Life of Pi - Discussion

Not exactly what we had in mind while reading the book!

Book:  Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Meeting Place:  Harrison's Brewery
Ratings:
Tracy - 2.75
Joyce - 2.5
Sherry - 2
Melissa - 2.25
Barbara - 4
Kathy - 2.5
Michaelene - 3
Average Rating:  2.71

BCDP:  For fun, Melissa brought a personality test which everyone took.  We were all named an animal with a personality description.  Fun!  Fun!  

Michaelene thought of an animal at the zoo and we went around the table to see who could guess it first.  Tracy guessed the right answer....polar bear!  She won a very clever compilation of items which created a survival kit.  In the survival kit were gummi worms, deodorant, shampoo, hand sanitizer, toothpaste, toothbrush, altoids, and mouth wash!  Plus, she got the honor of bringing the BCPK home! 

Book Discussion:  We agreed to finish eating our dinner before the discussion, since we were all grossed out at Pi eating tiger poo, turtle blood, turtle eggs, seaweed, etc.  The visual imagery was very interesting to all of us.  We could just picture the flying fish smacking into Pi and Richard Parker, and Richard Parker swatting at them and eating away.  We actually found some educational value in the book.  For example, we learned about zoo animals, and their feelings about being held captive.  We also learned about how packed and detail-oriented the life boat survival kit was.  Pi learned so much during his ordeal, and we enjoyed watching him finally tame Richard Parker.

Happy Birthday Joyce!

On the negative side, none of us understood why religion was even brought up in the beginning, since it had nothing to do with the outcome of the book.  Most of us felt disappointed with the ending. 

Recommendation:  Most of us agreed we would not recommend this book.  Michaelene and Tracy's kids loved the movie.  So instead of investing hours reading the book, check the movie out instead! 

Side note:  Happy birthday Joyce!  We brought cake in honor of Joyce aging another year!

Happy Birthday from Richard Parker!

February Book Selection - Michaelene

The Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Below is a description of the book (taken from Amazon) we will be reading in February.  We will discuss this book on Wednesday, February 27th.

The son of zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories.  When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes.

The ship sinks.  Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger.  Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea.  When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again.  The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth."  After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional--but is it more true?