Life of Pi: A Modern (Mis)understanding of Religion The upcoming film release of Life of Pi is a visual celebration of the book, but there is much to be taken from the spiritual message of the original narrative Contemporary literature only rarely tackles life's ultimate meaning. It seems the challenge is now different; how to live without it? Any book that speaks to the contrary, and lionised for its success as well as its resonance, is a book worthy of interest. Life of Pi by Yann Martel is one such book. Winner of the 2002 Man Booker Prize, it is now the subject of a forthcoming film. So before Hollywood could ruin it for me, I decided finally to read it. Promising to convince you of God, its claims, as well as success, are surprising. And how? By telling a story, both fantastic and learned, of a young Indian boy called Pi who survives a ship wreck for 227 days across the Pacific until he reaches Mexico, with only a 450-pound Bengal tiger for company. After reading this you will never look at the sea, zoos and tigers the same again. Martel patiently aggregates detail upon detail until the Pacific is alive, becoming a character in and of itself. Every page is brim full of zoological lore and the tiger is rendered so authentically; one begins to wonder how the author did his research. And yet for all this texture, the style is deliciously limpid. Interestingly, despite being written in