Life of Pi

Life of Pi – Yann Martel

 

This month’s book club read is ‘Life of Pi’ – another award winner both in print and now on the silver screen too.  This choice means that you can meet as a book club, or as a film club – or indeed both!  It also means that getting hold of the book is relatively easy, because of the interest and momentum caused by Ang Lee’s movie.

 

‘Life of Pi’ tells the story of Piscine Patel (aka ‘Pi’) – a young man who begins his tale in Pondicherry, India – where he lives on the family zoo. There he learns all that he can about animal welfare as well as embracing and, to the bewilderment of those around him, practicing Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. 

 

Despite such a broad upbringing, the family is affected by the political instability of a newly independent India, and sets sail (zoo and all) for Canada.  But tragedy strikes and the boat sinks. All the inhabitants of the ship perish except for Pi, who is left to discover greater mysteries of the sea.  He is cast adrift on a surviving lifeboat with the only other survivor of the tragedy – a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

 

As the hours turn into a 227 day voyage, Pi is faced with all the challenges of survival – battling both the elements and the tiger on board.  Soon Pi becomes surrounded by death, decay and despair.  None of his religious rituals provide him with either the ideas or the solace that he so desperately searches for.  At his lowest ebb, Pi must facethe grueling reality of casting off his own assumptions and identity, confronting his terrors and the greater reality of God.

 

Yann Martel has deservedly won numerous accolades for this astonishing and gripping btome.  This is a mainstream book, not a religious text – and yet it asks the questions of faith and the faithful.  Utterly implausible, and yet somehow charming and captivating, this novel will continue to be an iconic story well beyond the rolling movie credits.

 

As ever, if you have read this book – or indeed if you use it in your own book club, write to us and let us know what you thought of it and which questions most engaged your community.  Email mrbookclub@methodistchurch.org.uk or leave your comments on the blog.  Further resources on the film can be found at www.damaris.org/lifeofpi where you can download clips, as well as check out conversations between secular and faith leaders talking about the issues raised in the film.

 

Questions about the book:

 

·         What is the value of hearing the author’s voice at the start? 

·         Does the story have a happy ending?

·         Which part of the novel do you like the most?

·         How do Pi’s father’s abilities as a parent compare to his skills as a zookeeper?  How might Pi’s experience with the goat affect the rest of his story?

·         In chapter 4, Pi offers a strong case for the benefit and value of zoos.  Do you agree with his argument or not?  Why?

·         In chapters 8 and 56, Pi explores the importance of doubt.  When have you most doubted something and what did you doubt?

·         Are you convinced by Pi’s religious exploration?

·         In chapter 20, Pi says that ‘the presence of God is the finest of rewards.’  Where have you felt the presence of God?

·         Chapter 58 offers a survival kit and advice.  What would you pack in your survival kit, and what advice would you give to another castaway?

·         If you were stuck on a lifeboat, what animal would you most like to be trapped with, and why?

·         What is the significance of Pi’s blindness?

·         How did you feel when Pi reached land at the end of part 2?

·         Why does Pi hoard food from the Japanese inquisitors?

·         The author recognizes that this novel is an allegory.  What do you think the novel is about?  What is reality?

·         There is much storytelling in this ‘religious novel.’  Is there a relationship between storytelling and religion?

·         What literary genre does Life of Pi fit? Is it a tragedy, comedy, romance, or even a reference book?

·         Pi suffers a traumatic event that marks his coming of age.  What moment or event has marked a coming of age for you?

·         What are the key attributes of Pi’s humanity that you would like to see emulated in your own life?

·         Which part of the story would you like to have heard more about?

Pure

Pure
Andrew Miller

This month, we turn our attention to the 2011 Costa book of the year, and the intense drama of ‘Pure.’  On the front cover, the reader is captivated by the pistachio-coloured cloak, worn by the protagonist, Jean-Baptiste Barratte, as he seeks to find his place in the heart of Paris.  This is an historical novel, based around the overflowing Cemetery of les Innocents.  The task is a macabre one; to dig out the heart of the city’s cemetery in order to begin to bring life back into the heart of Paris.

 

 This is pre-Revolutionary France; a place of decadence and poverty.  Our hero meets both the best and the worst of Parisienne society, and crucially for the time, suffers for his art.  An engineer by trade, Baptiste embodies someone struggling to create a new society, whilst the very foundations on which life is built collapse beneath him.

 

Pure has been critically reviewed, with many critics noting its use of language and descriptions.  It is not an easy read, and some readers may well find the closing scene frustrating.  However, it is a beautifully written book with plenty to discuss with others.

 

Questions for discussion:

 

This novel was awarded the 2011 Costa Book of the Year.  To what extent does an award or recommendation affect your decision to read a book?

 

The novel is set in 1785, just before the French Revolution.  How does this context affect the story?

 

Some people have suggested that the Cemetery is a parable for change and revolution.

·         In what ways might this be true?

·         How do the different characters interact with the cemetery (as fact or as metaphor?)

·         How does the writer help the reader engage with the shifting context?

 

What is ‘Pure’ about the novel, if anything?  Why is the title so important for this novel?

 

Jean-Baptiste accepts his commission without flinching.  How does the exhumation of a cemetery make you feel?  Why?  What do you think about Jean-Baptiste’s task?

 

Monsiuer Saint-Meard is the church organist.  What part does he play throughout the novel?

 

As the burden of the destruction of the cemetery bears down on Jean-Baptiste, Lecoeur consoles him with the words that ‘tomorrow will break our hearts.’ 

·         Why does Jean-Baptiste insist that ‘tomorrow will be easier.’

·         Who is right?  Why?

 

Doctor Guillotin is very clinical when it comes to dealing in death.

·         Why are some of the characters revulsed and silent by this?

·         How do you respond to death?

·         Why are we afraid to talk about death?

 

The final act of the book involves the gutting of a church.

·         What did the miners and Jean-Baptiste save?

·         What would you save?  Why?

 

Jean-Baptiste is a character in contradiction.  He walks the line between traditional and modern, rational and religious.

·         How do you respond to this?

·         In what ways is this contradictory nature a barrier understanding the character?

 

There are a number of gritty and macabre scenes in the novel.

·         What do they add to the narrative?

·         What elements of light are there in the book?

·         Which do you respond to positively?  Which are more difficult to reconcile?  Why?

 

In what ways does this novel help you engage with your own choices and mortality?  Why?