Oscars Week 2013: Life of Pi

The books I chose to read for this year's Oscar week were chosen somewhat at random, but in the end it worked out to be almost a science. I wanted to read books that had movies that were nominated for best picture. Because I don't like to see a movie before reading the book, I wanted these to be movies that I hadn't actually seen. It also went by what I could find at at the library.

 

And while I normally try to avoid book covers with the movie image on them, it's appropriate for this week to show you that cover with my review.

 

image source

The book: Life of Pi, by Yann Martel

Nominated For: Best Picture, Cinematography, Directing, Film Editing, Music (Original Score), Music (Original Song), Production Design, Sound Editing, Sound mixing, Visual Effects, Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Book Review: For no reason really, I have never picked this book up before now, even though it has been very well-received and I have seen it at the library often. I was glad that Oscar Week gave me the push I needed to check it out.

It took me a bit to get into the book, I will say, but only because the style and format was so different than what I normally read. However, I really enjoyed it once I got used to it, and I think that it is so applicable to the story, and the story wouldn't have been so engaging if it was written any other way. 

 

The best part of this book is the end's ambiguity. I love books that keep me up at night rereading, that make me want to ask people if they've read it so that we can talk about it, and that really keep me thinking long after the book is finished.

 

I also loved this quote, which I think perfectly summarizes the book:

 

"The world isn't just the way it is. It is how we understand it, no? And in understanding something, we bring something to it, no? Doesn't that make life a story?"

 

Book vs. Movie: I can definitely see advantages of a film adaptation for this book, as the story is so dependant on creating a visual world for the reader. (Though I did discover that there is an illustrated version of the book that I think I would really enjoy.) For people like me who don't have the best imagination, I think I would really enjoy seeing the scenes of the book; however, I will say that there are some scenes I'm not sure I'd be able to watch based on my reacation to reading them. 

 

I think that the advantage of seeing the ending vs. reading would help me understand the ending better, but I also wonder if if would take away something, as well.