I read this book a year ago and debated about commenting on it, but decided not to after all. But when I took a weekend trip a couple of weeks ago, it just kept coming up in my face. Over and over it was there at bookstores (in town and at the airport), front and center. A number of people pointed it to me, “Have you read this book? It is sooo good!” Hmmm, not sure I totally agree, but it was an interesting read but an unsatisfying ending to me. But, as this book kept coming up in my face so much, here I am adding my thoughts to the blogosphere on it. And it really does have a valuable spiritual lesson – that of the power and importance of honesty. Or perhaps, more accurately, it depicts the devastation of dishonesty.
If you aren’t familiar with the book, here’s a bit of a synopsis. David and Norah Henry, into the start of their marriage after a whirl-wind courtship, are racing to the hospital in a snowstorm in Lexington, Kentucky in the 1960s. She is about to give birth to twins. He is a doctor and must handle the delivery himself, along with the help of Nurse Caroline Gill at his own clinic. Their son is born first – whole and healthy. Their daughter arrives next, with all the signs of Downs Syndrome. David has flashbacks to his childhood, to a sister with the same condition and the misery this created for his mother and difficulties for the family. He makes a decision – to have the girl sent to a home via the nurse and tell his wife their daughter died in childbirth (Norah being unconscious from drugs and pain). Caroline Gill does her duty, at first. She takes the girl to the home David directs her to, but she is disgusted by what she finds and decides to raise the girl on her own. From there, life falls apart for the Henrys and becomes an adventure for Caroline Gill.
Now David has the huge secret of his decision, based on his own assumptions about his wife and her abilities, their relationship, etc., that he must continue to hide from Norah. And their relationship begins to fall apart as he begins to withdraw (from guilt, as a protection). Norah has no idea why this man, who she really didn’t know all that well yet, who was tender and caring, has changed, has closed in on himself. It isn’t until the end of the story that she and their son learn the truth, that they discover this daughter/sister they didn’t know, not until after Norah and David are long divorced and David has died.
For me, the lesson of The Memory Keeper’s Daughter is summed up in this statement from Mary Baker Eddy’s book Science and Health (p. 453):
“Honesty is spiritual power. Dishonesty is human weakness, which forfeits divine help.”
David depicts this weakness. He can’t live up to the obligations and issues that a child with Downs would create. And he assumes this weakness is true of his wife. He cloaks the action in the guise of relieving his wife of a difficult life, assuming she is like his mother, that she is not strong enough to face this type of challenge. And so falls into the trap of dishonesty and the strain of maintaining this lie (BTW, David knew Caroline ended up keeping his daughter, who she named Phoebe. Caroline regularly sent him information and pictures about Phoebe and her life – an action that likely drove David’s guilt deeper and caused him to retreat further within himself.).
I don’t know anyone with a child with Downs, but have certainly read and heard stories of those that do. These stories always depict people that truly rise to the occasion, that reach new levels of strength and love, that find special family bonds as the whole family unites to care for this precious one. David took this opportunity away from his family. From the characterization of Norah, she seems like one who would have cared for their special needs daughter with grace, love, and great strength. If David had been honest, if he had let Norah in on the decision, life would certainly have been totally different for the Henrys. But I don’t think it could have been worse than how it turned out, for sure! They could have found that spiritual strength to propel them along this path that was different than expected but that still would have been filled with joy and love, based on an honest, open decision from moment one of Phoebe’s appearance in their lives. Caroline Gill certainly had a wonderful life with Phoebe and did much good for many based on this dear girl’s presence in her life. It became more than it would have been otherwise.
Okay, yes, just a story, but a great lesson in the importance, the criticalness of honesty. And probably a good one about not making assumptions about others, too, cause you know what they say, when you “assume” you make an “ass” out of “u” and “me.” ;-0
So, not a whole-hearted recommendation of this book, but don’t let this stop you from reading it if you feel drawn to it.
Showing posts with label Book Corner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book Corner. Show all posts
September 07, 2007
February 26, 2007
The Time Traveler's Wife
Fascinating book! Really different. It bends one's thought about time and relationships. And, as time is something most all of us think about a lot (too little, too much, too full, too fast, etc., etc.), thought I'd point out this interesting novel.
In this book by Audrey Niffenegger, the primary character, Henry, can travel through time. And he travels pretty regularly - but has no control over his going and coming. At any moment, he can be gone, leavning all personal posessions (yes, clothes and all!) behind. So he's had to adjust his life around this, um, characteristic, trait, inconvenience? He doesn't drive. Wouldn't want to abandon a car on the highway! Doesn't make too many plans - may not make them afterall. But he does get married, to Clare.
I really liked Clare. I think at least in part because I can relate to her on some level as my husband travels for work, and we never know when he'll be coming or going. So... no plans, no pre-buying tickets for concerts or whatever, no spontaneous weekends, just flexibility. And this is where Clare and Henry are living, too. They never knew when they would pop out and pop back in. At least we have an hour's notice of when my husband has to leave! I think I can be more grateful for that after reading this book.
For much of Henry's time travel, he ends up visiting his wife, starting when she is very young on up through her old age. It is interesting to watch the interplay of who knows who and what, when. For example, when Henry first meets Clare in her real, linear life line, she is in grade school. To Henry, at that meeting when he's in his forties, he's know her for years and they've been married for most of that. But when Henry and Clare meet in Henry's real, linear life time (when he's in his late 20s and she's just out of college), Clare knows Henry very well, but Henry doesn't know her from Adam - okay, Eve. To Clare, she's know him for most of her life. (Yes, probably pretty confusing to describe.) So Clare grows up knowing much about her future husband and their life together. Henry grows up knowing nothing about his future wife.
But Clare doesn't know everything. That's one of the lessons Henry learned, and part of the moral code he imposes on himself in relation to his time travel and interaction with family and friends. He learned early on that, when he goes back in time (and does often to at least one particular heart-wrenching episode in his life), he can't change what happened (Star Trek fans will well appreciate this perspective!). Not that he didn't try at first. He did. But he learned that he just couldn't change things. He also found he couldn't change the future. So it was better not to tell to much to others about what would happen. (Yeah, okay, he did tell Clare a lot, basically grooming her to be his wife as she grew up. He was just selective about what he shared and how.)
I admire the Henry character for his ability to stick with the moral principles he developed. There was only one instance he broke one of his rules. And it really was a sweet reason. I also felt for him - such an eratic lifestyle. He lived in much fear of others finding out, and some hope that somehow he could find a "cure" for this condition.
Oh, and it was no problem for him to be with himself in another time period. Essentially he trained himself to be able to handle this time travel. Not sure what that does for the space-time continuum.... :)
Anyway, with all this time travel and interplay among different times of these two individual's lives, it just makes you have to stop and think about time and its meaning. Essentially, for these two it becomes somewhat irrelevant and at the same time very precious. Each moment together is more important because you don't know how long it will last. So they end up pretty much living in the moment. Not a bad plan.
Even reading the book was an interesting experience in time perspective. One time I could read for a while, feel like I'd read for hours and got far along, and find it had only been a few pages and our minutes. Another time I'd read and read feeling like I was getting nowhere only to discover I'd read an amazing amount of material and only in an hour. What relevance is time, anyway?
So if you want some thought bending on time and relationships, you might like to check out this book. It's a bit of a wild ride, but I found it worthwhile. Or, if you have read this book, I'd love to hear what you thought about it!
Hmmm, thinking about time and bending our thought about it, makes me think of another long time favorite - Einstein's Dreams. Think I'll have to reread and blog on it.
In this book by Audrey Niffenegger, the primary character, Henry, can travel through time. And he travels pretty regularly - but has no control over his going and coming. At any moment, he can be gone, leavning all personal posessions (yes, clothes and all!) behind. So he's had to adjust his life around this, um, characteristic, trait, inconvenience? He doesn't drive. Wouldn't want to abandon a car on the highway! Doesn't make too many plans - may not make them afterall. But he does get married, to Clare.
I really liked Clare. I think at least in part because I can relate to her on some level as my husband travels for work, and we never know when he'll be coming or going. So... no plans, no pre-buying tickets for concerts or whatever, no spontaneous weekends, just flexibility. And this is where Clare and Henry are living, too. They never knew when they would pop out and pop back in. At least we have an hour's notice of when my husband has to leave! I think I can be more grateful for that after reading this book.
For much of Henry's time travel, he ends up visiting his wife, starting when she is very young on up through her old age. It is interesting to watch the interplay of who knows who and what, when. For example, when Henry first meets Clare in her real, linear life line, she is in grade school. To Henry, at that meeting when he's in his forties, he's know her for years and they've been married for most of that. But when Henry and Clare meet in Henry's real, linear life time (when he's in his late 20s and she's just out of college), Clare knows Henry very well, but Henry doesn't know her from Adam - okay, Eve. To Clare, she's know him for most of her life. (Yes, probably pretty confusing to describe.) So Clare grows up knowing much about her future husband and their life together. Henry grows up knowing nothing about his future wife.
But Clare doesn't know everything. That's one of the lessons Henry learned, and part of the moral code he imposes on himself in relation to his time travel and interaction with family and friends. He learned early on that, when he goes back in time (and does often to at least one particular heart-wrenching episode in his life), he can't change what happened (Star Trek fans will well appreciate this perspective!). Not that he didn't try at first. He did. But he learned that he just couldn't change things. He also found he couldn't change the future. So it was better not to tell to much to others about what would happen. (Yeah, okay, he did tell Clare a lot, basically grooming her to be his wife as she grew up. He was just selective about what he shared and how.)
I admire the Henry character for his ability to stick with the moral principles he developed. There was only one instance he broke one of his rules. And it really was a sweet reason. I also felt for him - such an eratic lifestyle. He lived in much fear of others finding out, and some hope that somehow he could find a "cure" for this condition.
Oh, and it was no problem for him to be with himself in another time period. Essentially he trained himself to be able to handle this time travel. Not sure what that does for the space-time continuum.... :)
Anyway, with all this time travel and interplay among different times of these two individual's lives, it just makes you have to stop and think about time and its meaning. Essentially, for these two it becomes somewhat irrelevant and at the same time very precious. Each moment together is more important because you don't know how long it will last. So they end up pretty much living in the moment. Not a bad plan.
Even reading the book was an interesting experience in time perspective. One time I could read for a while, feel like I'd read for hours and got far along, and find it had only been a few pages and our minutes. Another time I'd read and read feeling like I was getting nowhere only to discover I'd read an amazing amount of material and only in an hour. What relevance is time, anyway?
So if you want some thought bending on time and relationships, you might like to check out this book. It's a bit of a wild ride, but I found it worthwhile. Or, if you have read this book, I'd love to hear what you thought about it!
Hmmm, thinking about time and bending our thought about it, makes me think of another long time favorite - Einstein's Dreams. Think I'll have to reread and blog on it.
June 12, 2006
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
I just finished reading this incredible book! [Yeah, it's been out for a couple of years; just getting to it thanks to my sister-in-law (a newfound book supplier/fellow junkie!).] And it is not, at first glance, something I thought I'd be writing about in this blog, but, wow!, was it good! And so relevant for the time. Kite Runner gives amazing insight into the culture of Afghanistan over the past four decades along with the political and religious upheaval the citizens of the country have endured (a subject about which I've learned quite a bit over the last 4+ years, but of which I still know so little.). Though not containing a focus on spirituality, this book does raise a number of moral and ethical issues - certainly in the spiritual ball park!!
I would probably lump Kite Runner into historical fiction - though it is VERY recent history as it overs the last four decades of the 20th Century. Primarily set in Afghanistan, the story focuses on the life of Amir, born in the early 1960s, and his relationships with his father (Baba), Hassan (the servant's son, who is about the same age). When he is in his late teens, he and his father, under dark of night and with many bribes, emigrate to the United States, leaving behind the shambles of the country they have known and loved. But for the two of them and the other Afghan refugees, Afghanistan continues to be a vital part of their lives. It is truly an intense culture - full of customs and ritual - that they all keep very close.
The relationship of these three characters is probably best expressed by the author on page 11:
______________________________
Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. We took our first steps on the same lawn in the same yeard. And, under the sames roof, we spoke our first words. Mine was Baba. His was Amir. My name. Looking back on it now, I think the foundation for what happened in the winter of 1975 - and all that followed - was already laid in those first words.
______________________________
And this is so true! Baba is one of those bigger-than-life sort of men - great at everything, strong, athletic, successful. Amir wants, more than anything, to please his father, but, as an almost total opposite - awkward, fearful, bookish - never is able to achieve that goal. Hassan is a friend and companion for Amir - he is totally devoted to him and clings to his every word. Hassan is also a Shi'a, a Hazara, a member of the lowest social and religious class. Though he was truly a friend to Amir, Amir could not, would not acknowledge this fact - espcially publicly, yet not even privately to himself. He just could not find it in himself to say that word, no matter how true he knew it was. This moral dilema is a constant struggle for Amir and leads to the events of 1975 and beyond alluded to in the quote above (not going to tell you anything about them as they are pivotal! Read the book!) - events which totally change the lives of Hassan and his father and leave Amir emotionally scarred for the next 25 years. It is Amir's return to Afghanistan at the request of his father's closest and life-long friend that fully reopens these wounds for Amir and brings about healing for him and, essentially, for Hassan.
The ethical and moral issues abound - racial prejudice, religious bigotry, our relationship and responsibilities to our neighbors (i.e., brothers, sisters, friends, family, with all the etc.), standing up for what is right in tough situations - even in the face of possible death, and I am sure more just not coming to thought right now. Amir faces these - loses, deals with the repercussons, and, at the end, wins. Our actions truly do impact our lives - perhaps not openly, in a physical, for-all-the-world-to-see sort of way - but they do, maybe more than the lives of those who bare the obvious hurt. But there is hope of resolution and healing (always!). The end is sweet and satisfying as Amir reaches for this better goal of resolving his past mistakes. This would make Baba truly pleased with Amir!
I litterally could not put this book down! Except for some crucial points where I was just MAD at Amir (e.g., 1975) and then afraid for him (a few in his trip back t his homeland), the book was always at hand and I zipped through it - and I am an admittedly slow reader! I do hope you will read this book if you haven't. Will love to hear your take on it if you have read it or after you do!
I would probably lump Kite Runner into historical fiction - though it is VERY recent history as it overs the last four decades of the 20th Century. Primarily set in Afghanistan, the story focuses on the life of Amir, born in the early 1960s, and his relationships with his father (Baba), Hassan (the servant's son, who is about the same age). When he is in his late teens, he and his father, under dark of night and with many bribes, emigrate to the United States, leaving behind the shambles of the country they have known and loved. But for the two of them and the other Afghan refugees, Afghanistan continues to be a vital part of their lives. It is truly an intense culture - full of customs and ritual - that they all keep very close.
The relationship of these three characters is probably best expressed by the author on page 11:
______________________________
Hassan and I fed from the same breasts. We took our first steps on the same lawn in the same yeard. And, under the sames roof, we spoke our first words. Mine was Baba. His was Amir. My name. Looking back on it now, I think the foundation for what happened in the winter of 1975 - and all that followed - was already laid in those first words.
______________________________
And this is so true! Baba is one of those bigger-than-life sort of men - great at everything, strong, athletic, successful. Amir wants, more than anything, to please his father, but, as an almost total opposite - awkward, fearful, bookish - never is able to achieve that goal. Hassan is a friend and companion for Amir - he is totally devoted to him and clings to his every word. Hassan is also a Shi'a, a Hazara, a member of the lowest social and religious class. Though he was truly a friend to Amir, Amir could not, would not acknowledge this fact - espcially publicly, yet not even privately to himself. He just could not find it in himself to say that word, no matter how true he knew it was. This moral dilema is a constant struggle for Amir and leads to the events of 1975 and beyond alluded to in the quote above (not going to tell you anything about them as they are pivotal! Read the book!) - events which totally change the lives of Hassan and his father and leave Amir emotionally scarred for the next 25 years. It is Amir's return to Afghanistan at the request of his father's closest and life-long friend that fully reopens these wounds for Amir and brings about healing for him and, essentially, for Hassan.
The ethical and moral issues abound - racial prejudice, religious bigotry, our relationship and responsibilities to our neighbors (i.e., brothers, sisters, friends, family, with all the etc.), standing up for what is right in tough situations - even in the face of possible death, and I am sure more just not coming to thought right now. Amir faces these - loses, deals with the repercussons, and, at the end, wins. Our actions truly do impact our lives - perhaps not openly, in a physical, for-all-the-world-to-see sort of way - but they do, maybe more than the lives of those who bare the obvious hurt. But there is hope of resolution and healing (always!). The end is sweet and satisfying as Amir reaches for this better goal of resolving his past mistakes. This would make Baba truly pleased with Amir!
I litterally could not put this book down! Except for some crucial points where I was just MAD at Amir (e.g., 1975) and then afraid for him (a few in his trip back t his homeland), the book was always at hand and I zipped through it - and I am an admittedly slow reader! I do hope you will read this book if you haven't. Will love to hear your take on it if you have read it or after you do!
April 21, 2006
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Have you read this book???? Have you?? You really must if you haven't! Life of Pi by Yann Martel is amazing! I've shared this book with a number of people - all have loved it (well, all but one). My husband's sister (another book junkie) gave us this book. Well, technically she gave it to my husband as a gift, not know that he would probably never read it as it has nothing to do with current events or isn't a newspaper! But it kept calling to me, and the call worked. I began to read it a couple of days after we got it and couldn't put it down. Almost everything else stopped until I was done. Fortunatly I was done in just a couple of days. Please, go read this book, especially before you read further in this post!! WARNING: Spoilers ahead!! And you don't want to spoil this book, believe me!
Okay, warnings are out there. Now on with it.
Life of Pi is the story of a young boy (about 16) from Pondicherry, India. His family owns a zoo there, which he loves. Due to difficult times, his father decides to move the zoo and the family to Canada. While at sea - people and animals and their home on a large freighter - the ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone on a life raft, in the middle of the Pacific ocean, with a Bengal tiger. Yeah, really. Or really??
The book is divided into three parts. The first part is devoted to Pi's life in India. Not a typical life for any teen given he lives at a zoo and his full name is the French word for pool - piscene. (Well, maybe somewhat normal. Exasperating older brother, all the nuances of family life, the hassles of trying to fit in with school mates, you know.) The zoo is somewhat of a refuge for Pi, but he finds greater refuge in religious exploration. Pretty amazing for an early-teen to go investigating the three major religions found in his area - Hindu, Christianity and Islam. I don't know of many people that age who are thus inclined - I know I wasn't! But investigate he does - and he finds something truly wonderful within each religion - something that he really connects with. And then he blends these prime essences together into his daily spiritual practice. Now, be aware, the three men with whom he studies from each of these groups are totally unaware of Pi's interest in the other two religions! This sets Pi and the three spiritual leaders up for a VERY interesting encounter at the zoo one day. An encounter that is perhaps, sadly, reflective of reality of ingrained, traditional religious opinion - that every aspect of what they do is right and nothing that the others do has merit. Oh, well!
Part 1 ends with Pi and his family on their way Canada - zoo and home packed up. Soon into part two, in the early morning hours the ship is foundering. Pi is able to make it to a life boat along with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and that Bengal tiger. Eventually it is only Pi and the tiger. With the help of what he has learned from the zookeepers at his father's zoo, Pi is able to come up with solutions that protect himself from the tiger. It is a long, arduous drift across the sea from there. You feel Pi's struggles, his ups and downs, rejoice with his little victories.
I found myself frustrated through some of this section of the book though, mostly because, after all that set up in part one where Pi is learning about God and how to relate to him, Pi never prays (accept for a couple of calls out to Allah or Vishnu). Religion seems cast aside. What was all that point from the first part? To me, the answer to this question is revealed in the third part of this book. Pi has come to shore somewhere in Mexico. He is found by natives and eventually makes it a hospital. When he is recovered enough to tell his story, agents from the shipping company come to visit him in an effort to learn about what happened to their freighter. Pi tells them his story - tiger and all. And, not surprisingly, they don't believe him in the least. After many questions and prying to get more out of him, Pi fianally tells them a different story. He wasn't the only human survivor from the shipwreck. Three others join him in that lifeboat - his mother, the ship's cook and another who I can't remember (and the book's still on loan!). The cook was ruthless and soon kills the other two and would kill Pi. But Pi is able to outwit him enough to stay alive. The cook eventually is killed by Pi, and Pi is alone, drifting towards Central America in a life boat.
So how does this second story answer my question about Pi's religious convictions? Here's what I am thinking - essentially both stories are true (and this is the question those with whom I've shared the book have asked - which story is the real story?). Perhaps, on the surface the latter/part 3 story is the real one, but in a spiritual context, the second one is equally true. Pi was able to see each individual in that boat as an animal quality in a sense. This view of the situation helped to protect him from what could be an extremely psychologically traumatic and potentially damaging experience. In essence, he saw the tiger as the killer of the hyena, not hiimself as the killer of the cook. So his religious learning helped him discern the difference in the real nature of the individuals around him, separate from the animal natures that wanted to surface in response to the dire situation.
It also dawned on me recently that perhaps this seeming lack of God is kind of like the book of Esther in the Bible. I don't know if you are familiar with this book, but in it, God is not mentioned at all - not once, nada, zilch. His name is never said, evoked, referred to, nothing. But, really, that doesn't mean he was left out of the book. (I wrote a paper on this in college - Old Testament course - so, bare with me!) God really was present in the good and moral acts that Esther and others do in this book. Their love and trust of God enabled her to take the steps she needed to do to save her people. And that, I think, is the case for our friend Pi adrift on the ocean. God is there with him (well, I believe that God is there with everyone all the time anyway, but that aside...) protecting him, giving him the wisdom he needed to survive, sustaining him. His view and love of God sustain him on that ocean. What he learned through his prayers, etc. in part one lifts his thought above the awful picture before him. This saved him. A good lesson for us all - whether we are adrift on the ocean or just feel like we are!
So, I would love to hear what you thought about this book! Please let me know! Perhaps you have further insights on it or another perspective. Would love to hear it.
Okay, warnings are out there. Now on with it.
Life of Pi is the story of a young boy (about 16) from Pondicherry, India. His family owns a zoo there, which he loves. Due to difficult times, his father decides to move the zoo and the family to Canada. While at sea - people and animals and their home on a large freighter - the ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone on a life raft, in the middle of the Pacific ocean, with a Bengal tiger. Yeah, really. Or really??
The book is divided into three parts. The first part is devoted to Pi's life in India. Not a typical life for any teen given he lives at a zoo and his full name is the French word for pool - piscene. (Well, maybe somewhat normal. Exasperating older brother, all the nuances of family life, the hassles of trying to fit in with school mates, you know.) The zoo is somewhat of a refuge for Pi, but he finds greater refuge in religious exploration. Pretty amazing for an early-teen to go investigating the three major religions found in his area - Hindu, Christianity and Islam. I don't know of many people that age who are thus inclined - I know I wasn't! But investigate he does - and he finds something truly wonderful within each religion - something that he really connects with. And then he blends these prime essences together into his daily spiritual practice. Now, be aware, the three men with whom he studies from each of these groups are totally unaware of Pi's interest in the other two religions! This sets Pi and the three spiritual leaders up for a VERY interesting encounter at the zoo one day. An encounter that is perhaps, sadly, reflective of reality of ingrained, traditional religious opinion - that every aspect of what they do is right and nothing that the others do has merit. Oh, well!
Part 1 ends with Pi and his family on their way Canada - zoo and home packed up. Soon into part two, in the early morning hours the ship is foundering. Pi is able to make it to a life boat along with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and that Bengal tiger. Eventually it is only Pi and the tiger. With the help of what he has learned from the zookeepers at his father's zoo, Pi is able to come up with solutions that protect himself from the tiger. It is a long, arduous drift across the sea from there. You feel Pi's struggles, his ups and downs, rejoice with his little victories.
I found myself frustrated through some of this section of the book though, mostly because, after all that set up in part one where Pi is learning about God and how to relate to him, Pi never prays (accept for a couple of calls out to Allah or Vishnu). Religion seems cast aside. What was all that point from the first part? To me, the answer to this question is revealed in the third part of this book. Pi has come to shore somewhere in Mexico. He is found by natives and eventually makes it a hospital. When he is recovered enough to tell his story, agents from the shipping company come to visit him in an effort to learn about what happened to their freighter. Pi tells them his story - tiger and all. And, not surprisingly, they don't believe him in the least. After many questions and prying to get more out of him, Pi fianally tells them a different story. He wasn't the only human survivor from the shipwreck. Three others join him in that lifeboat - his mother, the ship's cook and another who I can't remember (and the book's still on loan!). The cook was ruthless and soon kills the other two and would kill Pi. But Pi is able to outwit him enough to stay alive. The cook eventually is killed by Pi, and Pi is alone, drifting towards Central America in a life boat.
So how does this second story answer my question about Pi's religious convictions? Here's what I am thinking - essentially both stories are true (and this is the question those with whom I've shared the book have asked - which story is the real story?). Perhaps, on the surface the latter/part 3 story is the real one, but in a spiritual context, the second one is equally true. Pi was able to see each individual in that boat as an animal quality in a sense. This view of the situation helped to protect him from what could be an extremely psychologically traumatic and potentially damaging experience. In essence, he saw the tiger as the killer of the hyena, not hiimself as the killer of the cook. So his religious learning helped him discern the difference in the real nature of the individuals around him, separate from the animal natures that wanted to surface in response to the dire situation.
It also dawned on me recently that perhaps this seeming lack of God is kind of like the book of Esther in the Bible. I don't know if you are familiar with this book, but in it, God is not mentioned at all - not once, nada, zilch. His name is never said, evoked, referred to, nothing. But, really, that doesn't mean he was left out of the book. (I wrote a paper on this in college - Old Testament course - so, bare with me!) God really was present in the good and moral acts that Esther and others do in this book. Their love and trust of God enabled her to take the steps she needed to do to save her people. And that, I think, is the case for our friend Pi adrift on the ocean. God is there with him (well, I believe that God is there with everyone all the time anyway, but that aside...) protecting him, giving him the wisdom he needed to survive, sustaining him. His view and love of God sustain him on that ocean. What he learned through his prayers, etc. in part one lifts his thought above the awful picture before him. This saved him. A good lesson for us all - whether we are adrift on the ocean or just feel like we are!
So, I would love to hear what you thought about this book! Please let me know! Perhaps you have further insights on it or another perspective. Would love to hear it.
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