Life of Pi

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. How did your interpretation of Pi’s story shift after reading the alternative version he presents to the Japanese officials? Which version do you find more convincing, and why?

2. The novel opens with the claim that this story will make you believe in God. Like Yann Martel’s earlier novels, Life of Pi explores faith and reason. If you’ve read Martel’s Self or The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios, how does his treatment of belief differ in this work?

3. What impact did the novel’s structure—with its author’s note, narrative interruptions, and interview transcript—have on your reading experience? How did these elements affect the story’s credibility? Have you encountered other novels that use a similarly hybrid structure—e.g., Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr!, which alternates prose and poetry, or George Saunders’s Lincoln in the Bardo, which employs multiple voices, historical documents, etc.?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Pi finds spiritual meaning in everyday activities like swimming and feeding animals.