Life of Pi

By Yann Martel

Yann Martel

Born on June 25, 1963 in Salamanca, Spain Grew up in Costa Rica, France, Mexico, and

Canada Considered a resident of Canada Attended Trinity College School – boarding

school in Port Hope, Ontario Attended Trent University in Peterborough,

Ontario where he studied philosophy

Life of Pi

Originally published September, 2001 Follows Pi Patel, a young Indian boy Martel on his novel: “I was sort of looking for

a story, not only with a small ‘s’ but sort of with a capital ‘S’ – something that would direct my life.” What does this mean? What are ‘stories’ and ‘Stories’?

Important ideas to think about

How is faith important within this novel? What symbols are apparent? For what identity is the protagonist

searching? What writing conventions does the author use

to convey the story? How does the setup of each chapter affect

the novel?