Life of Pi Study Guide

Yann Martel was born in Spain to French-Canadian parents. Martel’s father worked as a diplomat, and the family moved to Costa Rica, France, Mexico, and Canada during Martel’s childhood. He grew up speaking both French and English. Martel studied philosophy at Trent University in Ontario, and later spent a year in India visiting religious sites and zoos. His first three books received little critical or popular attention, but with the publication of Life of Pi in 2001 Martel became internationally famous, and he was awarded the Man Booker Prize in 2002.

Most of Life of Pi takes place at sea, but the novel’s initial setting is Pondicherry, India, during a period of Indian history called “The Emergency,” which lasted from 1975 to 1977. The Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had been found guilty of misconduct in her recent election campaign, but instead of resigning she declared a state of emergency. This effectively suspended all constitutional rights and gave Gandhi dictatorial power. While the Emergency was a time of political oppression and violence, India experienced much-needed economic stabilization and growth as well. Pondicherry is also a unique part of India because it was once a French colony (while most of India was ruled by Britain), so it has a diverse and unique culture where Pi could be exposed to Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam.

Martel’s “magical realism” style was pioneered by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, author of One Hundred Years of Solitude, and the plot (struggle between man and beast at sea) resembles Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and Sea. The idea for the book was heavily influenced by Moacyr Scliar’s Max and the Cats, though Martel claims to have only read a review of this novel before writing Life of Pi. He gives credit to Scliar in the acknowledgements, thanking him for “the spark of life.”