Discussion date: February 14, 2005

What we thought:

This was a Rorschach test of a book, where the ultimate meaning seemed to lie in what each reader felt about the ending, not a literal answer to the question of which story to believe. Despite some beautiful writing, the book was difficult to read for many of us because of its graphic descriptions of the shipwreck experience. Indulging in a bit of sexual stereotyping, we thought the particular adventures described made it more of a "guy" book than one appealing to women. Most of us said we preferred the earlier chapters describing Pi's life with his zookeeping family than the time in the lifeboat that made up most of the novel. We were impressed with the many levels of meaning in the novel, all the way through the name of the central character, which stood for both a swimming pool and a symbol for infinity.

For the record, most in our group went with Pi's first story, feeling they'd invested too much in that tale to discard it. Two of us felt strongly that the book was metaphorical, demonstrating that good fiction brings us to a deeper truth than the literal retelling of experiences.