Books are always better than the movie. I loved the Life of Pi movie, so I was surprised that the book could be SO much better than the most excellent movie. Written by Yann Martel, the story is a fantasy tale of a boy who is shipwrecked and shares a lifeboat with a grown Bengal tiger.
One aspect of the book that I liked was the case for animals living in zoos. One could argue that it’s bad for an animal not to be free and in in its own environment but Martel lays out solid biological reasons why a zoo isn’t such a bad thing with points that I hadn’t thought of before.
Martel uses luscious detail when describing the most banal things: the sky, the water, the small boat, the heat. I loved just rolling around in his words.
One part of the book that was not in the movie tickled me so much that I had to recite it to friends and family.
“Once upon a time there was a banana and it grew. It grew until it was large, firm, yellow and fragrant. Then it fell to the ground and someone came upon it and ate it.”
He stopped rowing. “What a beautiful story!”
“Thank you.”
“I have tears in my eyes.”
“I have another element,” I said.
“What is it?”
“The banana fell to the ground and someone came upon it and ate it—and afterwards that person felt better.”
“It takes the breath away!” he exclaimed.
Although this could be taken as a religious book, I did not read it as such. A wonderful tale.
