A journalist meets with a man named Pi, whom he heard has a great story, one that will teach the listener about God. Pi sits down and starts in his childhood, as a young boy in India, curious to learn everything he can about all of the religions. His father owns a zoo, and one day when he gets too close to a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, his father shows him how dangerous animals can be by forcing Pi to watch Richard Parker slaughter and devour a goat. As a teenager, Pi is forced to uproot and move to Canada when his father is given an offer for all of his zoo's animals; this would allow his father to retire and no longer have to care for the zoo. Unfortunately, the freighter gets damaged in a huge storm, and Pi is thrown into a lifeboat and cast over the side. His entire family dies, and Pi is left on the boat with a stranded zebra and orangutan. A hyena crawls out and, horrifyingly, kills both the zebra and orangutan for food. Afterward, Richard Parker pops out from below a tarp and kills the hyena, leaving Pi and Richard Parker alone, with no food, on a boat, where neither of them can trust the other won't kill him while he sleeps. Pi builds a raft from wreckage, starts fishing and feeding Richard Parker, and slowly begins to develop a rapport with the creature, necessary if they are going to survive the ordeal long enough to find land or rescue.
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Best part of story, including ending:
It's a beautiful story, grounded in reality yet containing plenty of fantasy elements, with gorgeous cinematography and strong themes of religion and survival.
Best scene in story:
In one scene, Pi tries fishing, and suddenly a school of flying fish begin jumping out of the ocean around Pi and Richard Parker. It's a breath-taking sequence of magic.
Opinion about the main character:
Pi is an ordinary kid, curious and sensitive, caught in the most extraordinary of circumstances. He acts heroically brave considering the adversity he faces.
