Comments on: Woman Refuses to Believe Tiger Not On Board Lifeboat.

By: Sarah H.

Sarah H. — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 02:17:00 +0000

Or maybe I am full of crap, but it wouldn’t be the first time. I may read the book again one of these days and see if my memory of it is as clear as I think it is. I found it very difficult to think about the story for a long time, and my own thinking was complicated by the fact that my mom read it shortly after I did and didn’t buy the tiger tale at all.

I’ll stop now. Please go on with your life.

By: Rechelle

Rechelle — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 15:23:00 +0000

Sarah – I just have not yet arrived at the many places you have traveled. I am still stuck in “TIGER ON BOARD!”Maybe at some point it will start to crystallize for me. But what you say makes sense. It seems so random in a way – first we have religion and then it fades, but yes, maybe there was real thought there and the author was trying to make a statement. I don’t think he made it fearlessly though, as if he didn’t quite accept what he was presenting. Or it would be more clear – more tangible somehow.

By: Sarah H.

Sarah H. — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 13:59:00 +0000

Yes, you’re right: the discussion of religion fades away in the face of Pi’s survival narrative. But I have thought and thought about the relationship of the first part of the book to the second. I mean, assuming the author could have written the story any way he liked, why did he do it that way, with a big discussion of religion in the beginning and then a complete shift for the last two-thirds of the novel? The only conclusion I can come to is that Pi’s tale of the tiger on the boat is somehow an allegory about or commentary on the religious issues he raises. All the major world religions are essentially stories. Take Christianity, for instance: Its power is in a story–literally, a book. It is fantastic and full of things you think at times shouldn’t be believable, but somehow are because of faith. Isn’t that what Pi’s story of the tiger is? And isn’t it strangely deflating to find out in the end that the story may or may not be “true?” Does that make this a story about faith? These are the questions the book raises for me. I would be curious to know your conclusions, if you have any. Think about it while you’re cleaning your bathrooms. :-)

By: Rechelle

Rechelle — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 22:10:00 +0000

I have read the first “Dark Materials” book and really need to get on to the next one. I just kind of felt that religion sort of faded out as the book neared the end which was strange as it was so dominant at the beginning.

By: Sarah H.

Sarah H. — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 17:42:00 +0000

That is an amazing book. I read it about two years ago and I still think about it a lot, and I can’t say that about too many works of contemporary fiction. I, too, had a hard time believing the tiger story wasn’t the “true” one, and I also enjoyed the early section of the book in which the boy talks about religion. I think you’re right in linking the story about the tiger with the idea of faith; the early part of the novel is related to the later part. It’s just not an explicit relationship, but it’s one that’s difficult to put into words.
I also find it interesting that some people reject the magical reality version of the story (with tiger) completely, while others (like you and me) are reluctant to part with it. I think the difficulty of determining what is “real,” and what we accept as real or not real is clearly the point of the tale.

Speaking of magical realism, I just read “The Passion” by Jeannette Winterson, which was good, and the “His Dark Materials” trilogy by Philip Pullman, which was fabulous but raises difficult questions regarding religion (and is really more fantasy than magical realism). I could type on this topic forever but I’ll quit now.