Life of Pi

When life gives you no choices, would you still stick to your beliefs and values? Or let practicality dictate your decisions? "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel explores these questions through the life of Piscine Patel aka Pi. The Patel family is based out of Pondicherry and run the city zoo. When the emergency of the 1970s is declared, the family decides to emigrate to Canada along with a few animals from the zoo. Midway, the ship sinks mysteriously and Pi is marooned on a life boat with a handful of animals. One of them is a Royal Bengal Tiger. After a few days, only Pi and the tiger are left on board. Pi survives nearly an year on board with Richard Parker, the tiger. He is forced to make a lot of decisions that he previously would have found unpalatable and uncivilized. But it's a question of survival and a challenge keeping the tiger alive as long as possible even though it could kill him in an instant if he isn't cautious.