Life of Pi, The End

This was a busy week that left little time to read, hence the infrequent posts. However, I only semi-enjoyed Life of Pi, so the urgency to want to read it wasn't there either. But, I finally finished the book last night. I wrote in my previous post that some reviews I read said there was a "payoff" at the end. I was actually more disappointed at the end then I was throughout the entire book.

The book follows Pi, a young Indian boy, whose ship sinks on the way to Canada. Son of zookeeper, Pi is left on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean with a zebra, hyena, orangutan and a giant Bengal tiger. Soon, because of the obvious food chain, Pi is left alone with the tiger. A majority of the story follows the survival of the two, surviving the elements and surviving each other. Reading about some of Pi's survival techniques were interesting. Being of a zookeeping family, Pi also had much knowledge about animals, and those passages were interesting, too.

In the end though, I found the book too drawn out. Part I barely intertwined with Part II or III. All the set up of Part I seemed to mean nothing for the rest of the story. The author spends much of Part I exploring Pi's religious beliefs. As Part II is about his survival in the middle of the ocean, I was expecting more reflection on Pi's feelings about God. Part II was too long and Part III was, in all honesty, kind of lame. I found the ending predictable, but I don't want to go into it in case it would spoil the book for someone. In the beginning, the author claims the story "will make you believe in God." He didn't deliver on that promise. (Not that a novel would necessarily have that impact on someone, but I don't even find it believable that it might.)

I know there are plenty of people out there who probably disagree with me about the book, and I'm open to hearing why people like the book. Or, if you feel the same as me, let me know that, too.

Life of Pi

I've just started reading Life of Pi, by Yann Martel. I'm into Part II, at about 120 pages. Here is a book that, when it was released, seemed to get much acclaim and awards. I picked it up at bookstores, reread the jacket at libraries, but for some reason I just didn't know if I would like it. I heard a few good reviews from people whose opinions I respect, so this past holiday season I put it on my Amazon Wish List and got it from the hubby.

After nearly 28 years of living with my gut, I should know it's usually right. There was a reason why I hadn't read the book yet. So far, I've found it to be just OK. It's getting a little more engaging, but I'm still feeling mediocre about it. This frustrates me, especially when I have the impression that everyone else loves it. Am I missing something? The hubby could tell I was a little disconcerted when I wasn't super enthused to read last night. When I love a book I'm reading, I can't wait to get back to it. This one - eh.

Being frustrated, I perused Amazon reviews. More than 1,800 people have reviewed this book on Amazon. Nearly 1,000 gave it 5 stars, however more than 400 gave it 3 stars or less. I read a few reviews from each category, and while the 5-star givers made me feel like I was missing something great, the 3-star givers spoke to my feelings so far.

Now, several reviews said it was a tough book to get in to, but at the end is the pay off. So, I'm going to keep reading it - like I said, it's getting a bit more engaging - and we'll see how I feel in the end.

So, my question to you: Have you ever gone against popular opinion when reading a book? Either you hated a book everyone loves, or loved a story everyone hates? If you have insights to Life of Pi, feel free to post them here, or wait until I've delved deeper and write my next post.