Life of Pi is the second novel by Canadian author Yann Martel. It tells the story the 227-day ordeal, in a lifeboat with a 450 pound Royal Bengal tiger, of a sixteen-year-old Indian youth, Piscine Molitor Patel (Pi). It is told in three parts: Pis youth in Pondicherry at his fathers zoo and the Patel familys decision to emigrate to Canada; the sinking of the ship and Pis sojourn on the lifeboat; and Pis interview by officials from the Japanese Ministry of Transport, in an Infirmary in Mexico; the authors notes about his meetings with Pi, the Japanese official who interviewed Pi and the family friend of the Patels who first alerted him to the story, lend an authenticity to the novel. Martels story touches on theology, zoology, human behaviour, sanity and the will to survive, and his meticulous research into his subjects is apparent in every chapter. With lyrical prose, Martel describes Pis encounters with fish, turtles, birds and whales, as well as the quality of the sky, the sea and the wind. Pis experience with the floating algae island proves that anything that seems too good to be true, usually is. My favourite scene was the encounter on the seaside esplanade of Pis parents, the pundit, the imam and the priest, especially the effect of Pis last words on the holy men. The objections that the incredulous Japanese officials cite to Pis fantastic story are quite amusing; the alternate version that Pi offers them, on the other hand, is certainly sobering. Martels imagery is evocative: I believe it was this that saved my life that morning, that I was quite literally dying of thirst. Now that the word had popped into my head I couldnt think of anything else, as if the word itself were salty and the more I thought of it, the worse the effect. And he occasionally has Pi very succinctly describing his predicament: ...to be a castaway is to be caught up in grim and exhausting opposites. , Life on a lifeboat isnt much of a life. There is horror in this story, but also much humanity and humour is laced throughout. Highly original, funny and thought-provoking.