2. Paste the link here and write a 150+ words summary of the main ideas the link offers.
3. Write a poignant, provocative, thorough question you would like Martel to answer when we are privileged to Skype with him next month on a date TBD during an eighth period--thanks to Erin Buse who assertively tracked him down and asked with great tact and tactic!
90 comments:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/life-after-pi-how-yann-martels-moved-on-from-his-book-and-oscar-worthy-film/article7342707/
In this article Yann Martel speaks about the success of “Life of Pi”, the failure of “Beatrice and Virgil”, and how the film version of “Life Of Pi” is not his. Martel seems very humble and poignant in this interview, claiming that he is expecting an invitation to the films rewards, but that he is unconnected from the book at this point in his life. 9 million copies floating around and he feels as though the story has taken on a life of its own. He claims he is desensitized to Pi’s success and also to Beatrice and Virgils relative failure. He is working on a new project in his studio and says he will include animals in his new novel as well, stating that they are powerful metaphors.
My question to Yann Martel is : What’s your number one priority when writing? Is it an outlet for you or for humanity?
http://textualities.net/jennie-renton/yann-martel-interview/
This link is an interview with Yann Martel about his motivations for writing Life of Pi, as well as his personal beliefs in relation to the book. One of the main points he comes back to is the somewhat ridiculous nature of the story. No one has ever heard about a boy from three religions stranded on a boat with a tiger for months. Martel believes that people are tired of the ordinary, and that stories like his help to reignite the flame of imagination, one that is often dormant in our modern culture. When asks about his personal spiritual stance he is simply trying to find his place in this world and explore the great mystery that is life. He believes that religion and science should not be enemies, but rather allies, each leading the other further into the unknown. My main questions for Yann Martel would be: Now that some time has passed, do you believe that writing Life of Pi and helping people to gain a better understanding of life could be your purpose in life, and has it been all along?
Pearce 1
http://lifeofpiscine.edublogs.org/yann-martel-biography/
This article about Martel talks about his upbringing in various different countries. He was born in Spain, but spent time in Canada, Mexico, and Costa Rica. Later on in life, he then spent 13 months in India and and also visited Iran and Turkey. For college, he studied at Trinity College in Port Hope, Ontario and then Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario--both of these are in Canada.
All of his different travels have a clear impact on the writing of Martel. If he doesn’t spend so much time in these different countries, he isn’t able to write in such detail the way he does in Life of Pi. He is able to write about Pi practicing three different religions because Martel has experience with all three of these religions in real life. He is Christian, but has met with other people who practice other religions, so he knows how to explain in detail about these religions.
Question:
I’ve traveled out of the country many times and have enjoyed visiting new places and seeing new and different things. So I’m wondering, why do you like to travel and visit different countries?
http://www.gradesaver.com/author/yann-martel/
This link leads to a biography of Yann Martel. I think reading biographies of authors are extremely important while reading a book, because it helps you to understand where they get their inspiration and why they write with the themes they do. I think the most interesting thing about Yann Martel is how many places he has lived throughout his life. He has lived in Spain, Costa Rica, France, India, Iran, Mexico, Turkey, Canada and the United States. His family eventually settled in Montreal where Martel lived most of his life. It does not say what age he was when he lived in all of these places, which is disappointing, because it does not mean as much if he was too little to remember. This link also contains information about his later life, where he went to college, what he studied, some information about his early work, and some of the controversy surrounding Life of Pi.
If I could ask Yann Martel a question, it would be, “Out of all the places you have traveled to, which has inspired you the most or has had the biggest impact on your work?”
Mutschelknaus 1
http://www.gradesaver.com/author/yann-martel/
Yann Martel was born in Spain, but throughout his childhood lived in many countries including Costa Rica, France, Iran, Mexico, and many others. He and his family eventually settled in Montreal. He attended Trent University, but got his Bachelor of Arts in philosophy at Concordia University. After graduating, he worked many odd jobs including a librarian, tree planter, dishwasher, security guard, and parking lot attendant. At the age of 27, he fully committed himself to writing. His first work, The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios and Other stories, was a collection of short stories that received warm critical reception, but ultimately did not appeal to the public. He went on to write other stories including Self, but his big seller came when he wrote Life of Pi. For inspiration, Martel traveled to India to not only work on his third novel, but also figure out where his life was going. Life of Pi, published in 2001, was by far his best seller. It received the Man Booker Prize and became and international best-seller. However, Martel was accused of plagiarism concerning the novel Max and the Cats. Martel acknowledges that he thought of the idea after reading the novel, but he was not charged. Martel now resides in Montreal.
Question:
My question for Martel is how was he able to continue writing after two failed novels to start his career. I would think it would be disheartening to write two novels that did not sell well. What motivation propelled him to keep writing when he could have changed jobs instead?
Eigenberg 1
http://lifeofpiscine.edublogs.org/yann-martel-biography/
Yann Martel was born in Salamanca, Spain, on June 25th, 1963. As a child, he attended a boarding school in Ontario and later attended Trent University to study philosophy. Martel enjoyed traveling and visited countries such as Iran, Turkey, and India. On these trips Yann Martel would frequently visit churches, mosques, temples and zoos, all in hopes of expanding his knowledge in philosophy. Visiting religious buildings reflects his love for all kinds of religions. All of these excursions are reflected in the books he wrote, such as Seven Stories and Life of Pi. Martel also enjoyed reading castaway stories and religious text, which also led to the creation of those two books. Pi’s love for three different religions directly reflects how Yann Martel seeks to learn and understand other’s religious beliefs. “I write to understand issues that are important to me, to express my creative energies and to pass the time in a meaningful way”, this quote gives us a look as to what inspires him to write and why enjoys it so much.
After traveling to so many diverse cultures and regions do you continue to find other cultures intriguing and could this help you to have ideas for another novel?
http://lifeofpiscine.edublogs.org/yann-martel-biography/
Yan Martel is an intelligent Spanish-born Canadian. He was born June 25, 1963 in Salamanca, Spain. As a child he traveled all over the world. As a child he was raised in Costa Rica, Mexico and Canada. As a young boy Martel became a world traveler. He got the firsthand experience in foreign cultures such as Iran, Turkey and India. He spent thirteen months in India visiting all the great temples, churches, mosques and zoos. Martel also spent two years of his life reading and studying religious texts and castaway stories. This helped further his studies and knowledge in philosophy. Martel went to a boarding school called Trinity College in Port Hope. He later joined Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario to study philosophy. The places and cultures he has experienced helped shape his life by giving him a much better understanding of philosophy.
Question.
Is your exploration of multifaith in Life of Pi a part of your exploration of the boundaries and blurrings of reality, fiction and storytelling? Is multifaith comparable to a multiple-reality existence?
http://bigthink.com/videos/why-boys-dont-read
http://bigthink.com/videos/the-role-of-religion-in-a-writers-life
Yann Marte: The Role of Religion in a Writer's Life
This link shows an interview with Martel asking the questions; "What role does religion play in your life?" and "How did you come to religion?" His answers were very startling to me. He claims to be "religious" in the sense that faith isn't believing in certain things but is, rather, an openness to believe in things. He says he is religious, but does not seem to have faith nor belief in one religion. His openness comes from the belief that an atheist's reason will do nothing for you on your death bed. However, he doesn't believe in anything specific. Martel also said that he grew up in the most secular part of Canada and that his background was completely secular. He studied philosophy which he said is a great way to become an atheist. Writing "Life of Pi" is what he says brought him to religion, and this came about from his travels to India. He says; "And so it was India that brought me to that, I saw a face of religion, a side to it that I’d never seen before, and decided to sort of investigate, 'Well, what would it mean to have to have faith? That crazy, crazy phenomenon where you are obdurately not reasonable, what would that do?' So I posited this character who had lots of faith, Pi, Pi Patel, who practices three religions. And from being just a conceit, an artistic conceit, I fell in love with my subject matter and I started being like him and thinking, 'Well, why not entertain Brahma and Allah and Jesus and Buddha and the gods of Jainism and, you know, and why not sprites and all these other things? Why not? Why not? What’s to be gained?'"
My question for Yann Martel: Don't you believe that by having faith in so many contradicting beliefs, that, in fact, it is not believing in any of them?
Long 1
http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm/author_number/823/yann-martel
By clicking upon this link, it will bring you to an interview with Yann Martel over his novel Life of Pi. The first question the interviewer asks Martel is, “what was your inspiration in writing Life of Pi?” Yann Martel replies, “Pi was inspired by two things: India, and a so-so review I read ten years ago in the NY Times Review of Books.” By saying “Pi was inspired” we can tell that Martel was really connected to what he was writing and he was a whole new person, Pi, with a whole new perspective. Martel was also asked why he included three religions in his book. He responded that he wanted to discuss faith, but not an organized religion. Yann Martel relativized religion by having Pi practice three different religions instead of just one. He also says that he is a religious person, but in a broad way. This might explain the use of the different religions in the book. Martel wanted his faith to be presented in the novel, but not just in one way—he says this is what keeps faith alive.
Question:
What did it feel like to be so connected to the character, Pi, you wrote about? At times did it feel like he was an actual person?
Kruse 1
http://textualities.net/jennie-renton/yann-martel-interview/
The link I have chosen is an interview with Yann Martel. As in all interviews, a few questions are asked, and they are answered. However, some of the answers can help us gain further insight into Martel’s great book. He explains that the scene with the hyena eating the zebra is so graphic because life itself if full of unpalatable realities, and he prefers to face them rather than gloss over them. I had wondered why he made this scene so graphic, as well, and now it is more understandable to me. This is what animals do, there is not “nice” way to put it. I also really love the way he explains Life of Pi as a whole, that “1) Life is a story. 2) You can choose your story. 3) A story with God is a better story.” I think that this novel will be something that challenges students’ way of thinking about religion.
My question for Mr. Martel: In the first few pages of the book, an unnamed, elderly man tells the writer, “‘I have a story that will make you believe in God.’” Piscine is attempting to convince the writer, but this is a loose end. Does our writer believe after speaking with Pi? How does Life of Pi help us to believe in God, too?
Rykhus 1
http://www.powells.com/essays/martel.html
This Article contains a plot summary of the book Max and Cats, A strikingly similar novel to life of Pi in terms of plot line, which was written by a Brazilian writer in 1981 and translated to English in 1990. The story is about a Jewish family that has a zoo in berlin and when things get bad with the government they pack u the animals and take a ship to Brazil. One Jewish man survives the boat sinking and is stuck with a black panther on his boat. Do you see any similarities? I do. Martel had heard of the book but could not get his hands on a copy of it before he released his book in 2002. This Article is an essay composed by Martel himself and it seemed that he did not intend to copy the book but he needed a story, and came up with the idea of mixing zoology with religion, and this was the plot line that gave him the most effective delivery.
Beldin 1
http://www.nationalpost.com/arts/story.html?id=2784209
Yann Martel once said, “Life of Pi was actually a very simple novel to write, the process for this one [Beatrice and Virgil] was particularly torturous.” After writing “Life of Pi”, Martel wanted to compose a story that was quite different from his previous success. Martel said that he didn’t want his second book, which is half novel and half essay, to be a follow-up to “Life of Pi”, but instead its own book all together. Martel chose to write a flip book to stray away from what he has already composed. But, inevitably this wouldn’t prevail, Martel’s publisher convinced him to go away from his idea of a flip book. Martel found the writing of “Beatrice and Virgil”, to be torturous because he put more effort into this novel then he felt he put into his previous one. Martel went through multiple drafts, starting with a play then an essay. He would destroy what he had already been written just to write it again. Martel studied a remarkable amount to make the novel perfect. He visited Auschwitz, and read books about the holocaust just to make the novel perfect. It remarkable Martel didn’t give up on this novel, and try to write something different.
Question: What kept you writing Beatrice and Virgil? Were there points while composing that you felt like giving up? Do you feel an immense amount of pressure when trying to compose a novel after “Life of Pi”?
West 1
http://www.library.nashville.org/NashvilleReads/LifeofPi_AuthorBio_Synopsis.pdf
Yann Martel’s books were not popular outside of Canada until his book Life of Pi. When this best seller came out, his other books also started gaining international attention. The Facts behind the Helsinki Roccamatios and Other Stories was Martel’s first published book. The first short story in the series was The Facts behind the Helsinki Roccamatios. It was about a book about two friends writing fictional Roccamatios as one friend was dying of AIDS. The stories reveal much of each of the two friends personal character and concerns. The second, most popular story was The Time I Heard the Private Donald J. Rankin String Concerto with One Discordant Violin, by the American Composer John Morton. It is a story about a Canadian who visits Washington D.C. and attends a concert in an abandoned theater. The narrator's thoughts wander during the performance and he later talks with the composer. The story raises questions about the meaning of achievement and near misses. The last story in the volume, The Vita Aeterna Mirror Company: Mirrors to Last Till
Kingdom Come, is an old woman telling her life story and being listened to by her bored grandson.
Hindbjorgen 1
http://www.library.nashville.org/NashvilleReads/LifeofPi_AuthorBio_Synopsis.pdf
Although I have always pictured Yann Martel spending a majority of his life in India, he only was a resident there for just over a year. Martel was born in Spain to Canadian parents, and moved around the world through his childhood as his parents were members of the Canadian foreign service. He did not commit his career exclusively to writing until the age of twenty-seven. Prior to his writing career he jumped around from odd job to odd job, finding work as a tree planter, a dishwasher, and a security guard. Martel did not even visit India until he was well into adulthood and traveled extensively. His first book was a collection of short stories entitled The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios. He wrote several other novels, including Self, We Ate the Children Last, and Beatrice and Virgil. Martel did not gain excessive recognition however until his most famous novel Life of Pi. Martel has gained worldwide attention to all of his novels now, Life of Pi has grown in popularity and he has won many literary awards including the Booker Prize. Since his newfound fame, Martel has taught at the University of Berlin and served as a writer in residence at a library in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. From 2007 to 2011, Martel made a statement about his love for reading and literature as he sent a new book every two weeks to the Prime Minister of Canada, as he heard he was not an avid reader. In total, he sent the Prime minister 101 books.
My question for Yann Martel:
I am unsure if it is your multicultural upbringing or an illusion through your novel Life of Pi, but I have been under the impression that India has played a huge role in your life. However, you were neither raised their nor have spent a significant portion of your life there. Why did you choose to make Pi from India? Why did you feel that you had a complete understanding enough to write an entire novel deeply entwined in Indian culture?
Rykhus 1
When faced with problems, should we turn to instincts or to our humanistic side to solve them?
John Bachman pd 1
http://www.library.nashville.org/NashvilleReads/LifeofPi_AuthorBio_Synopsis.pdf
Yann Martel is a truly gifted author for many different reasons, one being Life of Pi his most famous novel. However this was not Martel’s first successful book. He began writing Life of Pi, already with impressive credentials. In fact he had won two awards for short stories that he had published earlier in his career. Since then he has moved from short stories to full length novels when he wrote Self in 1996. His second novel, Life of Pi, accumulated attention about his work. Since then he written two more books and continues to write novels. This article explains that Yann Martel should be recognized for more than just his most famous novel. His other works are also critically acclaimed, and I believe he is being held back by the fame of Life of Pi. If readers only know him for Life of Pi his other works become shadowed.
Question:
What achievement in your life has meant the most to you?
http://www.inspiredminds.de/detail.php?id=41
This article is a summary of Martel's early life and his life as an author. Martel was raised in several different countries: he was born in Spain to Canadian diplomats, he was educated in Costa Rica, and he eventually settled in Canada. His education is unique because he was taught in English, which wasn't his native tongue. All of his writing is in English, which, to him, is a foreign language. Martel is an author who is no stranger to the big picture in the world, travelling to America, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, France and Spain must have an impact on his writing. Martel even delved in the holy books of Hindu, Muslim, and Christianity when creating the character Pi. My question for Martel would be, "When creating Pi, you must have drawn upon your prior knowledge of the world, but did you include pieces of yourself when you created Pi?"
http://www.inspiredminds.de/detail.php?id=41
This article is a summary of Martel's early life and his life as an author. Martel was raised in several different countries: he was born in Spain to Canadian diplomats, he was educated in Costa Rica, and he eventually settled in Canada. His education is unique because he was taught in English, which wasn't his native tongue. All of his writing is in English, which, to him, is a foreign language. Martel is an author who is no stranger to the big picture in the world, travelling to America, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, France and Spain must have an impact on his writing. Martel even delved in the holy books of Hindu, Muslim, and Christianity when creating the character Pi. My question for Martel would be, "When creating Pi, you must have drawn upon your prior knowledge of the world, but did you include pieces of yourself when you created Pi?"
Peltier 1
Breandáin, O'Shea. "Yann Martel." INSPIRED MINDS. Inspired Minds, 2012. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. .
In this link I found that Martel is being sued for plagiarizing the idea in which the book Life of Pi was based on. Moacyr Sclia, is sueing Martel of taking the idea of a big cat and a man on a lifeboat yet when you read about how Martel completely immersed himself in to the research of the different religions he was giving Pi, the Indian culture, and the zoo knowledge in which he was going to place into the book you see that he wasn’t, in my opinion plagiarizing Sclia yet demonstrating how a person can be more than what you see and how all of your beliefs can help you to survive the most dangerous circumstances. The idea of the big cat and a man in the boat may have been the same yet the process Martel immersed himself in and the strain he went through while writing Life of Pi show, he did not take the idea but used the basic element to base the whole idea of survival and relying on someone or something you never thought you could to in order to survive. Pi’s beliefs play a huge part in why his character is allowed and able to survive, just as a person treasures their beliefs and allow them to help guide them, Pi allows his beliefs to guide him through this adventure.
Also this source stated Martel’s mother spoke French yet Martel writes in English. Since Martel moved around a lot as a he started his education with English and once you get started on one language of writing and you get the basics even though you know another language you will always find that first language to be the easiest to write in. I fact that he prefers writing in English just because it shows and also follows Pi in a way with the beliefs he has; Martel started writing in English as he stays true to when he is still writing his books in English, and Pi practices and believes in three religions he does not lose faith in.
Question:
Why did you choose have Pi be Catholic, Muslim, and Hindu? Is there any other religions that you were considering?
http://www.powells.com/fromtheauthor/martel.html
This website shows how Yann Martel was felling during the time of writing the novel Life of Pi. He tells us about his trip to India. When he first arrives to Bombay he felt lonely. One night he just cried, asking himself where his life was going, and he so badly was in need of a story. He is in need of something to inspire him; and he finds just that. He took a toy train to Matheran, a hill station close to Bombay. This place is very peaceful and quiet. There on top of a boulder he remembered Scilar’s premise. His mind began to fill with ideas. This is where whole portions of the novel evolved. Things such as the lifeboat, the animals, and the zoological and religious parallels. He now found a reason to be in India and now found his story he has been waiting for.
Question:
After writing the novel Life of Pi, has it been hard to find the same inspiration to write another novel? Do you find yourself, yet again searching for inspiration?
Stensrud 2
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/profile.cfm?article_id=11452
Yann Martel, Father, Author, Husband and Son, resides close to Toronto Canada. An always humble Martel has taken over an entire section in Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum, and has declined many awards for his books. Martel takes his work seriously and after talking to him you can quickly learn that he is smarter than you and more carefully analytical than most. Describing Yann Martel as “cozy” would be incorrect. He is a cool and cerebral writer. He describes his writing process as long, difficult, and sometimes mortifying. Martel’s changes in Life of Pi (jumping from religion to animals) have been incorporated in every subsequent printing afterwards. Martel is attracted to the way animals free a story from the confines of preconceptions and stereotypes. He says he is not an animal lover, though he did have pets growing up, and was a previous owner of a parrot named Fernando. Martel says “There’s nothing like the unimaginable to make people believe.”
Question:
Do you believe in belief of more than one religion? Can you relate yourself to Pi through the religion?
Alex Oddy 2
The link I chose is of a particular interview that a blog author had with Yann Martel. Many of the questions that are asked refer to direct aspects of the book, but also Yann's beliefs. At one point, Martel is even asked to compare fiction to religion and Yann answered the question in an interesting manner relating both fiction and religion to stories. He claims that religion and fiction are the same in that both require the reader/audience to "suspend their disbelief". Also, Yann talks about different authors that inspired him throughout his life and why he chose the title "Life of Pi" compared to "The Life of Pi'. He talks about how he left out the article "The" before the title because he believes life is infinite, much like the never ending math rationality that is expressed as a circle's area divided by the radius squared.
My question for Yann would be, "What was the most influencing aspect of your life that led you to write 'Life of Pi'? Was there any particular events that inspired you to write this book?"
http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/13-fiction/556-life-of-pi-martel?start=1
This is a link telling the short story of how Yann Martel came up with the idea for Life of Pi. A crabby review missed the plot of the book he was reviewing completely, which was Max and the Cats by Moacyr Scliar. The reviewer thought the story was about a Jewish family who owned a zoo in Berlin in 1933, and had to move due to their failing zoo. One boy ends up supposedly end up on a life boat with a black panther, and Yann Martel was mad he didn't come up with that brilliant idea first. I honestly think the book reviewer spit in the face of Moacyr Scliar by getting the story so far off it's like he didn't even read it in the first place. Martel took the idea and ran with it, expanded it to India with the main character actually being the son of a zookeeper. Life of Pi was born and became the famous book he was waiting for, it has been published in over 40 countries and territories, in 30 languages.
My question: After immersing yourself in so many wonderful and mysterious cultures, do you find yourself believing in multiple religions much like Pi? If so, was that your inspiration for the religious aspect of the book?
http://www.library.nashville.org/NashvilleReads/LifeofPi_AuthorBio_Synopsis.pdf
In this link it gives an in-depth look at what Yann Martel’s child hood was like. It also talks about how his books became a success. Martel had written a couple of book, but was never very popular outside of Canada. He worked hard to write a book that was filled with true facts of life. Martel gained a lot of publicity for his “experimental narrative style and ability to explore human themes without making his prose to self-aware”. Martel got a lot of criticism from his previous books for being too covered with literary exercise. Yann’s parents moved around a lot when he was still a child. This experience was something that could have influenced his writing of this book. The story of Pi getting trapped on a boat may have been a fear of his. Losing everything and only having a dangerous companion. Martel also loved to travel. At the age of 27 he had already traveled all over the world. Learning different cultures, and being immersed in their lifestyle.
How did it feel having your book become such a success?
Was it hard saying goodbye to a book that you wrote for about a decade?
Noah Klamm 2
http://www.scpr.org/blogs/patt-morrison/2012/11/21/11176/extended-interview-yann-martel-life-of-pi/
This is an interview with Martel on a public radio station in California. There is a recording of the interview that I believe would be quite interesting if we were able to hear it in the computer lab. However, it does contain some excerpts from the interview. This interview was specifically about the transition of his book and books in general from print to screen. He says he had to let go of the production of the movie because he wanted the movie to truly be Ang Lee’s. He did this because he respected Ang and wanted him to get all the praise or condemnation that he would receive. He says he himself would not have made the movie due to the challenges of filming on open water and other factors but he seems glad someone has made the movie. He says one of the biggest changes from the book to the movie was the perspective. We see the story through Pi’s eyes as we read the book and never get a true representation of what the young Pi looks like. In the movie, however, we have to see what he looks like and the events from the outside just because that is how movies work and that is the medium being used.
I would like to ask Martel if it has been hard writing new novels and having them be accepted by readers, after the success of Life of Pi. Many authors seem to have trouble getting their next book to live up to the expectations of their previous book and I wonder if he has felt that as well as he wrote and published Beatrice and Virgil and We Ate the Children Last.
http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm/author_number/823/yann-martel
In this link I found, readers are interviewing Martel about his book. They asked all kinds of questions, ranging from popularity of the book to the deep religious views implanted within. An interesting fact about Martel's book is that he was inspired by a story that was written previously about a Jew in a lifeboat with a panther. He credits the author of this story in the Author's note. Martel also dicusses why the main character was Indian, even though he is not Indian himself. He states that "India is a place where all stories are possible. You forget that imagination can take hold of anything and contemplate it and love it and describe it." I love this quote because of its relevance to our everyday lives. If people were more imaginative and less black and white, the world would be a better place.
Question: How did your religious views effect how the novel was written?
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/doc/437468464.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=May%2018,%201996&author=By%20Philip%20Marchand%20Toronto%20Star&pub=Toronto%20Star&edition=&startpage=&desc=The%20author%20as%20explorer:%20Don%27t%20pin%20this%20man%20down
In this excerpt from "The Toronto Star", published May 18, 1996, irony waits for the perusing reader looking to find it. Though it's only an abstract of 161 words ($9.99 could be paid for a week's subscription to view the full article), a small quote from Martel is available for reading. The quote reads:
"Not that I'm a travel writer. I'm not interested in writing about India, for example - Indian writers will write about India. It's not fear of voice appropriation, it's because it's already complicated enough being Canadian - I don't want even to begin imagining being Indian."
Could Martel be toying with us? Had he already begun writing Life of Pi? Or could it be only coincidence that he would, less than a decade later, publish a novel where about a third takes place in India and whose protagonist is a young Indian boy? Since Life of Pi was published just over five years later, I think Martel had at least an inkling of what his subject would be. If that were true, then Martel cunningly hinted at his next novel to the unsuspecting public.
Query: Would you allow yourself to be subjected to a Reddit AMA just before releasing your next novel?
McIlravy 2
http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm/author_number/823/yann-martel
This link provides an interview with Yann Martel over his novel Life of Pi. While reading this novel one might think that the tiger is a ferocious and dangerous animal. Pi wanted it to be the other way around. The humans were the ones that embodied certain animal traits. Pi decided to use a tiger in the novel because he believed a tiger was the most adaptive animal that could stay alive in the Pacific for a long period of time.
In this interview, Pi was asked what his inspiration for writing Life of Pi was. He answered, “Pi was inspired by two things: India, and a so-so review I read ten years ago in the NY Times Review of Books.” The review Martel had read was about a Jew in a lifeboat with a black panther. Martel stated, “The premise struck me.”
Question: While writing about Pi’s practicing of three religions, did it make you question your faith? Were you interested in expanding your beliefs?
Berg 2
http://www.authortrek.com/yann_martel_page.html#biography
Yann Martel’s parents are Canadian and they worked for Canadian Foreign Service. Because of this, Martel grew up traveling internationally after being born in Spain. He was able to continue traveling and his most notable visit was to India where he got inspiration for “Life of Pi”. From Trent University, he was able to earn a degree in philosophy and then he had a series of odd jobs including security guard, tree planter, and also dishwasher. This is similar to many successful writers, as they are waiting for one of their novels or short stories to take off, they need another source of income, so they would turn to any job open to them. He has been awarded for his “The Facts behind the Helsinki Roccamatios”, and for his novel, “Life of Pi”. Along with “Life of Pi”, another one of his novels has been put to the screen, “Manners of Dying”.
Since you have been fortunate enough to travel to numerous places, which of these locations has been your favorite? Can you even pick one?
Buse 2
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2010/4/23/nbsp-fm-ym-book/?page=2#
This link offers an interview of Yann Martel constructed by a Harvard journalist. The journalist asks Martel questions ranging from why he is writing a book about the Holocaust to why he uses animals to if he is scared of being remembered only for Life of Pi . The interview occurred during Martel’s promotional introduction to his new novel Beatrice and Virgil , which in fifteen words or less, “represents the Holocaust differently.” Martel also gives insight into why he writes about animals. He says today, animals are widely used only in children’s novels, but hold endless symbolism and that is why he must use them in his stories. He says the readers often feel more sympathy and compassion towards the animals and more judgemental towards humans. I found Martel’s answer well, above my head. I could not have thought about readers’ responses to a character based on the characters’ species such an influential notion, but Martel carefully considered this and ran with it. Thus far in the story, my question for Martel would be if writing LIfe of Pi made his faith in God strengthen and their relationship grow.
Arens 2
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2013/02/28/life-of-pi-yann-martel/1954423/
This link is an explanation of how Martel came upon writing this novel. It explains how he went to India and was blown away by how stunning the country was. The novel was not coming alive to the extent at which Martel wanted it to, so he had to open his eyes to what was in front of him, animals. He saw animals in a way that they are not seen in the West.
Martel also saw manifestations of religion. Coming from Quebec he was very secular, religion is replaced by art. He grew up believing in art which is how he became a writer. Martel was starting to dry up inside until he came to India and saw religion and animals together. This is where he imagined writing about a religious character. He became interested in faith.
Buddhism is present throughout the novel but it is very evident when Pi chooses to keep Richard Parker alive in order to keep himself alive. Even though Richard Parker is extremely dangerous he prevents Pi from sinking into despair. Martel believes that if you sink into despair you lose perspective on things.
There was a spoiler within this article. Martel gives you the option of choosing between two stories, both are unexplainable or able to be verified. He wants us to choose because it reflects where we come from. We could be more rational or able to use reality as a platform and take chances. This article really gave me insight on Martel, it was an interesting read.
A question I have for him would be: What is the direct connection between human and animals?
Grage 2
http://literature.britishcouncil.org/yann-martel
Yann Martel started writing at the age of 27. I enjoyed reading this article because it informed me that Martel enjoys to write about what is passionate to him and not just to make the money that goes along with it. He likes to express his creative energies through his writing and share them with his fans to help them pass by their time in an enjoying manner. Yann has written some very interesting novels that have obviously intrigued a variety of people because in his latest book “Life of Pi” it has been published in over forty countries and territories. Throughout these forty countries this book represents over thirty languages. I found this very interesting that so many people have been introduced to this book and how we can all enjoy the same sort of literature all around the world. This book is so interesting to the public that Fox Studios decided that they would turn it into a movie.
A question that I would like to ask Yann Martel is “How do you map out your books, deciding the layout of where you want to put what and how you want certain things to symbolize objects or people?”
Gacke 2
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2013/02/28/life-of-pi-yann-martel/1954423/
In this article Yann Martel is interviewed over some of the concepts of the book. He describes his upbringing, how he grew up in Quebec immersed in atheist beliefs. He "grew up believing in art." He took up philosophical studies when he attended college and was basically deprived of any religious qualities. When he went to India he said that he noticed two things: religion and animals. He was, in a sense, revived and had the inspiration to write about a religious character--and so he created Pi Patel. In this interview Yann Martel reflects on the difference between "aloneness" and "solitude". He comments that solitude can be positive, but loneliness cannot. Therefore, Pi needed the tiger aboard with him to save his own life. It is obvious from reading this interview that Yann Martel spent so much time and effort planning and researching for this novel. He invested all life and thought into this novel, making it truly a novel piece of work with a unique character and plot line. When I read about Pi's beliefs and journey, he seems so real yet so unreal because of us inspirational insight. My question for Yann Martel would be, "How did you come to include all aspects of Pi's character? Did you draw off aspects you have come across from people you have met or even yourself, or did you truly invent him as an almost unworldly character?"
Kramer 2
http://textualities.net/jennie-renton/yann-martel-interview/
This article is an interview with Yann Martel questioning the personal ties Martel has within the book as well as his motives. Yann Martel is asked the quite obvious question about his religious preference and why he includes a boy chasing after multiple religions. Martel states that he is like any other person--just trying to find a place within the world. Martel does not settle for ordinary, he pushes boundaries others would be scared to even be in the near vicinity of. When asked why he did not spare any gory details Martel simply stated that unlike the rest of society he would like to face realities, not matter the strength or adversity they may present. Martel seems adamant on taking leaps of faith, he shows so in his daily life as well as throughout his novel. I particularly loved how Martel pointed out early on that there is always something finite within the infinite as well as infinite possibilities within something seemingly so finite. My question for Martel would be: Did writing Life of Pi assist you in finding your place in the world? Have others reached out to you imploring about their abilities to find the finite within infinity or the infinite possibilities within something concrete?
Dreyer2
http://textualities.net/jennie-renton/yann-martel-interview/
In an interview with the author, Yann Martel tells of many of his inspirations and gives some insight into his own spiritual quest. Martel explains that he grew up in a very anti-religious culture in Quebec. Traveling to India caused him to become interested in religion. He discovered in many religious traditions there are common themes and teachings, but they are not all the same. Religion is a way to try to understand the mystery of life without fully comprehending it. Yann Martel says that the subtext of Life of Pi can be summarized with three points: Life is a story; You can choose your story; A story with God is the better story. He explains that Pi gives two stories within the novel: the animals and the humans. Both have the same ending--but in reality, it comes down to what each individual is willing to believe. It can be very hard to believe in something you have not experienced yourself. The same is true with faith. Faith is believing in the unknown, trusting that even though you will never know everything, it can be better than knowing nothing at all.
My question for Yann Martel would be: since you portray Pi as having to rely on his intellect and instinct to survive, which do you think is more important? Do you see a majority of people chose one over the other?
Paul 2
http://www.avclub.com/article/yann-martel-14166
This link is an interview with Yann Martel about the background of Life of Pie. Martel was inspired Indian, this was his reasoning behind having an Indian main character. After visiting India three separate times with only a backpack. He states that India is a place where all stories are possible. You forget that the imagination can take hold of anything and contemplate it and love it and describe it. I found it interesting when asked about religion he explains that he believes in a broad way, and is riven with doubts but he thinks that is what keeps faith alive. This is the reason why he wrote Pi believing in three different religions. He wanted us to see it as one faith, not different organized religions.
My question for Yann Martel is after failing at writing other novels how did you not give up and start a new career, what motivated you to keep going?
Jackson 2
http://www.avclub.com/article/yann-martel-14166
This site offers a basic summary of Yann Martel and then goes into a interview format of question and answer. The interview starts off with talking about the illustrative edition of his famous book, Life of Pi and his work and ideas involved in that. Martel basically says that he didn’t have much involvement and that it wasn’t even his idea to create a illustrative edition but agreed that it would be a good idea when brought up. The interviewer then asks about his opinion on if a movie were made of Life of Pi. Yann Martel basically says that he loves cinema and that it a completely different experience than reading and reaches a different audience. The A.V. Club asks some question concerning how Yann Martel got the idea for Life of Pi which he answers that he got the some of the idea for his book from a review of Moacyr Scliar’s Max and The Cats.
Question for Martel: If you had to narrow down to one sentence what you want people to take away from your book, Life of Pi what would that be?
http://bigthink.com/videos/the-role-of-religion-in-a-writers-life
Martinmaas 2
In this article focused about Martel’s beliefs, it discusses his views on religion. This article is an interview where one question they asked was “What role does religion play in your life?” Martel responded that defining the word religion very largely, means to him that he is able to choose to believe that life makes sense. Life isn’t just chemistry or chance. He says that “faith isn’t necessarily a belief in things, it’s just an openness to believe something.” He chooses to see life more vertically and in a transcendental way rather than horizontally or chemically. He believes that it gives him a richer experience. He has found a view of life that entertains a transcendental, that helps makes things wealthier in their significance and that makes suffering more bearable. He states that “when you have faith in anything, it’s just a disposition to be open and to trust to move forward that way.”
Out of all the places you've traveled, which place has been your favorite? Why?
Schroeder pd. 1
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/books/taming-the-tiger.html
In this article, Gary Krist talks about his thoughts after reading Life of Pi. A Hindu, a Muslim, and a Christian are trapped on a lifeboat for 227 days with a Bengal tiger. Krist believes this story is not meant to make you believe in God, but could renew your faith. Pi, being the son of a zoo owner in the South Indian city of Pondicherry, is very familiar with animals and their habits. Krist says, "A good zoo is a place of carefully worked-out coincidence." He explains, "Exactly where an animal says to us, 'Stay out!' with its urine or other secretion, we say to it, 'Stay in!' with our barriers."
After loading up the boat, like a present day Noah, the Tsimtsum sinks and five survivors make it to a lifeboat: Pi, an injured zebra, an orangutan, a hyena, and a tiger. Pi later understands that the only way for him to survive is to tame Richard Parker, the tiger. Krist says, "Pi's story takes on the quality of a parable. In fact, the book reverberates from sources such as 'Robinson Crusoe,' Aesop's fables and Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea.'"
The question I would ask Yann would be, "The color orange kept showing up about 100 pages into the novel, what exactly does it symbolize?"
Williams pd. 2
http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm/author_number/823/yann-martel
This link offers an interview of Yann Martel about his book Life of Pi and other works and processes he endures in his writing career. He answers a lot of questions that we may have asked in our emails along with many others consisting of the religious aspects of the book and his own religion. He explains a lot of the symbolism in the book and how it is technically two stories and the reader gets to pick which one they want to believe. He mentions that this book is not based around organized religion but is based around having faith in general. Along with the religion, he explains they symbolism between the animals and the characters presented at the beginning of the book. Overall, this link contains a very good interview to help readers with the understanding of the book Life of Pi.
Question: The ocean is contains most things that are still unknown to humans on the surface. Humans know more about the Moon’s surface the ocean floor. Was there a specific reason you made the setting in a life boat on the ocean rather than an inhabited island? Is there a difference in the isolation between land and ocean?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/7793416/Yann-Martel-in-search-of-understanding.html
This article talked about who Yaan Martel is both as a writer, and as a person. As a writer, Mr. Martel seems to be the sort to want to live the experience, and have to visualize firsthand how things are in reality. For Life of Pi, Yaan Martel did not spend 200 and some odd days adrift in the Pacific Ocean with an adult Bengal Tiger for inspiration. He did however, while searching for ideas for his new novel “Beatrice and Virgil,” he snuck into a World War II Death Camp used by the Nazi’s known as Auschwitz, and spent the night in a barrack. This seems insane to the everyday individual that somebody would be so determined that he would sleep in a Nazi death camp on a cold night with a thin flimsy blanket that was probably better than those who were really imprisoned there. This gives me great respect for Mr. Martel, as I too am a visual learner, and I want nothing more than to experience things in life. Before I discuss something or put in my input, I try to make sure I know as much about the subject as possible. I believe that this is very similar to Yaan Martel so I can see where he comes from in his writing.
I think my question or Yaan Martel would be “Compared to your search for inspiration for Beatrice and Virgil, where did you find inspiration to Perfect “Life of Pi?”
Williams pd. 2
I'm retyping my question because I didn't proof read it and made too many mistakes.
the ocean contains the most things that are still unknown to humans on lands surface. Humans know more about the Moon's surface than the ocean floor. Was there a specific reason you made the setting in a life boat on the ocean rather than an uninhabited island? Is there a difference in the isolation between land and ocean?
Presler 2
http://www.fofweb.com/Lit/default.asp
On the whole, the above link is far from earth-shaking, but it does provide an effective overview of the text, and it also concisely summarizes some of the more confusing points of the novel. In addition, this article from Bloom's Literary Reference online offers a cursory analysis of particular symbols throughout the story. Moreover, the link is filled with insights into the quite complex character Piscine Molitor Patel. Unfortunately, the writing does contain several plot spoilers, so if you were not already aware of such nuisances (as I was), DO NOT READ THIS ARTICLE UNTIL YOU HAVE FINISHED THE STORY. Nevertheless, for a useful and easily readable study tool, the link would be fantastic. Additionally, at the very end of the article, the writer included an interesting tidbit about Martel; evidently, Moacyr Scliar, the Brazilian author of Max and the Cats, threatened to sue Martel for plagiarism until the two met and quelled the matter.
One question I would like to ask Mr. Martel: On page 180, Pi says "Go ahead, Richard Parker, finish me off. But please, what you must do, do it quickly. A blown fuse should not be overtested." The bold phrase is nearly identical to what Jesus tells Judas in the gospel of John. What, if any, is the significance of this phrase in the novel? Is Richard Parker meant to seem like a traitor for what Pi thinks is imminent murder? Is Pi meant to seem like Christ accepting his certain death and imperative, prophecy-fulfilling betrayal by his closest companions? Or even, is Pi merely subconsciously displaying his obviously extensive knowledge of religious text by sprinkling these words into his supposedly final moments?
Written in 2008, Yann Martel is at home in Saskatoon when Joanne Will come and interviews him, with the idea of picking his mind and learning more of what Mr. Martel does in his life. Martel mostly just answers simple questions and talks much like casual friends with Ms. Will. There was little point to the interview as no subject was questioned more than once. Martel was asked about how his daily life was and how the writing process is developing for him. The fact that Life of Pi was barely discussed hurt the article in my opinion but learning about Martel and his life in Canada gave the idea that he is just like all of us in the Midwest. Martel stated that as he was writing Pi he thought it would be a “Cult Classic” but would never make it in the large world as a hit. Overall he thought fame took away from his personal time and actually became a distraction.
Question: Is being from a cold, landlocked city more challenging when you need to write about other areas, or is the research you do more than enough to overcome this?
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2013/02/28/life-of-pi-yann-martel/1954423/
This article talks about two separate things, Martel's background and the basis for the novel, and the "two stories" that probably have something to do with the ending of the book, so I shan't continue further with it. In the interview-like article, Martel goes through the process of researching and starting his novel. First, he read a review of a Brazilian novel about someone being in a life boat with an owl. He later went to India to settle and work on the book. While there, he was awakened to both animals and religion. With animals being everywhere, that was only natural. However, because of his art-infused, secular background, he wasn't very focused on religion. That is, until he went to India and noticed religion for the first time. After taking philosophy, becoming reasonable, then hating being reasonable, he had an epiphany: "I suddenly imagined writing about a religions character. ...I suddenly was interested in faith.
My question to you is as follows: Why make Richard Parker a tiger. He could have been many other ferocious creatures (if you goal was to make a ferocious creature). You could have used a bear, a lion, or an ocelot. I personally thing a moose would be capable and hilarious. So why a tiger.
Henderson2
http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-goal/improve-my-writing/yann-martel
In one part of this passage, Martel mentions that when it comes to art one must come up with an approach. I think he did in the book Life of Pi. The way he wrote the book confuses me a lot but I will try. He writes about and author writing about an Indian boy that survived 227 days at sea. The ability to create such an approach is quite amazing in my opinion. Martel later goes onto answer a question regarding the reason why he writes his books like that. Martel explains that he gives the decision to the reader weather or not his books are true stories. This makes the reader interact with the book a little bit more and that is what Martel wants. Martel also says that he doesn’t have a self-conscious which somewhat makes me think that he is crazy, thus coming up with the idea of an island that eats people and things.
Van Egdom 5
http://textualities.net/jennie-renton/yann-martel-interview/
Jennie Renton interviews Yann Martel. She asks why he made Life of Pi so gory. He wanted society to face reality and not some watered down book. She asks why he makes the story so far-fetched. He wanted it to be hard to believe, and he says, “‘Love is hard to believe, ask any lover. Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist. God is hard to believe, ask any believer.’ He wants to know why they have a problem with ‘hard to believe’.” Martel had an agnostic upbringing; he had to bash all proof of God in his philosophy class. Later in life, he attended a Catholic church and visited holy places across the world. Christianity and Islam focus on the individual as a crucial component, whereas Buddhism and Hinduism see the individual as an illusion. Faith allows an individual to receive everything they can in life. Life of Pi’s themes can be outlined in three sentences: Life is a story; you can choose your story; and a story with God is the better story.
Murtha 5
http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/13-fiction/556-life-of-pi-martel?start=1he
The first part of this website explains how he grows up and how he passes his time. I find it very interesting that he traveled and lived in a variety of countries and cultures as he grew up. It is also nice to know that he does not lock himself away just to write, but enjoys doing yoga and volunteering. The second half of the website explains some of his books and how he came up with his ideas for Life of Pi. He got the majority of his ideas from another writer that wrote in the New York Times. The story was called Max and the Cats. This also involved a boy that had a family that owned a zoo and they picked up and moved to Brazil. But Martel added in the shipwreck and being with a tiger to make it his own story. You never hear authors admit that they came up with ideas through other writing and I find it very interesting that Yann Martel opening states this and very noble of him.
If you could change one thing about your book now that you have seen what the critics have wrote about it what would it be? Or would you change anything?
Baum 5
http://literature.britishcouncil.org/yann-martel
This link proves that Martel’s literary journey has not always been successful. Like many authors, Martel’s path to success began with failure. His first few books failed to create a “literary splash”, but once Life of Pi was out on the shelves it was hard to keep the novel in stock. Not only did Life of Pi display great religious themes, but also defended zoos across the world. Many zoos are misunderstood and criticized for their inhumane “jails” of their animals. Martel believes differently. He beautifully defends zoos and their imperative roles in many endangered animals’ lives. When it comes to Martel, expect the unexpected. His literary works grasp all audiences and provoke intense discussions about life, and the will to live.
My question to Yann Martel would be, “What has been your biggest inspiration in life? Beyond family and friends, what pushes you to write about such controversial topics such as religion?”
Fritz 5
http://www.powells.com/fromtheauthor/martel.html
The article I found is from Martel himself. Within the article he talks about where he got his inspiration for his novel, Life of Pi. Martel was in India for the second time when he dry spell occurred. He had planned to write a novel while in India, but his ideas fell; nothing about it was moving forward. This all changed once he got to Matheran, the hill stations closest to Bombay. It was small with beautiful views and no cars. This is when Martel’s mind started blowing up with ideas. Matheran was where he created the idea to mix religion with zoology. Martel states in the article that all of the animals in India lent him a story. After Martel left Matheran, he started visiting all of the zoo’s he could find in the southern portion of India. He spent time in churches, temples and mosques trying to get the feel of his settings of the upcoming novel. The journey was hard, but always fun. As we all know, it ended successfully as we are currently reading his fascinating novel!
Lusk 5
http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/yann-martel/
Yann Martel lived with his mother and father who moved around to various parts of Western Canada and the United States, Central America, and Europe. He studied philosophy at Trent University. Before he decided to devote his life to writing he spent his time traveling abroad and taking part in odd jobs. He published his first book in 1993, but it wasn’t until his third book, Life of Pi, in 2001 that he was recognized with resounding success. Since then he has continued to publish his works. He has a collection of stories entitled We Ate the Children Last. This was published in 2004 and made into a film in 2011. Martel began working on a project called “what is Stephen Harper Reading?” in 2007. This is a one-sided correspondence with Prime Minister Harper. Martel sends Harper a work of literature every two weeks, the first 55 letters were collected into a book. He stopped this project in 2011. Martel accepted a teaching position with the Department of Comparative Literature at the Free University of Berlin shortly after the success of Life of Pi and was the write in Residence at the Saskatoon Public Library, where he lives.
My question for Yann Martel is why he chose the three religions he did. There are so many other religions out there, so why these three? And why only 3? How come not 2 or 4?
Van Egdom 5
I forgot to ask a question, so here it is.
Did you purposely have Pi Patel forgot Kumar the baker's face? There is a paradox in psychology called the Baker-baker paradox.
Fritz 5
My question would be, "If there was one thing you could go back and change about the novel, what would it be?"
Staab 5
http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-goal/improve-my-writing/yann-martel
Jessica Strawser of Writer’s Digest ask questions along the lines of writing. How to write. What you want your readers to think. What readers can learn. How Martel combated indifferences and what compels him to do so.
Martel says writing isn’t like cooking. You don’t have everything set out and throw everything together. You have to find your own approach of writing, and how each book has an issue or theme. Martel leaves his books ambiguous because it involves the readers, he wants them to decide if it’s real or not. Martel say that writers can learn from writers, unless there a specific genre writer, and that they have to play around until the find something they’re comfortable with. Martel says that indifference in itself is not a good thing, especially in the arts, but we’re affect with it with everything we do. Some think art is rebellion, but to Martel it is to entertain. You need the two, to keep our society alive, and as a writer his is a part of that.
Mr. Martel have you ever thought about writing the journal that Pi keeps while he’s out at sea? That way the reader can experience how Pi is feeling, not just the retelling later where some memories may have been blurred.
Anderson 5
http://www.gradesaver.com/author/yann-martel/
Yann Martel was born in Spain in 1963, but traveled to a variety of countries throughout his childhood. Martel’s family later settled in Montreal, Canada. He attended two universities including, Trent University and Concordia University, where he later graduated with a BA in philosophy. Martel after college worked many different jobs that had nothing to do with his major; but at the age of 27 he decided that he would commit to writing. He wrote some short stories that got decent reviews but never sold like they should have. The same thing happened with his first novel, “Self”. He then decided to travel to India to write his well-known novel, “Life of Pi”. This story is a collaboration of his philosophy major and all the places he traveled when he was younger. There was thought that Martel stole the idea of his novel, but this turned out to be untrue and the charges were dropped. Martel now lives at home with his family in Canada, although he does live internationally.
Why did you choose Richard Parker to be a tiger and not some other fierce animal?
http://www.authortrek.com/yann_martel_page.html
This website takes specific details from the book and gives links for readers to learn more about them and hopefully understand the book better. It also gives links to other sites for the reader to explore. One link it gives is a Yann Martel biography. It also gives a review of Life of Pi, a reading guide, and a number of interviews with Yann Martel.
Question: Did you change any details to change the story from what Pi Patel told you?
Zahn 5
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/yann-martel/
This link is to an article that tells a little bit about Yann Martel. Yann Martel was born in Salamanca, Spain on June 25, 1963. He is the son of French-Canadian parents. He spent most of his early years living in various parts of Western Canada, the United States, Central America, and Europe. He went to high school in Port Hope, Ontario and studied philosophy at Trent University. Before devoting himself to writing at the age of 27, Yann Martel worked a variety of jobs and spent years traveling abroad. The Facts behind the Helsinki Roccamatios was the first book Martel published in 1993, which was a short-story collection. His second novel, Self was published in 1996, is an fictional autobiography that tackless issues of identity , gender, and transformation in a world governed by different social and cultural boundaries. Life of Pi which was published in 2001, made Yann Martel an internationally recognized author. In the story of this unlikely tale, Martel encourages his readers to suspend their disbelief in or to better appreciate the minds’ uncanny ability to deal with the extraordinary circumstances. Other works from Yann Martel include, We Ate the Children Last: Stories, published in 2004, and Beatrice and Virgil published in 2010.
If you could travel to anywhere, where would you go? Where are some of your favorite places that you have been to?
Ask pd 5
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2010/4/23/nbsp-fm-ym-book/
The article I read was "15 Questions with Yann Martel". A few of them were kinda dumb, but for the most part it was interesting. I found out that he sends a book, every two weeks to ex Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. It was kind of insulting almost, although I am sure he had good intentions. He said he wanted to basically educate him in the arts because we can't be ruled by middle aged white men forever. They asked the same question about President Obama, and he said that our President was already extremely educated. (true) I take it that Yann Martel is more of a liberal man (nothing wrong with that, just speculation), because of those statements, and the fact that he is a literature nut. They go on to ask him about his new book at the time, Beatrice and Virgil. I would suggest reading through the article. You may not, but I found it interesting.
My question for Mr. Martel is
"Have you ever omitted a part of a novel because you thought it to be too complex for the average reader?"
Spurlin 5
http://www.inspiredminds.de/detail.php?id=41
This hyperlink will guide you through an interview of Yann Martel. One surprising topic brought up was plagiarism. After the publication of Life of Pi the author was accused of copying a storyline from Moacyr Scliar’s Max and the Cats. The introduction of Life of Pi actually thanks Scliar for a spark of inspiration. Which also was a tale pertaining to a man in a lifeboat with a big cat. Martel defended himself by mentioning movies with similar stories had been created before either one of them published their books.
Another interesting tidbit I found is that Martel natively speaks French, but was taught in English and chose to write his books in English. Critics who nominated him for the Booker Man Prize believe he chose the better story to expand on. We all know it is up to the reader’s discretion to decide which is true or better. I went into this book wondering how real the situation would be since it is considered fiction and can definitely understand he did extensive research of castaways and human physiology.
One question I have for Martel is: “How did you decide on the final ending of the novel? Were there alternative questions you explored?”
Pruett pd. 5
http://www.gradesaver.com/author/yann-martel/
This website shares a brief biography about Yann Martel. It discusses where he lived, along with some of his past schooling. The website also shares some of the struggles Martel went through while publishing his first books. The first two had positive to mixed reviews from critics, but did not sell well amongst the public. While searching for inspiration for his third book, Martel returned to India. It was here that he came up with the story of Life of Pi, and novel that would soon be an international best seller and would receive fame beyond what Martel could have dreamed of. During the height of its success, Martel was accused of plagiarism, causing a brief disruption in the book's course. However, things cleared up, and the book continued on to be a highly read and appreciated story. Yann Martel's story here shows his dedication writing. Without his perseverance, we may not have the enticing story that we know as Life of Pi today.
Do you believe that you would have written the book without the experience of growing up in so many different countries?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/7793416/Yann-Martel-in-search-of-understanding.html
In this link I found a very interesting story about Yann Martel. He visited Auschwitz while researching for his newest novel, Beatrice and Virgil. When he went to visit is was New Years and Auschwitz was closed, but Martel recalls the gates being loosely chained and easy to slip through. He described the day as sunny, but bitterly cold; the camp was covered in a blanket of snow. He had decided that day to grab a blanket from the hotel which he was staying at, and spend a night in the prison camp. Yann Martel found an ordinary barrack (without a memorial) and lied down on a bunk. He recalls “Negotiating with my fear. Was it better to lie blind and panting with fright in the freezing black cold, or confront what a beam of light sweeping through the barrack might reveal?” He only managed to stay 45 minutes, which he admits felt like a very long time. As he fled the barracks Martel thought to himself, “What was I trying to do?” He states later that, “To be there, both physically and spiritually. But it showed me that it is not so easy.”
Yann Martel, your newest book Beatrice and Virgil is an allegorical tale of the Holocaust. My question is, what was your inspiration for writing this novel, what lead you to write about the Holocaust? In addition, can you explain the feelings you encountered while writing this story? It seems that writing something like this could really tell you a lot about yourself.
Smith, 5
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/yann-martel/
Yann Martel, an author that continues to find success in his published works that are from recollected thoughts and memory. This biography of Yann Martel emphasizes achievement and triumph that he has gained throughout the years from his short-stories and novels. Foreign Yann Martel grew up, traveling the world. He was born in Spain and was raised from intellectuals as parents. Martel attended Trent University and studied philosophy, until he devoted himself to be an author at age 27.
Amazingly astonished, this article states that the novel, Life of Pi became internationally famous. Yann Martel soon found himself receiving the Governor General’s Award, along with numerous other ones. The article explains Yann Martel’s encourgament—to suspend the reader’s disbelief appreciate the mind’s ability in order to comprehend the most different, unlike of surroundings and settings. To read and fathom this perspective can make reading Yann Martel’s writing and any other books a fascinating way to interpret.
Question to Yann Martel: When creating this book, what part/scenes were difficult for you to create and remember?
Hall 2
http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/13-fiction/556-life-of-pi-martel?start=1
Yann Martel lives a very unique life. After reading this excerpt from the script above I am awed by the events that took place in his life. Growing up, Yann did not live what we consider a normal life. He grew up on multiple continents including but not limited to: America, Europe, and North America. This would not be an easy task for young student trying to develop life-long friendship. This is when Martel became fascinated with a books, specifically Max and the Cats written by Moacyr Scliar. This novel lead him to his best-selling book, Life of Pi. Yann explains that traveling is still a big part of his life. He views it as “seeing the same play on a whole lot of different stages.” When reading more of this passage one can learn about Martel’s view on Scliar’s book and how he came to write his own version of the story.
How did you feel about moving so many times as a child? What were some difficulties you faced? What did you enjoy most about living in so many different places?
Dykstra 5
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2013/02/28/life-of-pi-yann-martel/1954423/
This article discusses many subjects, among which are how Life of Pi was created, how religion has affected Martel, and why the ending of the book is left ambiguous. Martel got the idea for the book after reading a review of a novel that was about a Jewish boy stuck on a boat. Ten years after reading about this, Martel travelled to India. There, he saw animals and religion in a whole new light one cannot experience living in the West. He said that because of what he saw there, he was suddenly interested in religion, and the ideas for the book just came to him. Martel then discusses the plot of the book, how he believes solitude can tear a person up, and how the book can be “a metaphor for our selfish planet.” Richard Parker can represent the people we don’t like, and Pi can represent us. He desires to get rid of the tiger, but in the end, he knows he has to learn to cooperate with the tiger in order to survive. On his discussion of the end of the book, Martel says he left in ambiguous to tell the readers something about themselves. Whichever story the reader chooses to believe reflects their own life.
If I had to ask Martel one question, I would ask why he chose to incorporate the importance of faith into a story that, for me, could have been better without it. Was he trying to reach the faithless and show them the error of their ways, or just making a statement about his own life?
http://literature.britishcouncil.org/yann-martel
http://www.library.nashville.org/NashvilleReads/LifeofPi_AuthorBio_Synopsis.pdf
Yann Martel’s Life of Pi was greeted with astounding success. The novel was purchased from bookstores, analyzed in classrooms, shared between friends, and transformed into a film. Since Yann Martel’s work was bombarded with such popularity, his subsequent stories would probably have similar welcomes--but they did not. The titles We Ate the Children Last and Beatrice and Virgil have not received the overwhelming attention Life of Pi did. Both of the websites I examined provided information about Yann Martel’s past, in addition to providing a timeline of his writings. The websites give insight to a question I have contemplated: Why don’t popular books make popular authors? Yann Martel’s name is familiar and his 2001 novel is appreciated, but his other works are not plucked from the shelves as eagerly as Life of Pi is. The journey of an author may be like the popularity of a sports star; an athlete could be equally adept at playing football and baseball, but if he is initially recognized for his skills in baseball, other talents may slip by unnoticed. (Example: Joe Mauer was nationally recognized as “the best” player in the country for two sports at the end of his high school career, but today he is associated solely with baseball.) One book does not define an author, but it may attempt to consume his biography.
“Write what you know.” You have weaved messages and settings into your books that can be related to your past experiences; in Life of Pi, you place Pi in a drastic moving situation (with both his home and destination being places you have resided in) and use spellings connected to your first language. Even so, you explore situations that you have not experienced. With these factors considered, do you agree with the statement “Write what you know”? To what extent?
Knudtson 5
http://www.inspiredminds.de/detail.php?id=41
The article I have reviewed and analyzed is themed on plagiarism and Mr. Martel's dispute with Scliar. He says "The more you try to defend yourself, the more people will wonder" in respect to plagiarism. I believe that Scliar's book created the "life spark" for Yann Martel's book Life of Pi, but it was defined by Martel's creativity and culture. I find it quite interesting how Yann Martel spent four years writing this book, but the major part of that time was spent in research and study of the three religions: Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. He also took time reading books on zoo biology and animal psychology, if find it fascinating he traveled around India for six months immersing himself into the culture of his main character.
The question I have for Yann Martel is if he possess the religious power to practice three religions faithfully?
Tellinghuisen 5
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/life-after-pi-how-yann-martels-moved-on-from-his-book-and-oscar-worthy-film/article7342707/
I found what I believe to be the Canadian version of the "USA Today," online. It asks the question, “How Yann Martel’s moved on from his book and Oscar-worthy film?” The article contains many answers, including many from Martel himself. The biggest point he tries to make is that he doesn’t view the movie as his. He says he is distant from a lot of the hype that surrounds it, “it’s someone else’s movie – his vision, his work.” However, he is very grateful to the producers and directors who took the book and made such a great work out of it, and he hopes that they are rewarded for it. Yann Martel and his parents are even featured in cameo in the movie, as a part of the background of a scene. Even after the relative failure compared to “Life of Pi,” his newest book “Beatrice and Virgil,” he says that his focus is on his current project. The fact of the success of “Life of Pi,” or the un-success of “Beatrice and Virgil,” does not follow him into his writing studio.
The one question I would have to ask Martel would be why exactly he chose the plot point of the polytheistic Pi.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/writers/writerdetails.asp?cid=1004077
In this article, Mike Segretto discusses Martel’s initial inspiration and apprehensions about the plot of Life of Pi. In the early 1990’s Martel came across a critique of Max and the Cats by Moacyr Scliar in the New York Times Review of Books. Although Martel had not read the book, he recalled that the general plot was about a son of a zookeeper who fled from England to Brazil in the 1930’s. The characters ship had sunk and he had to survive at sea with a black panther. Martel was frustrated that the review of Max and the Cats was less than enthusiastic and wished that he had thought of the idea himself. After a few years, while Martel was dealing with the disappointment of two unsuccessful books of his own, he recalled the review and decided to read Max and the Cats. It turned out that the book was almost nothing like what he had thought it was--the idea of his, in fact, was an original. Thus, Life of Pi was created.
Something that I would like to ask Martel is “What do you think happened with Life of Pi that didn’t with your first two books? Was there some kind of a spark? Did you put more of yourself into Life of Pi than the others? How much of writing, do you feel, is purely luck and timing?”
http://www.gradesaver.com/author/yann-martel/
In this link you find out about Yann Martel’s life. He was born on June 25; this is super close to my birthday! Martel had many odd jobs: librarian, tree planter, dishwasher, and security guard. I think this is interesting because it involves many different types of jobs in a large range of areas. This makes me believe that he enjoyed many things or he enjoyed expanding his experiences. When he turned 27 he committed himself to being a full-time writer. His novel, Life of Pi, was examined by critics and some of them said that he underestimated literature and religion, while others said that he handled combining controversial religious material very well. At the peak of his book Life of Pi there was a scandal saying that he plagiarized the book. Nothing came of the charges. In 2002 to 2003 he worked as a professor in the Department of Comparative Literature at a college at a university in Berlin, Germany. The university’s name is Free University. He is now in Montreal.
Question: How did you persevere through not selling many of your first two pieces of work? What motivated you to keep writing?
Jackson 7
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Books/story?id=124838&page=1
In this article, Yann Martel answers numerous questions people are asking about the book. In order to not include spoilers, I will only elaborate on questions dealing with parts we have already read.
A question was asked regarding Pi's name. Martel described his choice for the name Pi using two different meanings. The first is the irrational number pi. Due to religions being irrational, in his opinion, he believes the two are parallel. We use the number pi to understand numbers that we can't form. Pi uses religion to understand the universe and things he cannot understand. The other meaning is that he was named after a swimming pool. A pool is a perfectly controlled volume of water. On the other side of the spectrum, Pi is in the most uncontrollable volume of water possible. The irony is what makes this statement so true.
Another answer I wish to elaborate upon is his inspiration for the book. Martel had read a review of a British writer about being stranded on an island with just a man and an animal. Martel put that in the back of his mind as being a premise that he could do something with. He later was working on a novel that just wasn't coming to life for him. He then thought about the promise of India. He thought of all the wildlife and religions that were so abundant in India. Martel decided to combine the two concepts and come up with Life of Pi in only about twenty minutes.
My question for Yann Martel is, what did you do in the in-between-phase of writing the book that took two years? What were the intricate details that went into planning and perfectly writing such a scholarly novel?
http://www.powells.com/fromtheauthor/martel.html
This is a very interesting article--essay, actually--written by Yann Martel himself about how he wrote Life of Pi. In it, he mentions that the three elements needed to write a book are "influence, inspiration, and hard work". In his section on influence, he mentions that he once read a review by John Updike of Max and the Cats by Moacyr Scliar. The similarities are striking. Instead of an Indian boy who once lived in a zoo on a lifeboat with a tiger after his ship has sunk, it is a Jewish bow whose family owned a zoo on a lifeboat with a black panther after his ship is sunk. His inspiration section speaks of his second visit to India and his epiphany for his novel while visiting Matheran, rather similar to the "author" in the novel. And why his "Hard Work" section gives away a slight spoiler, it's rather humorous and discusses how he went about researching and deciding on what animals to use in his novel.
Why did you choose religion as a central theme of your work, and what do you think of how Life of Pi has been received compared to your intentions (if there were any) when you were writing the novel?
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/life-after-pi-how-yann-martels-moved-on-from-his-book-and-oscar-worthy-film/article7342707/
This link focuses on Yann Martel’s views upon the movie of Life of Pi. It states that he had little to no involvement whatsoever with the creation of the movie. He felt that the movie was not his work, but the director’s, and backed this opinion by telling people who ask about his movie that, “It’s not my movie.” He consulted twice on drafts of the script, and made only minor changes. Apparently, Yann made a brief cameo appearance in one of the scenes in the movie, where the author and Pi were talking in a park. Overall, Yann seems to be a very humble person, especially when it comes to his books. He chose to stay out of the limelight when Life of Pi gained popularity, and has said that he “doesn’t think about Life of Pi a lot.” At the end, it is also stated that he is currently working on a book called The High Mountains of Portugal.
Question: Are the characters within Beatrice and Virgil based off of anyone you know personally?
Smith 7
http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm/author_number/823/yann-martel
This link is a descriptive interview with Yann Martel, in which he answers questions about his life, as well as his award winning book, Life of Pi. The interviewers start of by asking Mr. Martel what his inspiration was of writing Life of Pi. He answered with India, and a review that he once read in the New York Times Review of Books. He answers various questions that very attention grabbing. He tells the interviewers that he has been to India three times, afterwards, it inspired him to write the book. He explains many reasons and connections to what the book is about, and why he decided to write it that way. He wanted to write about three different religions because he wanted to discuss faith and not organized religion. Yann Martell is a religious man himself, who attends Mass every Sunday but also loves going to Mosques. Martel believes that this is an easy book to connect to because it is deep and talks about spirituality and faith in a “concrete way.” He concludes with the answer unfolding the reason why he chose to use the name Pi. He says “Pi is an irrational number, with no pattern. Yet scientist use the irrational number to come to a rational understanding of the universe….” I exceptionally enjoyed reading this interview. Make sure to check out the final answer to the question referring to the name Pi.
My question: If you, Mr. Martell, where in Pi’s situation with Richard Parker, what would you have done? And how would it be different compared to your own novel?
Swanson 7
http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm/author_number/823/yann-martel
This link is of an interview with Yann Martel just shortly after a year of the publishing of Life of Pi. Martel says he got the idea of Pi being on a boat with a tiger from a review by Updike of a Brazilian novel. The premise, which was a Jew in a lifeboat with a black panther in the year 1933, struck him. While asked why three religions and why the three he chose, Martel answered, “The three religions because I wanted to discuss faith, not organized religion… I would have like Pi to be a Jew too, to practice Judaism, but there are two religions that are explicitly incompatible: Christianity and Judaism.” He also states that he isn't sure if people are getting it right away but hopes that they will. When asked about animals in zoos, before his research on zoos, his initial ideas were that zoos were basically jails for the animals, unable to have the freedom to roam around and live freely. For why he chose Pi as the name, Martel told them, “I chose the name Pi because it's an irrational number. Yet scientists use this irrational number to come to a "rational" understanding of the universe. To me, religion is a bit like that, "irrational" yet with it we come together we come to a sound understanding of the universe.”
Question for Martel: Being that you moved and have lived all around the world when you were growing up, what was that like? Which was your favorite place and why?
Woessner 7
http://www.library.nashville.org/NashvilleReads/LifeofPi_AuthorBio_Synopsis.pdf
This article gives us a ton about Yann Martel. Martel is most known for his novel Life of Pi, but he also is very well known in his now home country for winning the 1991 Journey Prize for best short story in Canada for "The Facts behind the Helsinki Roccamatios". Martel’s Life of Pi novel became such a success that he was offered a job to teach at the Free University of Berlin, Germany, and he accepted it. Before becoming a full-time writer, Yann Martel had many weird jobs, including a tree planter, a dishwasher, a security guard, and a parking lot attendant. Mr. Martel published his first book, The Facts behind the Helsinki Roccamatios, in 1993. This book was a collection of short stories with topics such as music, illness, war, grief, and death. Martel’s brilliance with writing the Life of Pi novel is amazing. All of the symbolism he uses is incredible. The Pi comes from the main character’s name, Piscine Molitor Patel. Pi is a mathematical expression with infinite numbers following the 3.14. Pi is stranded on the boat for 227 days, and 22 divided by 7 is approximately 3.14. Yann Martel is a genius.
My question: Did a certain author inspire you to write, or was it purely self motivation? If so, who was the author?
Onnen 2
http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/13-fiction/556-life-of-pi-martel?start=1
This link provides a very good biography on Yann Martel. I think when we read an author's biography we can see many similarities between them and characters in their stories, as well has some of their reasonings for writing the book. In this biography, I learned that Martel got his idea for Life of Pi from another book, Max and the Cats. Martel read a critique of Moacyr Scliar's novel and remembered the story as this: in 1933 a zoo in Berlin run by a Jewish family. The families business was not doing well and they decided to emigrate to Brazil, on the trek to Brazil the ship sinks and one Jew is stranded on a lifeboat with a black panther. In actuality, Max and the Cats does not contain a family who runs a zoo at all. A Jew, Max, does end up stranded on a lifeboat with a black panther but for an entirely different reason then what Martel had remembered. Many years later while in India, Martel realizes his confusion about Scliar's novel and is able to creates Life of Pi with the thoughts he had created years ago. I find it kind of funny to think that if Martel never would have realized his inaccuracies about Scliar's novel then he probably never would have written Life of Pi in fear of plagiarizing Scliar's storyline.
My question for Yann Martel would be this:
I find Pi's views on religion very intriguing, I love his view that all passports should lead to the one nation in the sky. I was wondering what your religious beliefs are and how they may have lead you to the religious views in Life of Pi?
Berberich 7.
http://www.powells.com/fromtheauthor/martel.html
This article was about Martel's life decision processing. It talks how Martel felt down and lonely he had no family and no life ahead of him, when he decided to write the Life of Pi. His inspiration came from reading a magazine with a similar story in it. However, Martel has created a new story with more research and evidence to persuade his readers that he is a far better writer. Martel talks about all the research he did in writing from a view point of an Indian boy. He spent time in India, he was there researching for six months.He talks about visiting India's churches, mosques, Trivandrum Zoo, temples, and many urban settings. Martel adds the idea of lots of animals. Meercats, tigers, elephants, rhinos and many more, but he needed the animal that was a carnivore: Tiger. Martel talks about going to his home in Canada for a year and a half to finish his research--in fact he did a lot of research. He read books on Zoo biology, animal psychology, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and so many more.
Bingen 7
http://www.avclub.com/article/yann-martel-14166
In this interview, Yann Martel speaks of his involvement in various visual interpretations of Life of Pi. He first talks about sifting through hundreds of illustrations, and deciding what perspective he wanted the visuals to portray. In the end, he chose the work of Tomislav Torjanac, who used Pi’s perspective to help tell the story. Martel also says that it was this unique perspective that made him decide to choose Torjanac. Martel states that he wanted the readers to imagine what Pi might look like, so he did not want to give readers anything to artificially go off of. Additionally, this interview happened in the early stages of the film’s creation. In the interview, Martel states that he is not opposed to the movie being made, but he does not like that whoever is casted for the role of Pi, will always be what people picture when they think of his character in the book. Martel wanted his audience to imagine everything that happened in the story, and not be given every aesthetic detail. However, Martel states that he loves cinema, and loves the idea that one of his stories can be made into a movie.
Question: How much different do you think Life of Pi would be if Pi were a female character? Do you think that the novel would be accepted differently?
http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm/author_number/823/yann-martel
This article about Yann Martel is actually an interview conducted not long after the release of his novel. The interviewers proceed to ask Martel on subjects like his motivation for the novel and the symbolism behind the events and characters within. The common themes that I noticed in his answers is how when he was asked about what a character represents, he gives them a reply even though it is not a precise answer. He is stressing the importance of how a book can mean different things to different people. Martel mentions intentionally making the narrator of the story very relatable, so the readers can be put in Pi’s shoes (or lack thereof). Another of his responses that I found very interesting was when he was questioned about why he chose three different faiths for Pi to believe in. Yann responded by saying that he was trying to avoid the novel being about organized religion, but truly about faith itself.
A question that I would ask Martel is, “To write this novel, you would have most definitely studies these three faiths. With such intense study, I would imagine that it would be easy to decide to follow any of the three religions. So, why Christianity?”
Nitz 7
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/jun/22/yann-martel-life-of-pi-holocaust
The little blurb on Google for this link stated: Yann Martel: ‘Jewish People Don’t Own the Holocaust’. I was intrigued, and continued to the webpage. After reading the somewhat lengthy (for an online news column) article, I felt that the most interesting part of the article didn’t have to do with Martel’s feelings on the Holocaust, or his novel “Beatrice and Virgil”. Rather, I was thoroughly impressed with Yann Martel’s ability to be profound, even during a breakfast interview with a Guardian reporter.
Martel has been sending letters to the Canadian Prime Minister, Steven Harper, every two weeks for the past three years; he says the Prime Minister “has a narrow ideologue” and Martel is trying to act as a sort of literary godfather.
Will finish more later tonight.
http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm/author_number/823/yann-martel
This site doesn’t exactly describe Martel, but it’s an interview with him which shows the deeper understanding of his novel and his motives and beliefs for writing it. The understanding of a zoo that’s explained in the book shows Martel’s own beliefs on zoos about it. He believes they’re an acceptable place for animals to live, not as great as their own natural habitat would be, but they’re acceptable. He compares this to the world. Like globalization is a zoo, and the big banks of the world, the zookeepers. It’s an interesting perspective that opens your mind to different possibilities. He speaks briefly on human’s natural habitat: civilization. Of course, not everything we do (like sitting in a cubicle for 8 hours) is natural, but the general concept holds true. He also mentions Pi’s name, which I thought to be interesting. The significance of his name is that it’s an irrational number, just like he attempted to have a character dealing with irrational concepts; his religion(s), his story of survival, etc.
“Sitting in an office for TOO long is not natural, perhaps, so that's why we should change it. I didn't say that out-and-out capitalism, which reduces humanity to dollar figures, is natural.”
Martel stated that civilization is human’s natural habitat, with its exceptions that aren’t so natural. However, some of us must do unnatural things like sit in a desk all day just to support ourselves and keep us alive. Isn’t that in and of itself natural? Just like an animal must acquire its meal in order to survive. And what exactly does humanity stand for, as you say in your quote?
Sternburg 7
http://bigthink.com/videos/the-role-of-religion-in-a-writers-life
The first question for Martel is “What role does religion play in your life.” Martel says that he chooses to believe in a higher power because it picks up where reason leaves off. He also says that believing in something higher allows for more beauty and meaning in life. While he is a Christian he notes that he is not blind to the wrong doings of the Catholic Church, and he feels others should be critical as well.
The second question is “How did you come to religion?” Martel answered that he grew up in a totally secular household and he wasn't introduce to religion until he went to India to research The Life of Pi. To Martel India was a magical place seemingly imaginary and tangible at the same time. The mystical nature stemmed from the rich tradition for myths and stories as well as the country’s openness to spirituality. In the end Martel explains that his attitude towards religion is “why not?” He rejects being purely reasonable because, to him, life is much more exciting and beautiful with religion.
Ellis 7
http://textualities.net/jennie-renton/yann-martel-interview/
In Jennie Renton’s article, she interviews Yann Martel about his motives when writing his book Life of Pi. She first presents background information to inform an intrigued web surfer or a less acquainted fan of his books. Her brief summary is meant to bring the exciting life as a zookeeper's son to life and the hopelessness of Pi’s cast away predicament. Renton also informs us of Martels background and the success of his book.
Beginning her interview, Renton asks Martel why he included so much easily avoided gore in his book. Martel’s answer is short, and the only question he answers in only one sentence: “I live in a society that is in terrified denial of ‘unpalatable’ realities, realities I prefer to face.” His opinion is so firm on the matter he leaves no room for debate. With another question about how far fetched his book seems he replies with evidence from his book. Pi tells his story, but no one believes him, so he is forced to change it to make it believable. Just because something is hard to believe does not mean it is not true.
When asked about his spiritual quest, Martel brings up the question of his role in life. He claims life involves a leap of faith and is not finite. That is why his book Life of Pi does not have a definite article in the beginning. The reader could take it as the name or the number.
Martel then concludes the interview with one thought: “A story with God is the better story.”
Q: Have you had experience working with animals face to face and how did personal experience or lack of effect your characterization of Richard Parker and other animals?
The site I found talks a lot about Yann Martel’s life and his success in Life of Pi. Yann Martel was born in Salamanca, Spain in 1963 to Canadian parents who were working on their graduate studies. Later in life his parents both joined the Canadian foreign services forcing Martel to grow up in various places around the world including, Costa Rica, France, Spain, Mexico, and Canada. Martel also continued to travel during his adult life. His travels included time spent in India, Iran, and Turkey. He now resides in Montreal. After attending Trent University in Ontario, Martel obtained a degree in philosophy. The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios, Martel’s first novel, was a collection of short stories published in 1993. This was then followed by his first novel, Self, published in 1996. He is popular for fiction and short stories. His two first works of writing did not prove to be as successful his best-seller, Life of Pi, which was published in 2002. Martel did not plan on writing as being his career. Originally he wanted to have a career in politics and even considered anthropology. He has had many jobs from washing dishes to planting trees, yet as he began to write short stories and plays, his writing career erupted. By the time Martel was 27, he was supporting himself with a writing career. In 2002 Martel won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction for Life of Pi, which is published in over 40 different territories and countries and written in more than 30 languages. Martel has also published a third novel based on the holocaust, Beatrice and Virgil in 2010. Yann Martel is an inspiring person who I feel has had many experiences in life but never gave up on his true passion for writing, and now he is living his dream. I only hope that one day I can say I have done everything I can to fulfill my dream and eventually be living it.
My question for Yann Martel would be, what thought process went into writing the chapters, deciding their order and length? How much time did this take you? Why was this so important to your novel?
http://literature.britishcouncil.org/yann-martel
McGee 5
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/nov/26/fiction
This writing is a compilation of Yann Martel’s answers to readers questions. I think Yann Martel's answers can tell a lot about him personally. For instance his favorite pie is pumpkin pie. With all joking around aside there actually is some great questions in here. I think my favorite response that Yann Martel gave is “I think art comes from some sense of discomfort with the world, some sense of not quite fitting with it,” when answering the question “Do you think that "magic realism" is a form of fiction that can only be written by marginalised people.” I think Yann Martel is an extremely intelligent person that thought through everything when writing this novel. When asked if he intended to bring the reader to a point of questioning disbelief, he responded, “ I did. I wanted to push the reader till he/she was forced to make some leap of faith. If the island didn't do it, then I hoped the second story would.”
“If given the chance to add anything into your novel, what would it be?”
Nitz 7
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/jun/22/yann-martel-life-of-pi-holocaust
The little blurb on Google for this link stated: Yann Martel: ‘Jewish People Don’t Own the Holocaust’. I was intrigued, and continued to the webpage. After reading the somewhat lengthy (for an online news column) article, I felt that the most interesting part of the article didn’t have to do with Martel’s feelings on the Holocaust, or his novel “Beatrice and Virgil”. Rather, I was thoroughly impressed with Yann Martel’s ability to be profound, even during a breakfast interview with a Guardian reporter.
Martel has been sending letters to the Canadian Prime Minister, Steven Harper, every two weeks for the past three years; he says the Prime Minister “has a narrow ideologue” due, in part, to a lack of reading poignant material and Martel is trying to act as a sort of literary godfather. Martel truly cares about literary experiences; he values the power of a narrative.
Question: Which books have affected you most completely?
Gingles 7
http://www.powells.com/fromtheauthor/martel.html
I suppose that this article is more about the book than about Martel, but I still believe that it is important. Martel actually wrote this article to respond to a review that John Updike had done for the New York times. In the New York Times article, Updike criticised a book called Max and the Cats by Moacyr Scliar. Martel did not think that Updike’s critique of the book was a good one. Martel said that the one thing he really liked about that book was the premise. It is about a jewish boy who gets stranded on a boat with a black panther. Martel simply used this idea to incorporate his own story. The two books are nearly completely different from each other. The article also tells about Martel’s inspiration for Life of Pi and the research that went into making it. After reading this article, I would ask Martel this: What was it like trying to do this extensive research?
Garrow, 1
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/may/25/fiction.reviews1
In this article, Justine Jordan of The Guardian writes what her view on the book and summarizes the book as well. Jordan talks about why the book left her wondering. She is amazed at how an author combines religion, a zoo, and a boy named after a pool. She states, “…a willed innocence that produces a fresh, sideways look at our habitual assumptions, about religious divisions, or zoos versus the wild, or the possibility of freedom.” Although I have not finished the book I can agree with her on how it does leave me wondering. Wondering why Martel picked a tiger, an orangutan, a zebra, and a hyena? She talks about how the realism carries like an ocean wave as if we were right there in the book and what I have not read yet is where she goes on saying how more and more the reading gets mysterious. Reading this article got me excited to read on.
What is the hyena a symbol of? In any zoo, I have not seen a hyena they seem absolutely to scary for a zoo.
Wright 1
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Books/story?id=124838&page=2
The link above is an interview where ABC’s viewers sent in question to ask the Life of Pi author, Yann Martel, himself. Mr. Martel begins with suggesting our religious beliefs (or non-religious beliefs) are similar to the mathematical number/symbol of pi; irrelevant and limitless. Occasionally, when we attempt to explain why we believe in something or someone, our answer merely is: “Because it is true”, or “I was raised to believe in such and such…” To many of us believers, not beliebers (Justin Bieber fan club), it is quite difficult to imagine that a blue baby would be worshiped as a God. Nevertheless, we mentally flick such nonsense out of our minds and continue with our day. We believe what we know and that is that. Unless we are convinced with facts and historical proof, the idea is completely lost in a mental storage—along with unrealistic daydreams and fantasies. Perhaps it is our parents whom we shall blame. But, in the end, we are the ones who choose to believe in miracles and faith, or present and known facts to prove what is concrete and what is abstract. Faith is sometimes believing in what we cannot see, feel, hear, or communicate face-to-face with. Now that does not sound like having faith in anything, does it? Exactly. Faith is unpredictable, inexplicable, and unnoticeable; but embrace the passion, believe in what you must and you will gain what you seek.
My question is: What events, inspirations, or influences encouraged you to become a novelist? For you, personally, what is the greatest reward or best part of being an author?
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