Staff Pick
I admit it: Before reading Life of Pi, I thought, There's just no way that Yann Martel can write a whole book about a teenage boy and a tiger stranded together in a lifeboat for 277 days. But I was so wrong; he pulls it off beautifully. You will love this utterly charming and unforgettable book. Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Here William Goldmanandrsquo;s beloved story of Buttercup, Westley, and their fellow adventurers finally receives a beautiful illustrated treatment.
A tale of true love and high adventure, pirates, princesses, giants, miracles, fencing, and a frightening assortment of wild beastsandmdash;The Princess Bride is a modern storytelling classic.
As Florin and Guilder teeter on the verge of war, the reluctant Princess Buttercup is devastated by the loss of her true love, kidnapped by a mercenary and his henchman, rescued by a pirate, forced to marry Prince Humperdinck, and rescued once again by the very crew who absconded with her in the first place. In the course of this dazzling adventure, she'll meet Vizziniandmdash;the criminal philosopher who'll do anything for a bag of gold; Fezzikandmdash;the gentle giant; Inigoandmdash;the Spaniard whose steel thirsts for revenge; and Count Rugenandmdash;the evil mastermind behind it all. Foiling all their plans and jumping into their stories is Westley, Princess Buttercupandrsquo;s one true love and a very good friend of a very dangerous pirate.
Review
Winner of the 2002 Man Booker Prize for Fiction"Let me tell you a secret: the name of the greatest living writer of the generation born in the sixties is Yann Martel."--L'Humanitand#233;
"A story to make you believe in the soul-sustaining power of fiction and its human creators, and in the original power of storytellers like Martel." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review
and#8220;If this century produces a classic work of survival literature, Martel is surely a contender.and#8217;--The Nation
"Beautifully fantastical and spirited." -- Salon
"Martel displays the clever voice and tremendous storytelling skills of an emerging master." --Publishers Weekly
"[Life of Pi] could renew your faith in the ability of novelists to invest even the most outrageous scenario with plausible life." -- The New York Times Book Review
"Audacious, exhilarating . . . wonderful. The book's middle section might be the most gripping 200 pages in recent Canadian fiction. It also stands up against some of Martel's more obvious influences: Edgar Allen Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, the novels of H. G. Wells, certain stretches of Moby Dick."--Quill and Quire
Synopsis
"Will the tiger be menacing; will the ocean be threatening; will the island be something out of
Frankenstein or will it be an Eden?" Yann Martel
Life of Pi, first published in 2002, became an international bestseller and remains one of the most extraordinary and popular works of contemporary fiction.
In 2005 an international competition was held to find the perfect artist to illustrate Yann Martel's Man Booker Prize-winning novel. From thousands of entrants, Croatian artist Tomislav Torjanac was chosen. This lavishly produced edition features forty of Torjanac's beautiful four-color illustrations, bringing Life of Pi to splendid, eye-popping life.
Tomislav Torjanac says of his illustrations: "My vision of the illustrated edition of Life of Pi is based on paintings from a first person's perspective Pi's perspective. The interpretation of what Pi sees is intermeshed with what he feels and it is shown through [the] use of colors, perspective, symbols, hand gestures, etc."
Synopsis
For its 40th anniversary, this beloved tale of romance and adventure is given a beautifuland#160; four-color illustrated treatment.
About the Author
Yann Martel was born in Spain in 1963 of Canadian parents. After studying philosophy at university, he worked at odd jobs—tree-planter, dishwasher, security guard—and traveled widely before turning to writing at the age of twenty-six. He is the author of a collection of short stories; three novels, including the internationally acclaimed 2002 Man Booker Prize-winning novel Life of Pi, which spent fifty-seven weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and Beatrice and Virgil; and a collection of letters to the Prime Minister of Canada, What is Stephen Harper Reading? Yann Martel lives in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Tomislav Torjanac was born in 1972 in Croatia, where he lives and works as a freelance illustrator. In 2006, he won the international competition to find an illustrator for this new edition of Life of Pi. Amongst other things, he's done many book covers and illustrated a few children's books, including James Joyce's The Cat and the Devil.
Table of Contents
Introduction to The 30th Anniversary Edition
viiIntroduction to The 25th Anniversary Edition xxix
The Princess Bride 1
Buttercupand#8217;s Baby: An Explanation 365
Buttercupand#8217;s Baby, Chapter One: Fezzik Dies 391