| Piscine Molitor Patel, named after a swimming pool, is born into a zoo-management family in Pondicherry, southern India. He goes by "Pi." As a boy, he becomes a Hindu, Muslim, and Christian, much to his family's consternation. In the mid 1970s, his father decides to sell the zoo and all its animals and move the family to Canada, but during the Pacific crossing, their ship sinks and all hands are lost except Pi, who finds himself alone in a lifeboat with a wounded zebra, an orang-utan, a hyena, and 450-pound Bengal tiger known as Richard Parker. Most of the animals go quickly, but Pi has to figure out how to survive what will turn out to be a 227-day voyage while sharing a small boat with a tiger. This incredible 2001 novel, beautifully written, was a bestseller and won the Man Booker Prize. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of book? - upbeat Time/era of story - 1960's-1970's Animal story Yes Kind of animal: Internal struggle/realization? Yes Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Coping with loss of loved one(s) Yes Loss of... Exploring into the wild Yes kind of story - water adventure Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - a teen Ethnicity/Nationality Main Adversary Identity: - natural phenomena Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 9 () Asia/Pacific Yes Asian country: - India Ice Caps/Sea? Yes Where? - Ocean Water? Yes Water: - lifeboat - lost at sea Island? Yes Island: - food/shelter preoccupation - stranded Writing Style Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog |
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