500 Pounds of Tiger and the Pacific Ocean

If you have read The Life of Pi by Yann Martel, then the title of my post will likely have made sense to you. If not, then I shall further enlighten you. The Life of Pi is about a young Indian boy named Piscine (Pi, for short) who's father owns a zoo. The book is divided in three parts with the first part explaining his background and upbringing, part two being the majority of the plot content, and part three as a closing section. But first, I shall divulge my own background concerning this book.

I have always been an avid reader although it's a little more difficult now because of the wonderful homework load that my fantastic school dishes out, but I still find time to squeeze in a book or two. I read The Life of Pi a while back and it has remained one of my favorite books for a long time. I received this book as a birthday present when I was in 6th grade and my friend had told me that he had searched for a long time through Pages for All Ages (remember that place? Loved it. Would spend entire mornings in there...) for a book that I had not read. I had heard about that book before and, as shallow as this may sound, I used to (and still sort of do) judge a book by the cover. The cover art for the version of The Life of Pi I received was really pretty cool. I'd attach a picture, but I have neither the time nor the patience to figure out how to download the correct drivers to connect my ancient scanner with my newer computer. Sorry.

EDIT: Oh look, I figured out how to do hyperlinks. Thanks Christina! Click here to see a picture of my cover art.

Anyway, the book starts out describing Pi's multiple religions and then we move on to the plot point that the book is centered about. Pi is stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a 500 pound, fully grown, male Bengal tiger. The rest of the story is about his amazing journey and his desire to live. He experiences many incredible encounters--all of which border on the impossible but have just enough believability to make it seem credible. As I said before, the more possible a book seems to me, the more I enjoy it. (I love fantasy too--this is just about realistic fiction)

I especially enjoyed Martel's active descriptions as the book progressed. If I were to compare it to Zusak (author of The Book Thief), I would say that Zusak was much more surreal, leaving your mind to conjure up most of the images with well placed phrases whereas Martel would give very solid descriptions, similar to a movie. However, it will be up to you to read both and decide which one you prefer.

The only negative comments I have about this book were largely a matter of opinion. At the time I had read it, I was largely into action and fantasy (although my repertoire has since broadened) and so the semi-sluggish pace of the plot was a little dull. Then again, it probably didn't help that I was reading this during a long, 6-hour car trip. Still, I have gone back and read it several times (a sure sign that I like the book) and it seems to get better every time.

So, overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who's not afraid to plow through a somewhat dry beginning. I promise that it gets much more interesting later on though.

I'll be reviewing I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak soon, as soon as I finish actually reading it. I probably would have finished it in time, if it weren't for a library mishap. Turns out, my card expires exactly one day before my renewal date meaning I had to return the book otherwise I'd get fined 20 cents. I don't have 20 cents. Oh well. I hope you enjoy Life of Pi!

Could you PLEASE write faster, Mr. Martin?

George R.R. Martin's fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire is certainly an interesting read. Notice how I use, "interesting" in a neutral sense; you're either going to love it or your going to hate it. There are parts of the series that are going to make you go, "WOW", and parts that are going to make you go "WTF". 


A Song of Ice and Fire takes place in a fictional world, on the very cleverly named continents Westeros and Essos (note my sarcasm). There are three main story lines throughout the series. Instead of wasting your precious time trying to explain these three story lines in my own words, I've decided upon a different method. As the great Benjamin Franklin once said, "When in doubt, Wikipedia".


"There are three principal storylines in the series: the chronicling of a dynastic civil war for control of Westeros between several competing families; the rising threat of the Others who dwell beyond an immense wall of ice that forms Westeros' northern border; and the ambition of Daenerys Targaryen, the exiled daughter of a king who was murdered in another civil war fifteen years previously, to return to Westeros and claim her rightful throne"

I've been reading fantasy for as long as I can remember. One thing that really stands out in Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire is the maturity level. When I first picked up A Game of Thrones, the first in the series, I was admittedly intimidated. All the other fantasy novels I'd read had been pretty softcore; no detailed sex scenes involving a dwarf and his prostitute (who he thinks he's in love with). Nor did I find myself reading about two twin brother's and sister's incestuous experiences. While odd at some points, these revealing scenes certainly had the affect of making me feel like I was reading a more mature book. 

Martin's plot is very cleverly designed, and it requires a lot of concentrated reading to make all the connections between the three story lines. A complicated plot, though, requires a lot of characters. Too many. And my good friend Mr. Martin doesn't hesitate to reserve at least one chapter for each and every character he deems worthy (he's a generous man, every character is worthy apparently). The few characters that show up often enough to gain an emotional attachment to are immediately killed. By the end of the fourth book there are eighteen characters that have been the center of a chapter, with eight of them being in only one. There are only two or three characters that live from the first book to the fourth. Without an emotional attachment to any of the extant characters, knowing your favorite character died at the end of the previous book makes it very hard to pick up the next book in the series.

The worst part of the series is probably that I haven't finished it. No, it's not that I'm illiterate and that I'm waiting for the next book on tape to come out, it's that Mr. Martin writes TOO DAMN SLOW! Martin started writing A Song of Ice and Fire in 1991, and the latest book in the series (the fourth), A Feast for Crows, came out in 2005. I check Martin's site every month or so, hoping for some kind of update. Alas, he has not updated his, "A Song of Ice and Fire Update Page" for quite some time; it's been three years, to be exact. I'm starting to worry Martin may, in fact, be dead, and that I'm going to be left hanging for the rest of my life, never knowing what's going to happen. Oh well, at least I got to read about dwarf sex.