The Life of Pi (that's Piscine Molitor Patel) by Yann Martel tells a story of a young, ployreligious Indian boy who is shipwrecked not on some tropical island (as seems to happen to all cast aways) but on a life boat. With a hyena, a zebra, a bengal tiger, an orangutan... (skip a bit further brother). It's a tale of survival that the narrator claims will make you believe in God. Huh?

The story is fun as it is and there are lots of zoological trivia to keep one entertained from time to time. The story as a pure cast away story itself is also fairly amusing, though I couldn't help but see Tom Hanks in my mind, having seen "Cast Away" very recently. I'm not going to give away the ending of the book but it seems to me the promise of making one believe in God is...unfulfilled. I see where the connection lies between the story and faith but the connection seems to be tentative, a hairline connection. Or perhaps make that the impression of the analogy of a hairline connection. I would have much rather the promise of divine faith never have been mentioned, allowing me much more carefree and interesting speculation. Still, I enjoyed the book and thinking about it afterwards, as long as I remember to keep God out of it. I'd say an 8/10.