Life of Pi Review

From Goodreads:  
Growing up in Pondicherry, India, Piscine Molitor Patel - known as Pi - has a rich life. Bookish by nature, young Pi acquires a broad knowledge of not only the great religious texts but of all literature, and has a great curiosity about how the world works. His family runs the local zoo, and he spends many of his days among goats, hippos, swans, and bears, developing his own theories about the nature of animals and how human nature conforms to it. Pi’s family life is quite happy, even though his brother picks on him and his parents aren’t quite sure how to accept his decision to simultaneously embrace and practise three religions - Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam.

But despite the lush and nurturing variety of Pi’s world, there are broad political changes afoot in India, and when Pi is sixteen, his parents decide that the family needs to escape to a better life. Choosing to move to Canada, they close the zoo, pack their belongings, and board a Japanese cargo ship called the Tsimtsum. Travelling with them are many of their animals, bound for zoos in North America. However, they have only just begun their journey when the ship sinks, taking the dreams of the Patel family down with it. Only Pi survives, cast adrift in a lifeboat with the unlikeliest oftravelling companions: a zebra, an orang-utan, a hyena, and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

Thus begins Pi Patel’s epic, 227-day voyage across the Pacific, and the powerful story of faith and survival at the heart of Life of Pi. Worn and scared, oscillating between hope and despair, Pi is witness to the playing out of the food chain, quite aware of his new position within it. When only the tiger is left of the seafaring menagerie, Pi realizes that his survival depends on his ability to assert his own will, and sets upon a grand and ordered scheme to keep from being Richard Parker’s next meal.


My Review:

First, I must say that I cannot recall a story that has been so beautifully told.  I loved how Martell takes his time weaving Pi's story in 315 pages.  His attention to description and detail are second to none.  I quickly fell in love with Pi, from the silly way he came to be called Pi to his deep and desperate thoughts while adrift in the Pacific.  I could truly feel his grief, his fear, his longing.  Just as strongly, I could feel his faith.  I don't want to give too much away, but the ways in which he manages Richard Parker are nothing short of genius.  It is a wonderful and inspiring tale of both physical and spiritual survival.  

Richard Parker.  What to say about him?  His name was comical, but his ferocity was not.  I found myself looking at his picture on the cover every so often in sheer awe of his size, strength, and beauty.  The story was unbelievable and yet believable.  I loved how Richard Parker, in essence, saved Pi.  It was a poignant example of how our greatest fear can become our greatest triumph.  

Here is one of my favorite parts:  "I wish I had said, 'Richard Parker, it's over. We have survived. Can you believe it? I owe you more gratitude than I can express.  I couldn't have done it without you. I would like to say it formally: Richard Parker, thank you. Thank you for saving my life.'"

I also loved how Pi taught me about religion, zoology and animal training.  I got quite an education that I was not expecting.  I found myself reading parts of the book aloud to Dave, and saying "can you believe that!?!"

To conclude, you would be crazy to not read this book.  

Famous Adopted Kids

This post has been on my mind for a very long time, but the recent Superbowl coverage of two famous adoptees has pushed me to finally write it.  Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers and Michael Oher of the Baltimore Ravens were both adopted.  Colin as a 6 week old infant and Michael as a teenager.  If you have seen or read The Blind Side, you are probably familiar with Michael's story.

In the pre-game interviews, one of the first questions asked of Colin was a leading one that basically made him say that he was adopted.  He handled it quite well, and he responded with "being adopted was the greatest blessing of my life."  Many people who has been touched by adoption probably feel the same way.  I know we do.

Michael takes exception to how he was portrayed in the feel good, but somewhat unrealistic The Blind Side.  In a recent interview, he states that he has always been a strong athlete and that he isn't the slow-witted gentle giant that the movie makes him out to be.

Where am I going with this?  I guess I don't understand why the media places so much emphasis on adoption.  I feel someone being adopted is like them having brown hair or loving pizza.  Would you tell everyone you meet those facts?  It is one fact about their lives, but it is not the most important one.  It is undoubtedly part of who they are, but it is not the sum of their being.

Another frustration is when Colin's parents were introduced as his "adoptive" parents, almost as if this is somehow less of a parent.  To me, a parent is someone who builds you up, takes are of you, and loves you more than life.  Whether a child lives with biological or adoptive parents, I am pretty sure that ALL parents feel that way about their kids.

I am glad that adoption is becoming more out in the open, but I wish it didn't have to be the headline.  In case you didn't notice, Michael and Colin are pretty awesome athletes and nice guys.  Why isn't that the headline?

10 Thoughts on Whole Living

1.  "You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf." --Mindfulness expert Jon Kabat-Zinn

2.  We'll always love confident talkers, but we're appreciating confident listeners more and more.

3.  Animals bring a lot of joy to the world.  It's high time we gave them a better deal in return.

4.  Out: Perfumes that smell like eau de chemicals  In: Fragrances redolent of real ingredients

5.  Cool, misty, calm, peaceful: sometimes being in the fog isn't such a bad thing.

6.  Dogs, with their perpetual today-is-the-best-day-ever attitude, could teach us a thing or two.

7.  Resolve to remember how great we feel time we exercise--the next time we're piling up excuses for why we can't work out.

8.  The foods that are good for us actually leave us feeling good.  Love how nature does that!

9.  "The time is always right to do the right thing."  Thank you Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for being as relevant as you've always been.

10.  When life hands you lemons, roast them chickens and potatoes.

Where We Belong: A Review

From Goodreads:  Marian Caldwell is a thirty-six year old television producer, living her dream in New York City. With a fulfilling career and satisfying relationship, she has convinced everyone, including herself, that her life is just as she wants it to be. But one night, Marian answers a knock on the door . . . only to find Kirby Rose, an eighteen-year-old girl with a key to a past that Marian thought she had sealed off forever. From the moment Kirby appears on her doorstep, Marian’s perfectly constructed world—and her very identity—will be shaken to its core, resurrecting ghosts and memories of a passionate young love affair that threaten everything that has come to define her.
 
For the precocious and determined Kirby, the encounter will spur a process of discovery that ushers her across the threshold of adulthood, forcing her to re-evaluate her family and future in a wise and bittersweet light. As the two women embark on a journey to find the one thing missing in their lives, each will come to recognize that where we belong is often where we least expect to find ourselves—a place that we may have willed ourselves to forget, but that the heart remembers forever.

My Review:  I was on the fence about reading this book since it is largely focused on adoption.  I have found that books about adoption sometimes gloss over reality and it all ends up in a tidy little bow by the end.  

The characters, while somewhat flat, are relatable.  They feel the emotions one would expect them to feel. I found myself empathizing with almost all of them, oddly enough though, not with the adoptive mother.  Her resentment of her daughter's birth parents is probably typical to some adoptions, but not to ours and so I had a tough time with her.  I could understand her hesitation, but I felt she should have been more supportive of something that was so obviously important to her daughter.

The story moved at a decent pace, but I can't say it was a page turner.  I enjoyed reading it slowly and thinking about the issues raised in the novel.  I liked how the author slowly peeled back layers of the story a bit a a time.  While most of it was predictable, it was still worth reading.

The book did have some short comings, mainly related to how adoption works.  Kirby was 18 when the story takes place, so things may have changed between then and now.  I am not sure how realistic it is that she was given Marion's address.  The way she just showed up out of the blue seems to be most people's worst nightmare.  I doubt either birth parents or adoptive parents would want to be surprised by someone on their doorstep.  

Also, the way Marion kept the entire pregnancy a secret from everyone, including the birthfather Conrad was deplorable.  It certainly made me think twice about a birthfather's rights, and I truly felt bad for his character.  

Long story short, each and every adoption is different, and this books tells one story.  

5 Months Old!

It doesn't even seem possible that LX is already 5 months old!  He is doing so great.  He is ticklish and has the best belly laugh ever.  He can turn himself over and he loves "standing" up when someone is holding him.  We think he will walk before he crawls.  He is working on sitting up with some help.  He still loves books, talking, and music.  He smiles so much and is still a great sleeper.  We took him to Pennsylvania this weekend to visit my sister and her family, and he had a great time playing with his cousin James.  He is super chatty and almost always is talking. He likes to sit at the dinner table with us when we are eating, and he talks away! 

He doesn't go to the doctor this month (unless he gets sick, so hopefully not!), so I don't have any height or weight this month.  He has been very healthy and we are so thankful for that!  He is showing a couple of teeth buds on his bottom jaw.  He drools a lot but seems to be OK with the slow arrival of his first teeth.

He is the best thing that has ever happened to us, and we are so happy!

What I Love About Sundays

~ sleeping
~ eggs and home fries
~ not rushing
~ football
~ staying in PJs as long as I want to
~ pot roast in the crock pot
~ knowing that I don't have to go to work in the morning
~ the calm that has settled over our house

I hope your Sunday is relaxing and refreshing!

Board Games

Dave and I are obsessed with board games.  For him, it is the competitiveness and for me, it is the social aspect.  Plus, they are just fun!  We are lucky to have another couple who loves to play games just as much as we do, so we get to play a fair amount.  

We've had quite a few favorites over the years, so I thought I would share them with you.