Life of Pi by Yann Martel

I cannot say enough good things about this book. It is absolutely exquisite! This was my second time through it, and I was surprised to find myself even more captivated by the magic weaved by Yann Martel than the first time I read it.

First off, the plot itself is fascinating and extremely unique. There is nothing else to say beyond that. It’s simply a wonderful story.

Secondly, Yann Martel is a magnificent writer. With every turn of the page I found myself stopping at some especially beautiful metaphor or a particularly interesting sentence to savor the way in which Martel turns the words into art. Take this passage, for instance: “There were many seas. The sea roared like a tiger. The sea whispered in your ear like a friend telling you secrets. The sea clinked like small change in a pocket. The sea thundered like avalanches. The sea hissed like sandpaper working on wood. The sea sounded like someone vomiting. The sea was dead silent.” Is it just me, or does this passage make your heart skip a beat as well?

Lastly, this book was thought provoking, which is the most important attribute that a book can have. It made me ponder survival and the overwhelming desire of living things to live, despite any misery that comes. It caused me to realize that nothing in life is objective. Each event that occurs in life is seen differently by each of its participants because each person has a different past that taints their view. Because of the individual, experience-tinted glasses through which each of us see the world, everyone sees a different story. Most importantly, it helped me to draw closer to God. It reminded me how it feels to have a personal relationship with deity and reminded me that doctrine is not the most important thing. What really matters is having the Spirit of God constantly in your life.

Favorite Quotes:

"The lower you are, the higher your mind will want ot soar."

"To chose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation."

"The reason death sticks so closely to life isn't biological necessity - it's envy. Life is so beautiful that death has fallen in love with it, a jealous possessive love that grabs at what it can."

"Bapu Gandhi said, 'All religions are true.' I just want to love God,"

"Hindus, in their capacity for love, are indeed hairless Christians, just as Muslims, in the way they see God in everything, are bearded Hindus, and Christians, in their devotion to God, are hat-wearing Muslims."