ABOUT
THE BOOK

“I have a story that will make you believe in God”. So says the elderly man to the writer in the coffee-house on Nehru Street, as he prepares to recount the unforgettable story of Piscine Molitor Pater. Pi, as he is known, lives in Pondicherry, India, where his family – mother, father and an older brother- runs a zoo. Little Pi loves to observe the animals. He is also an avid reader. He finds and devours books on Hinduism, Christianity and Islam, and to the surprise of his secular parents, becomes devoted to all three religions. When the family decides to emigrate to Canada, they board a cargo ship with their animals and bravely set sail for the New World. Alas, early one morning in rough seas, the ship sinks. A solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the surface of the wild blue Pacific. In it are five survivors: Pi, a zebra, a hyena, an orang-utan and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. With intelligence, daring and inexpressible fear, Pi keeps his wits about him as his fellow castaways recover from the shock of being at sea and begin to assert their animal natures. But it is with the tiger, most assuredly, that Pi must develop an inviolable understanding.