Book summary

Pi, the precocious animal-loving son of an Indian zookeeper, loses his family in a shipwreck en route to North America--and is left alone in a lifeboat with a man-eating Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, with whom he manages (thanks to his zoo background) to strike up an ingenious truce. When they finally reach land and the tiger disappears, Pi finds that no one will believe his story--and so he creates an alternative tale, one that is false but sounds true. This whimsical fantasy was short-listed for Canada's Governor General's Literary Award and won the Booker Prize in 2002. Also a New York Times Notable Book for 2002.

Media reviews

"It is an astounding tale....It's enough to make you believe in God, as one character puts it. Well, not really. Yet one has to be grateful to Martel for rediscovering the yarn and making it so tangibly real....There is much to enjoy in the novel, including a playful twist in the tale...."