“A Book a Week” is back after a short break with a wonderful novel, “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel. I’ve read it after hearing a few colleagues talk about it at work and the details they gave were so engaging I just have to see what was said in there for myself.

It is the amazing story of an Indian boy from Pondycherry. He has a strange name, Piscine Molitor Patel, that has caused him great distress in school, as the French pool name was mispronounced as “Piss”. So at a certain point, the smart little boy changes his name to Pi Patel.

What builds his character and prepares him for the scary adventure he is going to face is, on one hand, the time spent in the Pondicherry Zoo, managed by his father, and on he other hand, his neverending interest in religion. By the time he becomes a teenager, Pi is a fervent Muslim, Hindu and Christian at the same time, praying to God in any way he can.

When turning sixteen, his parents and older brother start preparing for a permanent move to Canada, caused by India’s political issues. The animals from the zoo are sold to new zoos around the world and some of them start their voyage accross the Pacific along with Pi’s family, on the Tsimtsum, a cargo ship that suddenly sinks in the middle of the ocean.

Pi makes it to a life boat, along with a zebra, an urangutan, a spotted hiena and a Royal Bengal tiger called Richard Parker. And here is where his amazing adventure begins, strengthening him and teaching him to survive with some wild beasts aboard.

The ending is extremely troubling and no one who wants to enjoy the book shoudl know about the actions unfolding in the last part of the book. This is why I won’t link to Wikipedia’s entry on the book this time.

When I read the last page, I had a really weird feeling. Hope, mixed with a strong desire to cry, admiration for what few humans could achieve, a feeling day to day problems are so insignificant. Hope you read the book and let me know what you think of it and what you’ll be feeling like after finishing it.

Popularity: 13% [?]

The Thirteenth Tale, the debut novel of Diane Setterfield, is one of the most intriguing, entertaining and troubling stories I’ve read in quite a while. It is a story of shadows, twins, strange children and even stranger parents, of ghosts, fears, and a search for the truth.

It all starts when Vida Winter, said to be one of the most famous writers in UK and the world, known to be feeding amazing yet untrue stories, always different, to the press and to biographers when asked about her life, contacts Margaret Lea, the daughter of a bookstore owner, to write her biography. Although all her books are famous, Vida Winter is also well known for publishing a book whose title refers to 13 stories but only contains 12. The stories are strange real-life interpretations of children’s fairy tales, such as Cinderella, who’s a simple farmer’s daughter raped by the prince and never searcher for the next day. And everyone is anxious to find out which is the 13th story.

Vida reveils the strange story of the Angelfield family which she’s supposedly a part of, a tragic tale of affairs between siblings, strange twin girls that spread fear on an entire village, a fire that takes down the Angelfield mansion, love stories and much more. It all builds up towards an unexpected ending, a truth revealed by Margaret after facing her own twin ghost. I whole heartedly recommend the book to you if you want to know the secrets, mysteries and pain of the missing thirteenth story.

Popularity: 9% [?]