So I've finished Part 1 and I must say, it was not what I thought at all.
The chapters in italics I am not understanding. Hopefully, that will gel.
Some comments I liked. Chapter 4, referring to the zoo, "Now it's so small it fits in my head". Hmmm, how many things were SO big as a child then when you return, they are SO small. And some things you can't go back to and so must stay in your head.
Another from Chapter 4 "an orangutan pick through your hair looking for tick snacks". Oh those yummy TICK SNACKS!
Chapter 17 - The whole paragraph beginning "This Son, on the other hand, goes hungry....". You're told over and over about God becoming man but this paragraph made me "get it".
Chapter 26 - "I would like to be baptized and I would like a prayer rug" - chuckle, chuckle. Plus the "go see your mother" part and mother's response. Funny.
I have started Part 2 and it does pick up in a hurry and become the Adventure story I thought it would be.
I've finished Part I now, as well. I wasn't sure what to expect thus had no expectations to be disappointed. I really like this first part, actually. I love the discussions of the animals at the zoo and animal behavior and also really like the way he discusses religion. I'm not thrilled with the short chapters, but that is just one of my pet peeves.
I figure the chapters in italics are the authors asides about interviewing the man; descriptions of him, his home, and the writer's ideas about the story.
There were several comments I wanted to highlight in addition to those that Joy mentions:
Chapter 1: "Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer-drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex, chess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science." That pretty much sums up the political scientists I know. :-)
Chapter 3: The discussion of the pools really grossed me out. Who would swim in that? Ick.
Chapter 5: The "Ian Hoolihan" story had me cracking up.
Chapter 7: The description of agnostics in the last paragraph pretty much sums up my feelings of agnostics too.
Chapter 17: The categorization of religions based on the number of gods, level of violence, and quality of the schools is great. I love it.
Not sure where this is in the book but I like the explanation of how the lion got his name and throughout the rest of the book, the lion is known as "Richard Parker", never Richard or Rich or Dick. We had a cow like this when I was little, it was named "Charlie Becker" (since that is who we got it from) and we always referred to the cow as "Charlie Becker". And then at the end, why the name had to be "human".
Part 2 I stormed through Part 2 and so didn't write a lot down. Here is what was noteworthy.
Chapter 57 "his secret" that he did not want Richard Parker to die, since then ALL hope was lost.
Chapter 61 "I never forget to include this fish in my prayers".
ALL of Chapter 78 - loved it.
Part 3 I just love the Chinese translation - deep down, when someone is speaking a language you don't understand, you know there is a REASON! It's about you or totally stupid (like When's lunch?)
And I must say, I thought about the ending of this book for days. And went back to the beginning and read all the italics chapters.
Like M, I enjoyed part one's descriptions of the zoo, the animals, and the family interaction. I especially loved chapter 23 where they ran into the priest, imam and pandit. I could just *see* poor Pi's expression as they were all walking toward him. I also liked how Ravi teased him about it; seemed very true to sibling relationships at that age.
Did anyone else picture the movie Titanic when the ship was sinking?
I really liked Pi's plans for what to do with Richard Parker. The Kill Him With Morphine was my favorite. I also enjoyed the inventory that he wrote. It occurred to me that the boat was very well stocked for survival at sea, and how different (more difficult) it would have been if Pi had had to share any of the water/blankets, etc with another person. The end of the zebra was very disturbing for me. I read that section so fast my eyes were almost spinning; I can't imagine having to listen to/view it.
I have about 50 pages left, should finish tonight.
I really loved this book. However, I returned it to the library before commenting on our blog. Shame on me. My memory is not that great. I need to start writing things down.
In the first part of the book, I liked Pi's discussion of animals. My mother-in-law is always saying that humans try to give animals characteristic traits and "humanize" them. Although I have had many a pet that has been a faithful friend. They are still animals. Reading this section helped reinforce that knowledge and confirm that my mother-in-law, as insane as she is, does not always babble rubbish.
I also found it interesting that when the animals escaped they most often returned to their cages because it had become home to them. I liked when Pi compared removing an animal from his cage to give the animal his freedom to kicking a human out of his home. Boy would I be ticked if someone tried to evict me.
I never saw part two coming. The description on the back of the book said nothing of a shipwreck and I was total taken by surprise. Yes, Angie, Titanic did cross my mind. This part is where I really became interested in the book. I can't imagine being on a boat lost in the ocean for so long. Especially with Richard Parker. Then there was the carnivorous island. Wow. I would have had a hard time leaving the island even if it was going to eat me. For the longest time, I questioned whether or not this story was fiction. But, then I realized that as much as I wanted it to be true, no man could survive such an ordeal. Even one who has had training for such events and Pi certainly had no training. Part 3 wrapped everything up nicely. I wonder if Pi ever got over hoarding food. I kept being reminded of the show hoarders everytime Pi pulled a cookie out from under his blanket. Like Pi, I was sorry to see Richard Parker part the way he did. I had hoped that they would live out their life together like old friends. But, there I go humanizing animals again.
I have 80 pages left and should finish this weekend. Honestly, I've gotten a little bogged down in Part II. Unlike Joy, I liked Part I but am ready for Part II to end and for Pi to be rescued.
I wasn't picturing the titanic when the ship sank; I think because I was hung up on the second line of Chapter 37: "It made a sound like a monstrous metallic burp." I love that discription.
Like A, I find the end of the zebra and descriptions of other dying/suffering animals in Part II to be rather difficult and that is impacting how much I like the book. Logically, I understand that these things happen but I just don't want to read about them.
Other parts also kind-of grossed me out. For example, the discussion of how delicious his urine seemed in Ch. 59, fondling feces in Ch. 76, eating the webbing between turtles feet in Ch. 77, trying R.Ps feces...
Also, I really didn't care for Ch. 90 with the hallucinated conversation between R.P. and Pi. This seemed endless and to go nowhere.
The flying fish in Ch. 61 and throughoug Part II reminded me of the Asian carp issues in this part of the country. The Asian carp also jump out of the water and have actually injured boaters from hits.
I did love the training program in Ch. 71: "...provoke your animal, but only so much. You don't want it to attack you outright. If it does, God be with you. You will be torn to pieces, trampled flat, disembowled, very likely eaten. You don't want that. You want an animal that is piqued, peeved, vexed, bothered, irked, annoyed- but not homicidal." Boy, doesn't that sound like a thin line to ride?
Did everyone read the Author's note before starting the book? I was quite disappointed with the book because the note, which I read first, set the book up to be a retelling of an actual event. This is not the case. In my opinion, this blurb should not have been called an author's note, but a prologue. The "special thanks" given to the Japanese interviewers, etc.. also add to the illusion and in my opinion really detract from what otherwise is a masterfully written novel. What really gets me is that it is intentional misdirection that doesn’t become obvious until near the end of the book.
Here's an interview with Yann Martel http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Books/story?id=124838&page=1 "The whole novel came to me in twenty minutes, half an hour, story, theme, incidents, everything: the family, the zoo, the ship, the sinking, the blind Frenchman, the island, the Japanese, the two stories, the idea that life is an interpretation, that between us and reality lies our imagination, which shapes our vision of reality and why not believe the better story, etc. I spent the next four years doing research and writing the novel."
I found one discrepancy regarding the algae island. If the algae turned so acidic at night that the small sample he brought away from the island ate through the rope, how is it that the boat remained anchored to the oar that was jammed into it? Wouldn't the algae have dissolved the oar over all those many nights they stayed on the island?
I liked the interview transcription in the last chapters – the men made me giggle, especially about the bonsai trees. Leave your uncle’s trees out of this! Haha. I wish he had included more excerpts from the journal Pi kept.
As far as the two stories, I am undecided as to which Martel wants us to think is the “real” one. Personally I’m leaning towards the one with the 4 people. If that were the case, it prompts the reader to re-read the story, substituting people for animals, and really analyzing all of Pi’s interactions with Richard Parker as interactions with his more violent/starved/seawolf self.
Other than my BIG beef with the Author’s Note, I enjoyed it.
I actually sat down and finished right after I posted that comment yesterday but am just getting back on now to finish up.
First, A, I did read the author's note first and it did generate some confusion for me as well. However, I look at this as just another part of the novel- granted, it would have been clearer had it been a prologue instead of an author's note. But isn't part of the fun not knowing whether it is true or not?
Like T, I was disappointed with the disappearance of R.P. with no real farewell. I had also hoped they would live out their lives together. I'm always looking for that happy ending. Well, except for A's picks, since they rarely have a happy ending... :-)
Which brings me to A's question about which story we are expected to believe? I took it that the animal story was the real story and he told the people story to illustrate how people are like animals and vice versa, but that people won't believe a story like that about animals. If it really was about people, why the whole section about the zoo and animal behaviors to start? I definitely like the story better with animals.
I think the third part was my favorite. I also liked the "transcripts" and the asides by the interviewers. Especially when in their official report they went with the animal version. And my favorite part of Part III: "'Everthing was normal and then...' 'Then normal sank.'" :-)
I also found the reference to the 100 chapters (Ch. 94) to be interesting since it was written in 100 chapters. I wonder how hard it is to structure a book into a specific number of chapters?
8 comments:
So I've finished Part 1 and I must say, it was not what I thought at all.
The chapters in italics I am not understanding. Hopefully, that will gel.
Some comments I liked.
Chapter 4, referring to the zoo, "Now it's so small it fits in my head". Hmmm, how many things were SO big as a child then when you return, they are SO small. And some things you can't go back to and so must stay in your head.
Another from Chapter 4 "an orangutan pick through your hair looking for tick snacks". Oh those yummy TICK SNACKS!
Chapter 17 - The whole paragraph beginning "This Son, on the other hand, goes hungry....". You're told over and over about God becoming man but this paragraph made me "get it".
Chapter 26 - "I would like to be baptized and I would like a prayer rug" - chuckle, chuckle. Plus the "go see your mother" part and mother's response. Funny.
I have started Part 2 and it does pick up in a hurry and become the Adventure story I thought it would be.
I've finished Part I now, as well. I wasn't sure what to expect thus had no expectations to be disappointed. I really like this first part, actually. I love the discussions of the animals at the zoo and animal behavior and also really like the way he discusses religion. I'm not thrilled with the short chapters, but that is just one of my pet peeves.
I figure the chapters in italics are the authors asides about interviewing the man; descriptions of him, his home, and the writer's ideas about the story.
There were several comments I wanted to highlight in addition to those that Joy mentions:
Chapter 1: "Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer-drinking lot whose minds are preoccupied with sex, chess and baseball when they are not preoccupied with science." That pretty much sums up the political scientists I know. :-)
Chapter 3: The discussion of the pools really grossed me out. Who would swim in that? Ick.
Chapter 5: The "Ian Hoolihan" story had me cracking up.
Chapter 7: The description of agnostics in the last paragraph pretty much sums up my feelings of agnostics too.
Chapter 17: The categorization of religions based on the number of gods, level of violence, and quality of the schools is great. I love it.
On to Part 2.
Not sure where this is in the book but I like the explanation of how the lion got his name and throughout the rest of the book, the lion is known as "Richard Parker", never Richard or Rich or Dick. We had a cow like this when I was little, it was named "Charlie Becker" (since that is who we got it from) and we always referred to the cow as "Charlie Becker". And then at the end, why the name had to be "human".
Part 2
I stormed through Part 2 and so didn't write a lot down. Here is what was noteworthy.
Chapter 57
"his secret" that he did not want Richard Parker to die, since then ALL hope was lost.
Chapter 61
"I never forget to include this fish in my prayers".
ALL of Chapter 78 - loved it.
Part 3
I just love the Chinese translation - deep down, when someone is speaking a language you don't understand, you know there is a REASON! It's about you or totally stupid (like When's lunch?)
And I must say, I thought about the ending of this book for days. And went back to the beginning and read all the italics chapters.
I LOVED THIS BOOK!
Like M, I enjoyed part one's descriptions of the zoo, the animals, and the family interaction. I especially loved chapter 23 where they ran into the priest, imam and pandit. I could just *see* poor Pi's expression as they were all walking toward him. I also liked how Ravi teased him about it; seemed very true to sibling relationships at that age.
Did anyone else picture the movie Titanic when the ship was sinking?
I really liked Pi's plans for what to do with Richard Parker. The Kill Him With Morphine was my favorite. I also enjoyed the inventory that he wrote. It occurred to me that the boat was very well stocked for survival at sea, and how different (more difficult) it would have been if Pi had had to share any of the water/blankets, etc with another person. The end of the zebra was very disturbing for me. I read that section so fast my eyes were almost spinning; I can't imagine having to listen to/view it.
I have about 50 pages left, should finish tonight.
I really loved this book. However, I returned it to the library before commenting on our blog. Shame on me. My memory is not that great. I need to start writing things down.
In the first part of the book, I liked Pi's discussion of animals. My mother-in-law is always saying that humans try to give animals characteristic traits and "humanize" them. Although I have had many a pet that has been a faithful friend. They are still animals. Reading this section helped reinforce that knowledge and confirm that my mother-in-law, as insane as she is, does not always babble rubbish.
I also found it interesting that when the animals escaped they most often returned to their cages because it had become home to them. I liked when Pi compared removing an animal from his cage to give the animal his freedom to kicking a human out of his home. Boy would I be ticked if someone tried to evict me.
I never saw part two coming. The description on the back of the book said nothing of a shipwreck and I was total taken by surprise. Yes, Angie, Titanic did cross my mind. This part is where I really became interested in the book. I can't imagine being on a boat lost in the ocean for so long. Especially with Richard Parker. Then there was the carnivorous island. Wow. I would have had a hard time leaving the island even if it was going to eat me. For the longest time, I questioned whether or not this story was fiction. But, then I realized that as much as I wanted it to be true, no man could survive such an ordeal. Even one who has had training for such events and Pi certainly had no training.
Part 3 wrapped everything up nicely. I wonder if Pi ever got over hoarding food. I kept being reminded of the show hoarders everytime Pi pulled a cookie out from under his blanket. Like Pi, I was sorry to see Richard Parker part the way he did. I had hoped that they would live out their life together like old friends. But, there I go humanizing animals again.
Great pick Joy. I really enjoyed it.
I have 80 pages left and should finish this weekend. Honestly, I've gotten a little bogged down in Part II. Unlike Joy, I liked Part I but am ready for Part II to end and for Pi to be rescued.
I wasn't picturing the titanic when the ship sank; I think because I was hung up on the second line of Chapter 37: "It made a sound like a monstrous metallic burp." I love that discription.
Like A, I find the end of the zebra and descriptions of other dying/suffering animals in Part II to be rather difficult and that is impacting how much I like the book. Logically, I understand that these things happen but I just don't want to read about them.
Other parts also kind-of grossed me out. For example, the discussion of how delicious his urine seemed in Ch. 59, fondling feces in Ch. 76, eating the webbing between turtles feet in Ch. 77, trying R.Ps feces...
Also, I really didn't care for Ch. 90 with the hallucinated conversation between R.P. and Pi. This seemed endless and to go nowhere.
The flying fish in Ch. 61 and throughoug Part II reminded me of the Asian carp issues in this part of the country. The Asian carp also jump out of the water and have actually injured boaters from hits.
I did love the training program in Ch. 71: "...provoke your animal, but only so much. You don't want it to attack you outright. If it does, God be with you. You will be torn to pieces, trampled flat, disembowled, very likely eaten. You don't want that. You want an animal that is piqued, peeved, vexed, bothered, irked, annoyed- but not homicidal." Boy, doesn't that sound like a thin line to ride?
Spoiler Alert.
Did everyone read the Author's note before starting the book? I was quite disappointed with the book because the note, which I read first, set the book up to be a retelling of an actual event. This is not the case. In my opinion, this blurb should not have been called an author's note, but a prologue. The "special thanks" given to the Japanese interviewers, etc.. also add to the illusion and in my opinion really detract from what otherwise is a masterfully written novel. What really gets me is that it is intentional misdirection that doesn’t become obvious until near the end of the book.
Here's an interview with Yann Martel
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Books/story?id=124838&page=1
"The whole novel came to me in twenty minutes, half an hour, story, theme, incidents, everything: the family, the zoo, the ship, the sinking, the blind Frenchman, the island, the Japanese, the two stories, the idea that life is an interpretation, that between us and reality lies our imagination, which shapes our vision of reality and why not believe the better story, etc. I spent the next four years doing research and writing the novel."
I found one discrepancy regarding the algae island. If the algae turned so acidic at night that the small sample he brought away from the island ate through the rope, how is it that the boat remained anchored to the oar that was jammed into it? Wouldn't the algae have dissolved the oar over all those many nights they stayed on the island?
I liked the interview transcription in the last chapters – the men made me giggle, especially about the bonsai trees. Leave your uncle’s trees out of this! Haha.
I wish he had included more excerpts from the journal Pi kept.
As far as the two stories, I am undecided as to which Martel wants us to think is the “real” one. Personally I’m leaning towards the one with the 4 people. If that were the case, it prompts the reader to re-read the story, substituting people for animals, and really analyzing all of Pi’s interactions with Richard Parker as interactions with his more violent/starved/seawolf self.
Other than my BIG beef with the Author’s Note, I enjoyed it.
Looks like a movie is in the works for 2012.
I actually sat down and finished right after I posted that comment yesterday but am just getting back on now to finish up.
First, A, I did read the author's note first and it did generate some confusion for me as well. However, I look at this as just another part of the novel- granted, it would have been clearer had it been a prologue instead of an author's note. But isn't part of the fun not knowing whether it is true or not?
Like T, I was disappointed with the disappearance of R.P. with no real farewell. I had also hoped they would live out their lives together. I'm always looking for that happy ending. Well, except for A's picks, since they rarely have a happy ending... :-)
Which brings me to A's question about which story we are expected to believe? I took it that the animal story was the real story and he told the people story to illustrate how people are like animals and vice versa, but that people won't believe a story like that about animals. If it really was about people, why the whole section about the zoo and animal behaviors to start? I definitely like the story better with animals.
I think the third part was my favorite. I also liked the "transcripts" and the asides by the interviewers. Especially when in their official report they went with the animal version.
And my favorite part of Part III: "'Everthing was normal and then...' 'Then normal sank.'" :-)
I also found the reference to the 100 chapters (Ch. 94) to be interesting since it was written in 100 chapters. I wonder how hard it is to structure a book into a specific number of chapters?
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