Life of Pi Review | Teen Ink

Life of Pi Review MAG

January 31, 2011
By Markus SILVER, Boulder, Colorado
Markus SILVER, Boulder, Colorado
6 articles 0 photos 20 comments

Favorite Quote:
"He who is not willing to die for something is not fit to live" MLK


While I don't believe that Life of Pi is a perfect book by any standard, I'm rather annoyed with Mounica Porandla's review. In my opinion it put little focus on the greater themes and messages of the book.

In particular, I disliked Mounica's criticism of the survival story. I felt that the wandering, anecdote-filled odyssey that Pi told gave not only an interesting viewpoint into the prison-like life aboard the raft, but also retold and distilled classic original myths of major religions. Not to mention that each smaller story added up to the reveal at the end.

I think that Mounica's review lacked a deeper search for meaning at the end of the book. Both of Pi's stories were entirely possible, and yet his interviewers chose to believe the much more fantastical story that took up the majority of the book. In Mounica's words this was “the author saying that belief in God is more interesting than reality.” This is false. The author is saying that belief in a god, though less plausible than ­belief in the bare facts, allows humanity to perceive a more beautiful story. Similar to how Richard Parker's belief in Pi's dominance lent Pi power, belief in a divine force brings rhyme, reason, and motivation to an otherwise brutish and sparse existence.


The author's comments:
Personally I liked Life of Pi, and I felt that the criticisms leveled in the review published recently were not only misunderstanding the book, but genuinely unkind. If I were to criticize LoP, I would do more to talk about themes and level less insults against the survival genre and anecdote-focused structure.

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This article has 3 comments.


Markus SILVER said...
on Apr. 28 2011 at 9:09 am
Markus SILVER, Boulder, Colorado
6 articles 0 photos 20 comments

Favorite Quote:
"He who is not willing to die for something is not fit to live" MLK

Yeah, I read it as assigned reading but I really liked it. I think that the second reading of it really brings out the best of the book. 

Markus SILVER said...
on Apr. 18 2011 at 1:59 pm
Markus SILVER, Boulder, Colorado
6 articles 0 photos 20 comments

Favorite Quote:
"He who is not willing to die for something is not fit to live" MLK

Could the person who rated it one out of five stars tell me why? I actually love criticism. 

on Mar. 15 2011 at 3:42 pm
MidnightWriter SILVER, Ontario, Other
6 articles 0 photos 225 comments

Favorite Quote:
Writers are a less dangerous version of the career criminal. Everywhere they go, they see the potential for the perfect crime. The difference is that writers have better self control.

I read the whole thing the night before the test. Personally, I did not like it, but then again, It is not the genre I usually read. I am glad that you liked it.