What better place to start for our first tip than at the beginning of the book, with the ‘Author’s note’. The writer of this note tells us that he has written two previous novels, and that he was inspired to write the story on a trip to India – just like Yann Martel.
The setting is real, the grant mentioned at the end of the note is real and the book’s two main characters are introduced, as real people. But in the note, the writer questions us:
‘That’s what fiction is about, isn’t it, the selective transforming of reality? The twisting of it to bring out its essence?’
Bearing this in mind, do you believe that the writer of this note, and of the authorial passages which appear in italics through the novel, is really Yann Martel, writing autobiographically?
You might find it helpful to keep this idea of truth versus fiction in mind as you read, and to think about the reliability of the novel’s narrators.
Twitter responses:
- dhebblethwaite Participating in #LifeofPi #readalong. First time reading it. Have read Author’s Note: some interesting blurring between fact and fiction.
- followyournose Started re-reading #LifeofPi yesterday. I’d forgotten all about the framing device involving the “author” and his trip to India #BookTuesday
Maria do Céu Costa
said:posted 3 August 09
I think it is Yann Martel himself, in this “Author’s Note”, who tells us about the second time he decided to leave for India. He had already been there , in the North, certainly when he lived there with his family during childhood or adolescence.
He let us know about some facts in Pondicherry that made us think of how Yann Martel was inspired to write this novel- Life of Pi.
Thank you for the tip 1.
The man he met in the Indian Coffee House (Francis Adirubasamy) was the main source that fuelled Yann Martel’s story as well as the diary notes written by Patel.
Throughout the novel we can find the real contexts along with “the selective transforming of reality” by Yann Martel’s voice.
Pi is an extraordinary character whose narrative gains high acclaim due to Yann Martel’s research and fertile imagination.
Jasmene
said:posted 3 August 09
The writer in the Author’s Note is and isn’t Yann Martel. An author tackling a creative piece starts out with her/his identity and research. These are the key with which to call at the door of the muse. From there, imagination takes the work far from the margins of reality. Perhaps those italicized parts are where the writer takes stock of how far he has traveled from himself.
maryom
said:posted 3 August 09
As I haven’t read Life of Pi, I’m a bit concerned that these readalong notes are going to influence how I react to the book. I prefer my first response to come wholly from myself so I might try to read the book first, then read the backlog of notes and see if my opinion changes.
Alfred Nobile
said:posted 4 August 09
Have started the book. Intended to follow the discussion on Bookcrossing.com but nothing seems to be happening.
Mostafa
said:posted 7 August 09
Hi all,
As I see it, the act of literary creation is an amalgam of the fictive, the real and the imaginary. No one can claim there is a pure fiction; rather “faction” (fact + fiction) may be the appropriate nomenclature. Autobiography is also an illusive term that may insinuate pure reality; while, Life of Pi is a reflection of real facts but “fictionalised” by the tone of the narrator/author who uses metaphors, hyperboles….Subsequently, I can not assert and say for instance “this is the voice of Yan Martel” because by so doing I would not savour the magic aspect of art that makes me forget and overpass the limitations of the real…to be continued
Cheers
Jasmene
said:posted 8 August 09
‘Narrator reliability’ asks us to identify the narrator(s) and to look out for contradictions.
Martel narrates the Author’s Note and Patel the Life of Pi in first person. We wonder whether they are speaking the truth about their adventures. (There’s no evidence so far of the narrators’ duplicity.) YM’s adult biography begins in 1996. Adirubasamy’s and Patel’s rely on older memories. Pi’s tale harbors more uncertainty due to its focus on survival. The growing implausibility leads into the fictional story.
A second consideration about ‘NR’ is whether Pi stands in for Martel. We cannot answer this question because of the unusual nature of events. The writer could wonder about his own actions under similar circumstances. The boy could mirror these beliefs.
jade
said:posted 30 April 11
please i rather listen to this then anything in the world
jade
said:posted 30 April 11
and i have the playaway for this thing and how to i get to read it out loud with the book