at the
same time. Can you be a Christian, Muslim and Hindu all at once? I myself
follow none of these religions, but Piscine thinks you can for sure. The
language is lovely, despite it being told through an adult’s perspective,
there’s something pleasantly boy-ish about the way it’s written in the
beginning. Then we get to the middle. Which is the bit I had a problem with.
He’s stuck in a lifeboat, out at sea. With a big, 450 pound
tiger. It’s an interesting plotline, but this bit, where he’s out at sea, take
up the majority of the book. It drags. I sometimes felt I was on the lifeboat
with him. Pi’s practicality and the description of what it’s like to be at sea
for so horribly long is fantastic…I just wished there was a little less of it.
After trawling through the big chunk of sea-faring based plot, there’s a random
bit at the end with a man-eating island and suddenly we’re at the end, being
presented with the finale of the book through Japanese interpreters who’ve come
to question him about the sinking of the ship. It’s very sudden and abrupt. I
understand the point it was trying to make about the relativity of truth, which
was one good bit about the end. I saw a review on
Goodreads that made me laugh: LITTLE INDIAN BOY GOES ON WEIRD BOAT RIDE WITH
MEAN CAT. To me that’s exactly what it was (though the cat wasn’t so mean in
the end). And I’m not a particularly religious person either, so most of the
religious enlightenment it was supposed to hold washed over me too.
So overall, I loved the beginning, the middle (in my
opinion) needed chopping down a bit, and the end was short, abrupt, but sort of
finished things off nicely with a message about ‘what you can and can’t
believe’.
That was a surprisingly mean review from me. I’ll keep it
nicer next time. Sorry Yann Martel!
Maybe I’ll try one of your other books…
Over and out
No comments:
Post a Comment