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I still agree with the judges on this one and put this one as my top book from the 2002 list. I recall being totally entranced with it at the time.
I have never had the urge to read any other books by Yaan Martel and the film version swiped the lustre off my reading pleasure a little but putting all that aside this story of Pi and Richard Parker on their little boat is just one of those stories that stays with me and I puzzle over from time to time. Its not perfect there is the weird island section and there is likely strong arguments to be mounted for other novels that are better written but this is an emotional favourite of mine just because of where and when I read it.

This novel is my all time fave Booker winner and I read it on the strength of Margaret Atwood's glowing review. I have read it about three more times after that and the magic is still there. It's a book that can be interpreted in so many ways and asides that, there are other factors that appeal to me - animals, India, sly humor beneath all the philosophical/theological layers you have a rollicking good story.

I have a love/ hate the film adaptation. The love because I'm pleased that Ang Lee was faithful to the philosophical premises behind the book but I hate the fact that more people watched the film than bothered to read the book.

As for Yann Martel's other books - I disliked self and the facts behind the helsinki roccomatios but I thought the High Mountains of Portugal was a fun read.

I don't know why I have been so reluctant to read this one (other than my general aversion to fantasy), but I look forward to rectifying that soon (once I have got the rest of this year's shortlist out of the way - if I stick to my plan I need to read 4 3 2 1 next, and that could take some time).

When it comes to compelling reads, this is one of my favorites too. I have read it a couple of times and listened to the audiobook on a long road trip. It was always easy to keep going, and I love the discussions it brings to the surface.

Hugh, I don't think it feels like a fantasy, so I'm looking forward to your thoughts!

Yup, love it. So easily spiritual and life/universe affirming amid suffering, tragedy, and loss. And agree w/ Robert, so many interpretations, and w/ Trevor that I don't classify it as a fantasy. I refuse to watch the film.

I don't have enough imagination for fantasy and I love Life of Pi. Im not so sure I think the story was fantasy anyway....

Some impressive recommendations. Really looking forward to it now!

I see the book as an allegory rather than a fantasy novel. In fact there's one part of the book that puzzles me and i hope we discuss it

Hugh wrote: "Some impressive recommendations. Really looking forward to it now!"
Me too, Hugh.
Initially I anticipated Life of Pi being the one book on this 2002 list that I wouldn't enjoy, simply as a consequence of having seen the film and my pre conceptions.
I rarely like reading books where I have seen the film (and vice versa). The main exceptions being Nineteen Eighty Four and The Jewel in the Crown series.

Started reading this yesterday and I am just over halfway through. So far I am finding it very readable, but I'm not yet entirely sure why so many of you love it - perhaps the final part will change my mind. I must admit to being sceptical of any story that claims it will make me believe in God...

Hugh - I wondered how Life of Pi might stack up when read today. It's quite a different book to what I might endorse now, 15 years later.

But at the time I was very simply entranced by the relationship between Pi and Richard Parker - the adventure tale aspect of it.
I basically completely ignored any religious allegory as that doesn't interest me and so it's not really something I held in my head while reading it. To me it was a lovely little fantasy/survival tale.

Beyond that all I can say is it was a case of the perfect book at the right time and for that reason it has stuck with me. I would need to reread it now alongside these others to decide if I would re-rank it.

I think the claim it will make someone believe in god is facetious. I am anxious to talk about this particular aspect when you’re done!

Good point Neale - let's discuss this island ! As it was a gloriously weird bit of the novel for me.

From memory the ending is open to interpretation - was Pi really trapped with animals on this life raft or did he make that story up to cover the more brutal event of the animals really being people ?

In this regard I guess you can say a central theme of this book is belief but I didn't choose to look at that in a religious way, rather as a sort of strategy Pi used - making up and choosing to believe a story that he could live with to survive the ordeal he went through ?

Part of what I enjoyed so much about this book is all these multiple ways to view it.

Trudie wrote: "In this regard I guess you can say a central theme of this book is belief but I didn't choose to look at that in a religious way, rather as a sort of strategy Pi used - making up and choosing to believe a story that he could live with to survive the ordeal he went through ?"

I think you hit the nail right on the head, Trudie. I think that Pi's claim his story will make someone believe in god is tongue in cheek. I think he's saying that his own strategy to get through this ordeal is "proof" of god, for god is the same thing. I am a religious person, though I recognize that we humans have come up with a multitude of stories to help us get through this existence. I'm not sure that this is what Martel is playing at, but it fits the story -- the inventions that make the truly horrible somehow palatable, even honorable. I've thought that the island is just a bit of the true nature, told also as a shroud of narrative, of Pi coming out, terrifying him, making him retreat to his narrative that helps him get through the day-to-day.

Trevor wrote: "the inventions that make the truly horrible somehow palatable, even honorable. "

Yes, nicely put Trevor. Thats is where I landed on this story as well, that this almost charming tale of tigers and strange islands is either a kind of fairy tale or fever dream Pi tells himself to cope with the horrific truth. I am possibly too much of a realist to assume much else.

I see the ending as a criticism of media manipulation. I.e. what the people want to hear vs the power of imagination. However the symbolism of the island stumps me. Is it a simple way of telling the reader that appearance and reality are totally different, thus giving the reader a small taste of the same theme in the end?

Re faith i agree as i think it is tongue in cheek but there's no real evidence but having studied theology , my view on this matter is different

It is a while since I read this and I am not sure I will have chance to re-read it. However, I have read it 3 times over the years.

The island is the image (apart from having a tiger in your boat) that dominates in memory and I think it is, as people here have said, asking the key question in the book. About belief, but not so much about faith. I have an almost Schrodinger-ish feeling about this book. In my head, for some reason, Pi's story is both true and false at the same time. I suppose the dreamer within me wants it to be true because of all the amazing things that implies about there being more to the world than we see. And the more rational part of me says it must be a hallucination.

So, perhaps it is a bit like faith after all. The Christian Bible says faith is "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" and anyone who has faith has therefore made a decision to believe in something that cannot be proved and, indeed, could possibly be explained rationally in another way.

That would be interesting if you can find it. Thanks.

I will not say any more until I have finished the book which may yet be later today. Must resist the temptation to let this fascinating discussion affect my judgment...

I love books that spark discussion like this. I thought some character other than Pi told the young interviewer that Pi had a story that would make him believe in God, but maybe I dont remember correctly. And doesn't Pi tell the interviewer that it doesn't matter which version you choose to believe, they both tell the same story, which I took as another of way of saying when looking for the moon don't confuse the finger pointing at the moon for the moon.
I did see this as Martel's contribution to religious discussion because Pi was searching for the true religion, his mother was Hindu, if I remember right, father was agnostic, Pi went to a Christian priest, and in the end tells us the various versions or interpretations of his experience ultimately tell the same "truth" so I choose to believe both versions.

Just finished the book and I am still not sure how I feel about it. For the next few days I can only write on the phone and by Monday either my thoughts will be clearer or I'll be starting to forget. I picked up on the God thing because it is mentioned in a blurb quote in my edition and also in Martel's introduction. In some ways I liked the first part best but I did enjoy the ambiguity of the final part.

It's been a while sice I read this, but my interpretation at the end is that the story was made up and that believing in god was similar - better that than reality.

I'm so far behind all of you, but I've finally finished one of the books from the 2002 list.

I read this when it came out, and had hazy but pleasant memories of the middle part only. I was a bit surprised and disappointed on re-reading to see how much of part one precedes any introduction to Richard Parker.

I was even more disappointed by the horrible end: I remembered that there was something that cast doubt on everything before, but not the terrible, cannibalistic details. It transforms the whole thing from delightful story of a boy and his tiger into a delusional boy inventing wild fictions to escape a horrifying reality. Honestly, the more I think about it, the worse it seems: I'm thinking of docking it a star or two for the heavy-handed message-y-ness.

Someone tell me that Lucy Gault and Family Matters will be better.

You're not much behind me, Nicole. I've only added Lucy Gault so far and read Life of Pi a few years ago (not re-reading). I'm part way through Unless and not impressed so far.

Nicole wrote: "I'm so far behind all of you, but I've finally finished one of the books from the 2002 list. . . Someone tell me that Lucy Gault and Family Matters will be better."

Welcome back, Nicole.

I thought that Lucy Gault was beautifully written, likely very memorable, and also terribly sad. Family Matters I put down unfinished, and haven't felt motivated to pick it up again.