Life of Pi

By: Yann Martel

Narrated by: Vikas Adam

Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's Summary

Winner of the 2002 Man Booker Prize for Fiction

Pi Patel is an unusual boy. The son of a zookeeper, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories and practices not only his native Hinduism but also Christianity and Islam. When Pi is 16, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship along with their zoo animals bound for new homes. The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450 pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth". After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional - but is it more true?

Life of Pi is at once a realistic, rousing adventure and a meta-tale of survival that explores the redemptive power of storytelling and the transformative nature of fiction. It's a story, as one character puts it, to make you believe in God.

Cover design by Vaugh Andrews. Cover illustration by Andy Bridge.

An Audible for Dogs Pick: Make your dog's day. Cesar Millan shares how audiobooks can make dogs happier and calmer. Learn more.

©2001 Yann Martel (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Outstanding narrator

Where does Life of Pi rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's one of the best I've ever listened to.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Life of Pi?

The conversation at the end between the Japanese officials and Pi in his hospital bed.

What does Vikas Adam bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narration was absolutely amazing. I felt like I was there with Pi through it all.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I loved every word.

Any additional comments?

Outstanding narrator, his accent is like music.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Wonderfully read and gripping story...

Sometimes funny, insightful, retrospective. Other times graphic, violent, and depressing... But that is the story of many peoples lives I guess.

As an adventure/survival story its fanciful and overly dramatic, but as an allegory, it is a wonderful examination of how we view our own situation in life, our story, and what part, if any God plays...

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Worth Finishing

This is one of those books that I have a love hate relationship with. It seems to drag on and on and on and on for what seems like ages. Enduring the lengthy explanation of how a teenager survived is part of the Life of Pi experience. The ending is what makes this story great. It is the reason I'll endure all that follows up to it again and again.

Vikas Adam does a fantastic job of narrating. He really brings the story to life.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

wow

the book was so much better then the movie fantastic vocabulary, and great passion for telling the story.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Buy this book. Now. Just do it.

Probably the best book I've listened to in years. Maybe ever. You won't regret it. The narrator does a great job with his accents and inflection and the story is just... uplifting. It takes grim events and makes them miracles. If you liked the movie, you'll love the book. If you didn't like the movie, the book might add enough detail to bring you around.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

very slow start, but good story overall

the narrator was very good. the story was slow but interesting. however you have to make it past the start whoch was suuuper slow and not always relevant to the later story.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Wow!!

I couldn’t stop listening! The narrator was fantastic. He did a great job with the different character voices. The story was spellbinding.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great Story. Wonderfully Narrated.

I loved this book. Does anyone have anything to recommend to someone who loved The Life of Pi?

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A Great Book

I read this book a few years ago, before I listened to it on audible. I really liked the book then, but it is better the second time 'round, which is usually true for me, even though I rarely read fiction twice. This book is full of great symbolism that was easy for me to miss the first time. And there are many ways to interpret the symbolism. I suppose each person will see in it the things he or she wants to see. And I'm guessing that if I read or listen to this book again, I will see different things in it.

This book has two endings Which is the right one? the true one? Sometimes I think one is, and other times I think the other is. I have thought and thought about this problem, and finally decided that it is not a question that can be answered by anyone but Mr. Martel, and perhaps even he does not know for sure. The truth is, there is much to be learned from both endings, so from that perspective, I don't think it really matters which one is the true ending.

I really like thinking about this story and all the possibilities it represents. On a fundamental level, it gives me courage to face my adversity, and if for no other reason, it is a great read.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Unpopular Opinion: I didn't like it

The story was very wishy washy and hops around from one subject to another in the beginning and was hard to follow. Names of characters were just brought up without explaining who they were. It took me a while to figure out that Richard Parker was the tiger! The end was the best part, but the beginning and middle dragged. I will say that the performance of reading was excellent. Sounds and accents were spot on!