The premise is wild. The execution was more than able. The colours vivid and the characters narrow but not without considerable charm. All of which should make for a rip-roaring read and indeed it was, but was it great literature? I'm afraid not. Page-turners rarely are, but that's not to say that Yann Martel's Life of Pi is not worth the effort of the read. Two thoughts came to me when I finished it. The first that it was like an intellectual Harry Potter and second that I would love Jane Austen to be able to read it. I'm not a Harry Potter fan and there is no magic in the book - unless you include a bit of magic realism (as an aside Martel says One Hundred Years of Solitude is one of his favourite books) - but it's main strength seems to be to totally engage the reader in a fantasy world that is way beyond anything they are ever going to experience. Ditto Pi, but with a bit more food for the brain. The wild premise, I feel sure, would have amused Ms. Austen greatly.
Why isn't it great literature? Because it fails to explore the human condition in anything more than a perfunctory way. A few observations about fear, sentient beings and god are not enough, but do read it if you come across it. It's all in the idea.
Posted by Joe at September 23, 2003 11:11 PM