A boy, a Bengal tiger, the vast Pacific Ocean. What could be more intriguing than an epic tale of survival with three such incongruous elements?

“Life of Pi,” a novel by Yann Martel, relates the story of Piscine Molitor Patel, also known as Pi, an Indian boy forced to leave his homeland and start a new life in Canada with his family. His father has sold his zoo in Pondicherry and they begin their journey across the great Pacific in a Japanese boat filled with caged animals and no passengers save themselves. “It’s an adventure,” Pi and his brother must remind themselves often throughout the journey. Little does Pi know of what an adventure he will soon take part. Only a few days after embarking, their vessel sinks and only Pi, together with an injured zebra, a stressed orangutan, a hungry hyena and a Bengal tiger, escape on a lifeboat much too small for such a population. The remainder of the story follows Pi on his 227 day journey across the Pacific Ocean and his struggle for survival.

Martel begins the novel with a brief prologue describing how he met Mr. Patel, hinting that his story is true. However, you will find “Life of Pi” on the fiction shelves which would categorize it with books like “Memoirs of a Geisha” by Arthur Golden that you just can’t seem to pinpoint as fact or fantasy. The writing style is not magical or poetic, but the story continually drew me in. I was interested in this unfortunate boy and how he would battle the forces of hunger, thirst, exposure and the food chain. The synopsis boasts that the book will make you believe in God. However, the author neglects to state which god and I have to say that the claim did not stand up.

Though the story is certainly fiction, I found that I enjoyed it more if I read with the belief that it was non-fiction. As a creative work I almost wanted to classify it as fantasy, and not an exceedingly well written fantasy at that. Some of the occurrences in the book seemed quite a stretch and not even remotely believable as good literary fiction should be. It tread the line precariously between the two and as a result I often lost focus of the story and instead found myself wondering about the genre. This should not be.

BUT, this was my opinion before part three of the novel. The short last part uncovered what the novel was really about. It was the last few chapters that introduced a plot twist reminiscent of an M. Night Shyamalan film (which, coincidently, he considered adapting for film). It was not until part three that the true theme was revealed: Life’s story is your own and faith trumps survival. Read the book with this perspective and it may seem radically different. I don’t want to reveal too much, but this is what makes “Life of Pi” more than your basic bottom shelf fiction.

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