boleary30's review against another edition
1.0
What an awful book, hard to believe it is written by the same person who wrote Life of Pi
tmdavis's review against another edition
3.0
Well this one was a little weird. The main character is a well-known author who has written a book on the holocaust that his publisher does not want to publish. The author gives up writing and moves with his wife to a different country where he meets a taxidermist who needs help finishing his play about a donkey and a howler monkey named Beatrice and Virgil. The play mirrors the author's ideas for his novel on the holocaust which basically involved the concept of how those who lived through the holocaust never acknowledge or talk about it but how it is necessary to talk about it to overcome the tragedy. Very interesting but really strange.
suey's review against another edition
2.0
Sadly, this nothing like Life of Pi. Still, it had some moments, but the ending is such a gut-punch that I was left with an awful feeling.
maggie_hart's review against another edition
2.0
um.
life of pi is one of my favorite books of all time, so i had high hopes.
i didn’t get this. parts of it were wonderful.
overall, though, this is messy.
life of pi is one of my favorite books of all time, so i had high hopes.
i didn’t get this. parts of it were wonderful.
overall, though, this is messy.
margaret_j_c's review against another edition
4.0
This book shook me up. Yann Martel infuses Beatrice and Virgil with the same adept magical realism as is found in all his books, and just like his other books he doesn't shy away from the truth of reality – only this time the reality he focuses on is a much more intense, troubling one: the Holocaust, the horrific revelation of human nature that it was. In the book Martel uses a metaphor for faith: it is like being in the sun, and anyone who is in the sun necessarily casts a shadow. If his other books represent the vitality and beauty of living in the sun, this book is the chill, dark shadow. It is an exquisite book, but deeply unsettling.
crabbygirl's review against another edition
4.0
this book started with an immediate grabber: the main character is henry, a man who has writen an award-winning much-translated novel under a pseudonym. his follow-up book takes 5 years but is rejected by his publishers, and so he gives up writing.
btw - the author is yan martel of Life of Pi fame
and so begins a mix of fiction and non-fiction that reminds me of the follow-up to Being John Malkovic (in itself a creative feat that i felt, surely, could not be surpassed) but that filmmaker addresses those creative expectations by writing himself (and a fake twin brother) struggling with those expectations as he tries to write his next movie: the movie we are actually watching: The Orchid Thief
anyhow, henry's work is rejected: an essay about holocaust fiction and a piece of such fiction - not commercial the publishers say; not categorical. then the author turns around and explains the whole premise of the essay, essentially giving us the essay. then the animals come in - of course a Life of Pi reader wants the bloody animals, the publishers want them too - and what follows is indeed an allegory using the holocaust. so he's publised or rejected? which is it? what is fiction and what is real.
i haven't read the reviews.
i imagine some will read it as all surface and think he's just delivered a well written journal, a creatively edited revenge on his detractors... i think it's too complex, on too many levels, and i shall be pondering it's meaning for days to come
btw - the author is yan martel of Life of Pi fame
and so begins a mix of fiction and non-fiction that reminds me of the follow-up to Being John Malkovic (in itself a creative feat that i felt, surely, could not be surpassed) but that filmmaker addresses those creative expectations by writing himself (and a fake twin brother) struggling with those expectations as he tries to write his next movie: the movie we are actually watching: The Orchid Thief
anyhow, henry's work is rejected: an essay about holocaust fiction and a piece of such fiction - not commercial the publishers say; not categorical. then the author turns around and explains the whole premise of the essay, essentially giving us the essay. then the animals come in - of course a Life of Pi reader wants the bloody animals, the publishers want them too - and what follows is indeed an allegory using the holocaust. so he's publised or rejected? which is it? what is fiction and what is real.
i haven't read the reviews.
i imagine some will read it as all surface and think he's just delivered a well written journal, a creatively edited revenge on his detractors... i think it's too complex, on too many levels, and i shall be pondering it's meaning for days to come
magdelenemagic's review against another edition
4.0
While I was reading this book I was thinking about how it didn't engage me as deeply as 'Life of Pi', I wasn't as connected to the characters, and while the premise was interesting, the protaganist needed considerably more depth, although as always the writing was beautiful. And then the end...Happened. Shocking, intense and deeply satisfying. If you are thinking of putting it down, don't. The conclusion is so worth it!
clskvarce's review against another edition
3.0
For most of this book, I thought this was a work of non-fiction. It was just written that way, which makes it even more haunting. Definitely one of the most strangely engaging books I've read, and the final image really stuck with me (that'll teach me to finish a book at midnight and then try to fall asleep). If you're looking for another Life of Pi, there are animals, but that's about where the similarities end. I've always been creeped out by taxidermy, but this book opened up another side and gave taxidermy a philosophy, which I had never considered. It's a quick read, but one that travels far below the surface.
spauffwrites's review against another edition
3.0
A strange little novel. Because of the format, the play within the novel, and the big questions it poses, was a challenge to read at times. The crux of the story doesn’t become clear until the very end, and the revelation is brutal. It’s a book that would be excellent for discussion in a book club or class, and a second read is probably necessary to pick up on all the details and symbolism. The whole thing is more puzzle than story, but it’s a interesting puzzle nonetheless.
elusivesue's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed Life of Pi - I liked this work as well, but for different reasons. It read a little faster than Life of Pi, to me, because portions of the book were in play format, and they go quickly. The allegorical/symbolic nature of the book really sold the book for me, in that it was solid enough that you understood the importance of the symbolism to the work (and the author), but subtle enough that you weren't being beaten over the head with it, which I think tends to diminish the power of symbolism if you're being smacked with it. The ending ending (yes, I used ending twice for a purpose, but I don't want to tell why so as not to spoil) was very powerful.