Mary's Reviews > Life of Pi

I really wanted the tiger to eat him too.

Hope you don't mind my using your review as my own- it just captured my experience with this book so perfectly!

Arbonoles wrote: "I really wanted the tiger to eat him too."
Not at all...glad someone else shared my sentiment.

But you should have finished it! The tiger can't eat him; he's the tiger.

Isn't there a rule against writing reviews about books you haven't even read?

Maybe that's a good idea D'Arcy, yes. However, I did read half of it; this is just my explanation why I didn't finish the rest.

too funny! i wish you were in my book club :)

I only made it 20-30 pages or so before I couldn't stand the author's writing voice any longer. I don't know how so many people were able to choke it down.

This is the most brilliant and succinct review of this book I've read. Hats off to you.

:) thank you

spoiler alert :(

A spoiler is when someone gives away the key plot twist in the novel. Since this reader did not finish the book, she couldn't possibly spoil that for anyone. ...Unless you are suggesting that the central information the novel provides is that the story is lousy. If that's the case, then, yes, she might have given that away. But this is why most people read reviews, to get a sense of which books are good and which books are bad. Anyone who wants to discover the bad books on her own probably shouldn't read reviews.

Sarah wrote: "A spoiler is when someone gives away the key plot twist in the novel. Since this reader did not finish the book, she couldn't possibly spoil that for anyone. ...Unless you are suggesting that the c..."

It's impossible for me to know whether or not that information is an important part of the plot. I haven't read the book yet. It's not very helpful when people write reviews about books they haven't read entirely. The review just caught me off-guard although I'm still going to give the book a chance.

my feelings precisely

You just made me giggle. The tiger should have eaten him an the first page. THE END!

I agree with your review - I couldn't finish the book either. It is in my top 5 "worst books I've attempted to read" category. I love to read - normally read 2 -3 books a week. There have less than 5 books I have started. It not finished.
It reminded me of an artist taking paint brushes and slinging paint on a canvas and then calling it "art". I consider it paint slung o. A canvas and my 8 and 5 yr olds can do that..

I've tried to read this book twice and have never made it more than half way each time. I am glad I'm not alone.

what a shame. By not reading to the end you miss the entire point of what the book is about, and it's not about a tiger

I have never laughed out loud at a review before thanks for putting my thoughts into words;)

If you didn't read the book, don't review it. It's a shame you get so little out of life.

Taylor, perhaps you ought to stick to the Captain Underpants books and leave the discussions of crappy pop-fiction to the grown-ups.

I just finished the book and definitely wanted more about the relationship with the tiger! When I first started reading, I thought the story was only going to be about him bonding with a tiger, but instead the book took crazy turns and kept surprising me again and again....

Greg, great job looking at my profile to find things to criticize me for. I haven't read one of those books in a long time, even when I rated them it has been years. Either way, just because I may be young doesn't mean I don't have a well developed sense of writing or an understanding of literature.

Sorry Taylor, it was an easy jab. I'm sure you do have a well developed sense of writing for your age. People do change over time, too, and when you are older, you might not find this particular vein of writing very satisfying, despite the message. At least that's where I find myself with this book. My current tastes just don't line up at all with Martel's voice. I've forgotten enough about the book by now, though, and maybe I will try again and see if it makes me cranky a second time.

I finished it then wondered why I'd bothered.

Actually, unlike most books, if you see the movie first it is better. I saw the movie first and it just made me hungry for the book. I loved discovering the hidden things that were not in the movie. I would dislike your review if I could...not because your opinion is wrong, but because I have a different look on this book.

Perhaps for those of us who found this book so tedious we just skip to the end to find the wow, so exciting ending...zzzz

I could not finish the book either I felt like I was stuck in a mud bog trying to fight my way to the shore.

I personally feel that the book is not there to give a good feeling. I read it to the end but I admit there were some points in the book where I felt impatient. However, this is a good reason to continue reading it rather than put it down! I feel like it gets better as it goes along (most of the first part of the book was a little bit pointless in my opinion) and most definitely the third part of the book is extremely crucial to the entire story. I urge you to find the time to fit it in your schedule as you will (as many people have mention) find out that it is more than just a boy stuck on a boat with a tiger.

I must say, I'm rather confused as to why you'd even bother with writing a review for a book you haven't read to completion. Okay, fine, you're explaining to the Goodreads community why you didn't finish it but there was no point in leaving a star rating based on half of the book. I found myself bored out of my mind during some of the passages in the novel but I couldn't help but absolutely love it by the end!

you guys are all haters this book is 10000000x better than anything you could write

hdjdfhroaxdjs

what I felt the first half, I almost quit but I continued. Maybe try to give it another try? Skip the first half this time around?

Ina, I was just thinking the same thing; maybe I should read the end to find out what I'm missing. I, like many who have commented here, could not choke down the dry writing which is chock-full of Martel's religious worldview - I get it, you think every religion is the way to heaven, or spiritual enlightenment, or... Well, stop beating the dead horse? er tiger? Or! you can simply choose which animal you like best because according to Martel's philosophy, it doesn't matter...

And to suggest that you cannot write a review of a book that one has left unread is simply absurd. If the writing was so terrible that one could not make it past the middle of the book (or the first quarter, on my part), then it is perfectly acceptable to write something about your experience with the book.

I felt exactly the same. But being a book lover I felt that I had to stick with it. I thought the ending was slightly better, but I was looking forward to just finishing.

Funny review! Can't agree at all, but that's okay.

Jeezz I tried I really did, but could make it... My first attempt was about 3 years ago when I first bought it. After sometime I guess I had forgotten why I stopped reading it. I only made it about 1/3 of the way before I gave up on the second time. The only reason i gave it 2 stars rather than 1 is for the possible adventure I never made it to.

My sentiments exactly!

I felt the same way as you did too. At first it was kinda boring to me, it took me weeks to read half of the book. But as I read the rest, it turned out to be more interesting and dramatic. Furthermore, I found the ending was such amazingly extraordinary that I couldn't describe with words. Hope you will try to finish this book.

it got so boring i gave up on reading it

Exactly how I felt. Richard Parker should have ended it.

I really loved more this review than the book. I also stopped reading it at middle and it took me a lot to get that far, but I ended up realizing to that it wasn't just meant for me.

Lovely review, exactly how I felt. Such an unnecessarily long and boring novel.

Your review is really funny and I struggled to get into the book too. However, it was a prescribed book for me so I forced myself to finish. At the end I was pleasantly surprised and looking back, the book is brilliant.

your review is perfect! Exactly how I'm feeling and I'm only 50 pages in!

I am so glad I'm not alone here! I am currently more than half way through and the struggles to keep on is real! 😣😣😣

Mary, thank you for sharing this deeply moving instant of cosmic enlightenment with us. It has changed my life, at least to the extent of persuading me never to read The Life of Pi.

The first half of the book is mostly description but the second half is where the story is. The adventure starts when the character falls off the boat with the tiger.

I had to laugh at that first line in your review! 🙌

Amen, sister.