Title: Life of Pi
Author: Yann Martel
Publisher: New York: Harcourt; Canada: Knopf
Date Published: 2001
Genre: Novel
Language: English; translated into 41 languages
Setting: India, Canada, Pacific Ocean, Mexico
Copies sold: more than 7 million
Awards: Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction, 2001; Man Booker Prize for Fiction, 2002; Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, 2001-2003; South Africa Boeke Prize, 2003
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/book/life-pi [Oct. 18, 2013]
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Adirubasamy, Francis |
business contact of Pi's father; champion swimmer; "uncle" of Pi; introduces Pi to author |
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Auntieji |
Pi's foster mother in Toronto |
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Author |
unnamed in the text; chapters in italics |
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Chiba, Asuro |
junior colleague at the Maritime Department in Japanese Ministry Transport. |
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Frenchman |
blind man, the cook (Hyena) |
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Kumar, Satish |
biology teacher; atheist |
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Kumar, Satish |
baker; Muslim |
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Martin, Father |
priest in Munnar; introduces Pi to Christianity |
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Okamonto, Tomohiro |
member of Maritime Department in Japanese Ministry Transport; interviews Pi in Mexico about sinking of Tsimtsum |
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Orange Juice |
orangutan (Pi's mother) |
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Parker, Richard |
Bengal tiger |
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Patel, Gita |
Pi's mother (Orange Juice) |
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Patel, Meena |
Pi's wife in Canada |
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Patel, Nikhil |
Pi's son |
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Patel, Piscine Molitor (Pi) |
narrator and lead character |
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Patel, Ravi |
Pi's brother |
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Patel, Sanatosh |
Pi's father; zookeeper |
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Patel, Usha |
Pi's daughter |
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Rohini, Aunti |
Pi's aunt; mother's sister; takes Pi to Hindu temple |
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Sitaram |
Pi's favorite zookeeper |
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Taiwanese sailor |
sad and lonely Chinese boy (Zebra) |
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Questions sent to ABC Good Morning America for Yann Martel. Life of Pi was the selection in Good Morning America's "Read This!" book club series, August 22, 2003.
(http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Books/story?id=124838&page=1 May 4, 2013)
"Host John Ydstie talks to Canadian author Yann Martel about his novel Life of Pi, which won Britain's Mann-Booker Prize this year. It's a meditation on the role of religion in modern life; the story's main character is a practicing Muslim, Christian and Hindu."
[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=878087 April 23, 2013]
"At the height of the book’s popularity, there was a short-lived scandal involving an accusation of plagiarism. Martel has acknowledged that he thought of the premise after reading a review of the English translation of Moacyr Scliar’s Max and the Cats; the Brazilian press accused Martel of cribbing that book. The similarities between the books, however, are few, and nothing came of the charges." [http://www.gradesaver.com/author/yann-martel/ April 24, 2013]
Tiger in a Lifeboat, Panther in a Lifeboat: A Furor Over a Novel, by Larry Rohter,The New York Times: Nov. 6, 2002 [September 27, 2012]
Based upon the novel; from Academy Award Winning Director Ang Lee, starring Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan and Tabu. Movie released on 23rd November 2012.
[May 4, 2013]
Damaris Media, an educational charity, creates community resources for feature films that engages the community with themes and ideas about the films. A Leader's Guide can be downloaded. Themes explored in Life of Pi include:
