Piscine Molitor “Pi” Patel grows up in Pondicherry, India where his father owns a zoo. Pi spends most of his time learning about the animals and their habits. When they decide it would be best to sell the zoo and all of its animals to move to Canada, Pi is devastated but moves with his family. A turbulent storm strikes and the ship his family is on sinks. Pi ends up aboard a lifeboat, but is sharing it with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan, and a full grown Bengal tiger. He’s left to survive at sea with these dangerous animals.

The movie was phenomenal. The creators did a great job of making the adventure come to life. Although the film was already two hours in length, it felt rushed in the beginning. In the novel his interest in three religions is a major part of Pi’s life, which makes many of his actions in the movie seem unmotivated. Of course some details were left out and a few were added, but the big, key points were all the same. There were so many jaw-dropping images of the ocean when Pi and the tiger were floating along. The special effects of the storms and waves felt very real and made the story come to life. The acting gave an authentic view of India in the 1970s. Having the main character for a narrator in the novel gave the reader a lot of insight, while in the movie Pi narrated for part of it but the rest was just watching his adventure.

The novel is very descriptive and has a moving plot. The beginning is rather slow due to all of the background information given, although it was really helpful later on in the book. The plot is relatively simple due to the lack of major action, but the character development is the strongest element of the novel. Teenagers can connect with Pi because of his inexperience in survival, which makes him relatable. The author presents the whole scenario as very real and paints a picture that makes everything comes to life.