Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Reading the Novel

When I read the novel in college, for a Greek Mythology course, it disturbed me. I wanted so much to believe in the fantastical story being woven, but I couldn't quite believe. The story was set like a contemporary realistic fiction novel, but filled with almost too hard to believe elements; for example, the animals getting onto the lifeboat, the tiger not eating Pi, and the island. I wasn't sure where the novel was going. On one hand, I knew Pi would eventually make it back to land. On the other hand, those fantastical elements were a little much to swallow despite my love of fantasy. The island especially astonished me. Where was Martel going with this story?

My Copy of Life of Pi

If I remember right, my college professor warned us that the ending wouldn't be what we expected. I think I may have been rather caught up in trying to figure out where the story was going partially because of this warning. I spent a lot of my reading trying to prepare myself for an unexpected reading, and I still wasn't prepared. The theme left me unsettled: The Stories We Tell Ourselves. Throughout our class discussion, I knew I understood the theme, but I felt I was still missing something (or several things).

I was shocked. I knew there was more to the story novel and theme, yet I couldn't grasp it all. I couldn't explain why it bothered disturbed me so much- other than the feeling that I was missing its depth because I was so caught up in the obvious theme and that one sentence. I was wasn't sure what that theme meant for me. I was in shock from how the novel ended. I wanted to understand it.

Watching the Movie

Recently, several years after I read the novel that I couldn't bring myself to read again and had no desire to throw away, Ang Lee and countless other people brought the novel to life on the big screen. When I first saw the trailer, I thought about how people were either really going to love it or hate it. They'd love it because they'd be able to accept and be awed by the unexpected ending, or hate it because they would be expecting a fantastical world to be opened up to them instead of choosing which story to believe as a viewer. I admire Yann Martel giving his audience such a spectacular choice. That choice opens up our minds.

My second thought about the movie involved wanting to see it. For the first time, I wanted to see a book made into a movie (after reading the book). The trailer made it seem like they'd be true to the story, to that moment of choice. I wanted to see if they'd leave in that ending. I also wanted to see if I could learn more from the story seeing it as a movie, and I wanted to experience that gorgeous cinematography.

Sadly, I didn't see the movie until it was available to own on DVD and Blueray.

In the movie, the story is told in a pretty chronological order. I remember the novel being more reflective while he was lost at sea meaning that Pi thinks back to his life before moving while he's lost at sea. I think the story was easier to understand on the big screen since it was told in a more chronological manner. It was still reflective since the man playing adult Pi is telling his story to an author. The novel was first person compared to the big screen's third person narrative.

Watching Pi's story unfold once again, I did understand more. The movie version still left me uncomfortable in the same parts of the story. I realize now that I felt betrayed by the unexpected ending, by the fact that the magical world Pi shares may not be true real (even the scary parts like that island). I find the island symbolic of Pi's mental return to what reality will be like. He had to leave behind a part of himself in the ocean. A part of himself that helped him survive. That separation finishes occurring when Richard Parker (the adult Bengal tiger) leaves him on the beach without a goodbye.

Greater Understanding

Talking with my family about the story after viewing the film, I realized why the theme of Life of Pi is important. Remember, the theme is The Stories We Tell Ourselves. Pi presents the author listening to his story with two versions of his journey across the ocean. One story is fantastical and magical while the other story is harsh and pragmatic and very realistic.

As a reader, or film watcher, we choose which story we prefer. We also get to decide which story to believe. The story we choose reveals a lot about us as individuals, and that truth can be hard to face.

If I choose the fantastical story, then I have to face the reality that my view of the world, others, and myself may be fantastical. I may have created stories (views, opinions, etc) of myself, my life, my choices, and the world that are fantastical.

If I choose the harsh but more realistic story, I have to face a different set of shortcomings. I may be a harsh person. I may be far more cynical and cutthroat than I want to admit.

Of course, the truth of how the world is and how we really are as people is usually somewhere in between those two versions of the story, so we have to decide when we are too cynical and when we are too fantastical. By fantastical, I mean moments when we protect ourselves from reality and choose to be blind to things around us. By harsh, I mean moments when we disbelieve possible kindness and choose to be blind to  hope. Both are a kind of blindness to truth.

I also realized that some religious persons might struggle with Life of Pi because we have to face that reality that the stories of our religion may not be real; for example, I was raised to know that the story of Adam and Eve was symbolic. Adam and Eve's experience in the Garden of Eden probably didn't happen exactly as recorded in Genesis. It is a highly symbolic story meant to teach about how Satan tempts the Children of God, why the Children of God need Christ's Atonement, and humanity's decision making power (among other things). I was raised to know that the stories of my religion were meant to teach me and probably didn't happen exactly as recorded. I'm not sure everyone receives that kind of education about their own culture's stories. I imagine that realizing that your culture's stories could be false could be a world-perception shattering experience for some religious persons.

I'm grateful I learned more about myself and the story novel, Life of Pi, from watching the film. I feel so much more comfortable with the novel now that I am able to grasp some of the deeper concepts of the theme, The Stories We Tell Ourselves. I better understand myself because I can better address my flawed perceptions of reality. I also better appreciate God and the Gospel because Christ knows the truth that really exists between my human perceptions when I view a situation too fantastically or too harshly. Life of Pi has become a good example of why I love reading. When I read, I learn to think more clearly and to better understand myself, others, and the world.

Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card is one of my favorite authors because he isn't scared of emotion, nor is he scared to take his stories to the edges of known scientific understanding and manage to explain it. In speaking about his book, he wrote that he didn't avoid time paradoxes, and he doesn't.

Pathfinder was a stunning stunning exploration of agency: the choices we humans make and why. The book follows two plots: one in a future where humans leave earth to colonize a new planet and one that explores the life of the colonists' descendants. Card explores the ramifications of choices while playing with time paradoxes.

The story is a stunning visual of the ramifications of human character and the decisions we humans make and why. Rigg is a young man with an amazing ability to sense other living thing's paths: where they walked, stood, ate, died. Following his father's death, Rigg sets out to fulfill his father's last requests. Along the way, he makes friends and discovers that his world isn't what it first appears. Rigg and his friends must play the rules of a game set by imperfect people in roles of power.

I came away from the story remembering that there is a difference between right and wrong, intelligent life can justify many things by saying "for the good of the country (the people)," and the power of human ingenuity and integrity. Humility and integrity temper people in power. It people in power only have ambition, many horrible things can befall the people whom they are meant to protect.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Apparently I had two posts written about this book.


Post One:

Epic.

Written by James Dashner, I felt epic whenever I sat down to read. So many questions. You are asking questions right along with the main character, Thomas, who has lost his memory and wakes up in an elevator called The Box. At first, I was yelling (in my head) at the characters, "Just answer the stupid questions! No wonder he doesn't trust you!"

Thomas is trying to figure out where he is and why he is there. And no one gives him straight answers. They have their own jargon, and the reader is enthralled trying to understand what the characters are saying while trying to understand what is going on.

It's kids, teenagers, managing themselves and trying to find their way out of a giant maze.

The novel studies how kids act in stressful situations, how they live and survive, what order they cling to for survival, and when it's time to break the rules and do something different.

Halfway through, you know the novel is opening a dystopian world to your view. Dashner carefully builds his world. I felt a range of emotions: frustration that answers were so slow in coming even though you learn with every word, fear as you gasp at tense moments, triumph as the characters learn, mistrust, and frustration at the lack of trust between characters.


This is what I wrote after a few days of digesting the story.

Post Two:


It's a gripping tale. I left the book wanting the next one right away. I want to own the series even though I haven't read all the books. It's an epic tale. I was grateful to receive a few answers by the end of the book.  I wanted more answers sooner, but the given answers were good. The answers were a little rushed and left me wanting to know what happens next.

The characters are well developed. I look forward to seeing the adventures and trials of the characters. I am very invested emotionally because of Dashner's character development.

I felt frustrated with many of the characters at first. They wouldn't explain things to the main character and thus to me, the reader. They'd just tell Thomas, the main character, to wait. I was very frustrated along with Thomas.

For me, this book was about finding joy admist trials. It's aggravating. It was also about trusting yourself. Thomas finds himself in a new world, though he can't really remember where he's from and has to make a place for himself. The other boys, they call themselves Gladers, notice that he is different because so many strange things happen right after his arrival.

Thomas is driven to run the maze.  He feels it deep within his bones, so he pushes for it, but has to wait. He has to work to earn his place.

He learns  about himself- his character- as he makes sacrifices and pushes the other Gladers to step out of their comfort zones.

Matched Trilogy by Ally Condie

I was going to blog about each book separately, but once I started to reread Matched, I couldn't put it down. Now, I've finished the whole trilogy in about four days without a thought about blogging. No, I didn't accomplish much else over the last few days. It's a magnificent story.

It's a page turner (obviously, since I was so enthralled in the story). Ally Condie's prose is poetic and musical. It's a very psychological narrative. Matched is written from Cassia's point of view. Crossed is written from Ky's and Cassia's points of view. Reached is told from Xander's, Ky's, and Cassia's points of view. I found it very engaging as I followed each of their very personal changes. Condie leads readers to understand the characters and their choices.

The story is about the right to choose, the people we love and effect, and what we need to really live. In one of my favorite quotes in Matched, Cassia comments that the Society gives just enough to satiate people, but that it's not really living.

Cassia, Xander, and Ky live in the Society. Their data is collected and then analyzed. Choices are limited; optimal results are best.

One example of their limited choices is that citizens of the Society can choose whether to stay Single or be Matched.  Matched opens with Cassia's Matching Banquet. She is matched with Xander. Later, when she sits down to view the microcard of his information, another face is presented. Ky. And so begins Cassia's journey as she opens up and begins to look around her, to see more, and to wonder.

The story takes the reader to the Outer provinces of the Society, through the Carving, into the Rising against the Society, out of the Society, and into the heart of the Society. I liked that Condie took readers all over the world she'd created. I really liked how the reader sees the good and the bad of the Society, the Rising, and the characters. Condie did a fabulous job showing how people and society are complicated and intertwined.

When I finished reading Reached, I was satisfied. Condie didn't leave loose ends, and she led the reader to understand the decisions the characters make. The characters are believable and consistent yet not stagnant.

In Reached, I loved finally being inside Xander's head, but I was a little disappointed. I first envisioned him to be more cunning because of how much he loves using his skill in games and how well he uses and lives inside the Society (references to Matched and Crossed), but in Reached, Condie focuses on his more compassion, dependability.  I felt a little let down; however, as I ponder it more, I am grateful. It shows Xander's depth of character and keeps more with his character than I originally thought. I learned that we aren't just what we choose to share with the world, we, as individuals, are more, and we want to be seen for what we really are, for our depth.

On a fun note, the second letter of each book title is written abnormally (though very computer-like). The letters spell: ARE. I find this significant because of the themes of seeing people for their depth and feeling alive.

The final scene involves a city hall, like the place where Cassia's Matching banquet occurred (though in a different province). It is fitting. The story ends where it began, but shows how things have changed. The people are voting. Condie doesn't tell us the result of the vote, and that keeps with the themes of the books. It's about choice. The opportunity to choose no matter what you do with it. The right to choose.

To finish, I love the cover art. It's very symbolic and beautifully simple.