Life of Pi. There were only 3 of us to voice our opinions here but still we had quite different views on it, it wasn't everyone's cup of tea but personally I really enjoyed it. It seemed it might have helped that I had seen the film first as quite often throughout the story I could visualise the scene in the film (not sure that's always a good or bad thing) but it helped me put the size of the boat into perspective and to picture the animals in relation to that. What I liked about it as well as the adventure itself was the way he talked about the animals and their behaviours, the first part where he talks about growing up surrounded by a zoo was really interesting and exciting. The religion aspect was intriguing too, there was a lot of humour in the book particularly when Pi decides he believes in several religions and one day all of the religious leaders accidentally meet...
I also liked the fact that the whole book is Pi telling his adventure and then towards the end he makes up another story when people don't believe him and by the end you are really not sure which is the true story. There is definitely a bit of magic and imagination in there which I think sometimes made it hard to believe. I preferred the book because it was so much more detailed (as they always are) but details that gave the story some meat on the bones, whereas the film is stunning visually, beautifully made with special effects but almost makes it feel like his journey was a dream, rather than a supposed true story. I think Neil made a good point when he said its got to be difficult for a writer when for a good percentage of the story there is only one human character and a tiger who can't talk back, but it certainly kept me engrossed.
I think if you didn't get a chance to read it or just didn't finish, keep going, its really worth a read. We will perhaps have a movie night at mine later in the year and watch the film and then we can talk about the book again if others have read it, it would be interesting to find out what everyone else thought.
So being only Jenny P, Neil and I you are stuck with our choice of book. I must say that it was an original way of selecting, Neil drew numbers on the back of pistachio shells and Jenny did a lucky dip. The result of this which was externally counted and verified was....
'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I've been waiting to read this for ages, I bought a beautiful copy at the British Library when we went there last summer, so lets hope its good!
After the war, the mysterious Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire pursues wealth, riches and the lady he lost to another man with stoic determination. He buys a mansion across from her house and throws lavish parties to try and entice her. When Gatsby finally does reunite with Daisy Buchanan, tragic events are set in motion.
Told through the eyes of his detached and omnipresent neighbour and friend, Nick Carraway, Fitzgerald’s succinct and powerful prose hints at the destruction and tragedy that awaits.'
Next Book Club:
Date: 19th March
Time: 7.30pm
Location: Matthews Yard (Off Surrey Street, Croydon)
I am also organising a book club outing to the cinema to see 'The Book Thief' on Saturday the 8th March. We read the Book Thief back in 2012 and it was one of our favourites so lets hope the film does it some justice! I'll set up a facebook event and invite people, if you can let me know asap if you want to come and then as soon as tickets are available I'll get some booked! Happy reading!
