Comments (33)

What did you think about this title?
1 to 25 of 33 items
LoganLib_JennyI
May 05, 2017LoganLib_JennyI rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I couldn't wait to read this book after loving The Life of Pi (Man Booker Prize and book-turned-movie). Like Richard Parker from Pi, Martel continues the animal motif with a donkey and a monkey. It has delightful prose and vivid imagery…
Apr 21, 2017wyenotgo rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
Pay attention here! I am Yann Martel. I am an Important Canadian Writer. If you don't appreciate my book it's because you are just a (bookseller/editor/historian/reader - select one) and don't understand what fine literature is all…
Mar 13, 2017ArapahoeJane rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
This was such a strange but creative book. About the Holocaust (though told through the viewpoint of animals), it was deeply disturbing. The violence of it will haunt me, as it should.
Dec 20, 2014Chapel_Hill_KenMc rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is a deeply disturbing allegory of genocide, told through a writer's encounter with a deranged taxidermist.
Nov 17, 2014Persnickety77 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
sad. very very sad. i like that Martel tries to write about very big things in his books... big, philosophic, human-nature type, depressing, things. and he tries to do it in a deceptively simple way.
AmandaVollmershausen
Jul 13, 2013AmandaVollmershausen rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
I read this book after reading Life of Pi. Although there are many similarities (in fact, too many in my opinion) between the two novels, they are structured entirely differently. One of the reasons Life of Pi is so powerful is because it…
May 20, 2013MissEavis rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
It's almost impossible to compare any book to Yann Martel's Life of Pi, but I think Mr.Martel has done it again. The storey was facinating! As in the Life of Pi you never really know where this author is going to take you, but when you get…
Apr 26, 2012scottwylie rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
A decent book. This book feels a bit contrived. Its almost like the point of writing this book was just to write something which was complex wrought with symbolism etc. to the point where the story is indecipherable. A short and easy…
BitterBreak
Mar 16, 2012BitterBreak rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Yann Martel really gave a great spin with words. It was more than satisfying and the play within the book is really heart-gripping. Highly recommended.
Dec 07, 2011quagga rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I look forward to discussing this short and powerful novel at the Woodcroft Branch Library CanLit Book Club. It's a drop-in event and everyone is welcome. These are the details: December 7, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. at 13420 114 Avenue in…
Sep 07, 2011kstiles rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
While I found the subject matter of this book to be somewhat creative and well-intentioned, I would not recommend it to anyone. The book is utterly bizarre, but not in a good way. It seemed to have no direction for the first 150 pages and…
Jun 29, 2011NicoleBZ rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
Loin du calibre de The life of Pi.
Jun 13, 2011Ryguy44 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I found the book difficult to understand in the beginning, but I found the use of imagery so powerful and the words so beautiful that I was drawn in and had a hard time putting the book down. This is a very powerful book, but certainly…
May 19, 2011egajd rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is a brilliant book! The writing is clean and imaginative, the story telling complex, the impact powerful. Martel succeeds, I think, in doing what his narrator, Henry, said he wanted to do: move the 'normal' narratives of the…
NLC4321
Apr 20, 2011NLC4321 rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
Totally weird, disappointing book.
Apr 16, 2011Reggie53 rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
I did not understand this book or the descriptions..... was it referring to some deep concept that I missed. I was shocked by some of the scenes and incidents. I would not recommend this book.
Mar 11, 2011lilwordworm rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I read a few reviews on how offended some readers are by this book because it’s too dark... too controversial... too undefined... too unlike Life of Pi... I think there is an aim to shock by blurring boundaries of what is acceptable and…
Feb 11, 2011DalysJ rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
I had high hopes for this book, since I loved Life of Pi. Instead I found it strange and a little disturbing. I would not recommend this title to others.
Jan 07, 2011colleen_gr rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
Don't waste your time. Another disappointing book from Martel. The end just doesn't make sense in the context of the rest of the book.
Oct 14, 2010ewakk rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
For some reason I did not expect too much from this book, but it was excellent. Very imaginative form.
Oct 08, 2010ayzhang rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Definitely not for everyone but personally I loved the dark content and its contrast with the light, detached, lyrical prose. It also helps that I love Beckett and some parts of the book are reminiscent of Waiting for Godot.
Sep 28, 2010theprettypumpkin rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
If I didn't know details of the authors real life I would think it was a great book but it seems a tad autobiographical.
Sep 25, 2010Iluv2read rated this title 0.5 out of 5 stars
I didn't enjoy this.
Sep 16, 2010sharon711 rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
This banal story meanders along pointlessly and politely for three quarters of the book before plunging us into unspeakable horrors, all the more so because of the complete surprise of it. In the beginning, we are forced to read pages of…
Aug 30, 2010jwiwchar rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
Very slow book with a baffling, random ending. I should have put it down after reading the horribly awkward opening sentence. Would not recommend.