Loving Pi

I have heard about Life of Pi for years, and for many years it has been on my ‘books to read’ list. I had no idea what this book would be about; I honestly expected some sort of math related book (having Pi in the title and all). However, the book exceeded all previous notions I had made. The book helped me realize that I can make it through any trial and that God loves his children. He loves his children who are Hindu, Christian, Muslim, and the ones who practice all three.
I thought the set up of the novel as Pi retelling his story was an excellent choice. By setting the story in such realistic circumstances it made the story come to life. At first, I didn’t even notice that it was just a novel, and believed that Yann Martel was really recounting a story he had once heard. This format drew me in at once. I was slightly disappointed when I learned that it was simply a novel. However, Yann Martel’s superb story telling ability is evident throughout.
A captivating element of his story is the promise in the beginning, “I have a story that will make you believe in God” (Martel x). Pi’s tale of survival in the ocean would have been a great story, but Martel wants to enrich our lives in a way an adventure story alone cannot. Pi spends a great deal of time learning about different religions and then practicing the things he’s learned. He states it simply, “I just want to love God” (Martel 66). Loving God is at the heart of many religions despite other differences they may have. From this, I gather that we should love one another and embraces our similarities rather than dispute our differences.
As human beings we all share a common bond of humanity. Martel takes that one step further and creates a bond between Pi and his animals, Richard Parker in particular. While the relationship is not always the same between animals and humans, Pi learns that neither he nor Richard Parker could not survive on their own so instead of trying to kill him, he’d learn how to live with his furry friend. By the end of the story, Pi goes from being terrified of this tiger to missing him deeply when he goes. We can draw a parallel to our lives and learn to love those who are not always easy to love.