The Hunger, a review of Life of Pi

reviewed by The "EX" Patriot

“This novel was born as I was hungry,” says the opening line of Yann Martel’s the Life of Pi. And, indeed, this is a novel about hunger. Hunger found in the stomach of its main character, Pi Patel who is stranded in a life boat after the ship he was travelling upon sinks into the Pacific; and hunger in the form of the Bengal Tiger that is trapped with him. It is about spiritual hunger as Pi’s zest for life and religion leads him to become a practicing Muslim, Hindu, and Christian. And it is about the hunger for stories.

Like the fictional author of the book, the adult Pi, too, hungers for stories. The house in Canada from where he relates the details of his boyhood adventure is filled with religious symbols and trinkets so that one gets the sense that it is a home brimming with tales ready to be told. But to paraphrase what Pi says of the Christian religion, this novel has but one story. All the stories coming before it are merely a prologue. And this one story only takes on its complete horrifying, yet life-affirming and spiritual eloquence in the final few pages, long after the reader feels the tale has reached its conclusion.

Perhaps the most refreshing thing about Life of Piis its readability, its capacity to capture the reader from the outset and hold on page after page until the end. It is so rare that novels that have garnered the critical praise that the Life of Pi has received are as easy to read as a Stephen King yarn. But Martel has accomplished just that. His prose lures the reader into Pi’s story with the ease of a skilled fisherman, and tightens the line at just the right time so that it is impossible to let go. The reader has no choice but to give in to the struggle and be led through the exquisite pain of Pi’s ordeal willingly, craving for more, but not wishing to reach the end.

Martel achieves this accomplishment through two very clever devices. He creates a character that is impossible not to love, and weaves the subtle details, that make the story believable, subtly into the context of the plot.

From the opening descriptions of Pi’s academic studies in Religion and Zoology, and his strange attachment for Richard Parker whom he seems to miss greatly, through his adventures at his family’s zoo in India, to the stark, minimal existence of his days aboard a life boat, Pi is an immeasurably loveable character. We feel for him when he breaks his vegetarian existence, and share his horror upon discovering that what appears to be his salvation is actually a danger more voracious than the perils of the sea. He is such a gentle, loving person that when we approach the end of the novel we honestly don’t believe this young, pacifistic young man is capable of committing even the slightest atrocity.

Martel also pulls us in with the details of his characters, so finely integrated into the story that the has no hesitation to believe it is possible for young Pi to survive aboard the lifeboat with Richard Parker, the Bengal Tiger. Even the name Richard Parker conjures up familiar images of Poe’s character and the alleged real life cabin boy who was devoured by his crew mates. Pi’s understanding of and compassion for animals stems from his upbringing. His knowledge of the details of lion training, their habits in the wild, and their biology come to him so naturally that we accept them at face value.

Martel knows that stories of man against the sea have existed since the dawn of civilisation, from ancient myth down through the years until the such products as the hit Tom Hanks film a few years back. We have a strange Oedipus complex with the ocean. It gave us birth and we are attached to it, yet we are continually aware of its temper and ability to deliver harsh punishments upon us. It is the ultimate metaphor for nearly anything an author wishes, forever constant and immortal, yet in a perpetual state of change. And Martel uses this natural metaphor to its full effect.

But despite Life of Pi’s façade as a novel of high adventure at sea, it is ultimately a profoundly psychological novel. It is at once a modern Robinson Crusoe and a contemporary Heart of Darkness. Through Pi’s story we are brought into the belly of the whale with the depths of its darkness, and back out again into the light. This is a novel that makes us profoundly aware of the beast that lives within us all.

Life of Pi
by Yann Martel
Winner of the 2002 Man Booker Prize
Hardcover: 336 pages
Dimensions (in inches): 1.10 x 9.30 x 6.38
Publisher: Harcourt

Leaving the Cave, a Review of An Odd Odyssey

reviewed by The "Ex" Patriot

Glen David Short has a passion for life. Real life. His book, An Odd Odyssey, California to Colombia by Bus and Boat, is in fact a treatise about the nature of learning to live in the ‘real’ world as much as it is about his trip through Central America. In fact, there is something more than vaguely Platonic about his metamorphosis from tunnel worker to world traveller and author.

After six years of labouring in the shadows of man-made caves, Short had a close call when part of the tunnel in which he had been working collapsed. The site of a chunk of rock the size of a Volkswagon falling in close proximity provided the impetus to search for something more from life. But the “real world” in which his friends lived, the world of couples, and mortgages, cell phones and car payments, and 2.5 kids and bedtime stories was as shadowy, grey, and undefined as the tunnel. It was time to break away.

Like the cave-dwellers in Plato’s metaphor, Glen David Short was about to emerge into the brilliance of the real world.

The setting of his travels through Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, and ultimately Colombia is the vivid rich earth of Central America where the past shines as intensely as the present. A society where friendly strangers who are willing to invite you into their homes like an old friend exist side by side with thieves and murderers not much older than the children of Glen Short's thirty-something friends.

The book itself is ambitious for a first time author. Short’s goal is nothing less than to share every aspect of his journey with the reader, so that by the end one feels as if they had accompanied him every mile of the way.

He is not a trained or a practiced writer but he has a natural poetry about himself and about the way he sees the world. He relates with infectious passion, descriptions of the natural and urban landscapes, details of the ancient remnants of the Aztec and Mayan civilisations, portraits of the many people he met along the way, the history of the countries he visited, and perhaps most importantly, his own spiritual journey.

The beginning is a jumpy collection of anecdotes, wandering from one locale to the next. The reader shortly discovers the reason for this is that his notes had been stolen on the Mexican subway during a hectic couple of days that saw him robbed not once but twice. This event seems to help bring his trek into focus, both in his mind and on the page.

From this point on, his entries are dated and more detailed. As if his eyes have finally become accustomed to the brightness of the world around him, he settles into his life as a traveller. More confident, less naïve than before.

This focus is mirrored in Short’s prose. At the beginning, one can feel that words and sentences seem foreign to him. His descriptions and imagery are tentative jabs into the unknown sometimes reaching their mark, sometimes not. But as the pages pass by, his confidence grows; he begins sharing more and more of himself. His prose becomes more refined and mastered. By the end, his prose is as professional and flowing as that of more experienced writers.

We grow to trust Short’s observations and opinions of the people he meets, sometimes in spite of how we know we would react in the same situation. The crazy Swede, Ari, for example, who consumes large quantities of drugs to help him meditate and who relishes showing strangers the knife which will be his defense in any situation is a character whom many of us would dismiss offhand as someone we would rather avoid. Short’s optimism in the human spirit, however, leads him to try and become more closely acquainted with this character. We grow to learn that Ari is a human being with the same passions and loves, which we all share, a guy who experiences a child-like enjoyment of the fruit drinks sold at the restaurant across the street from the hotel.

In fact, it is Short’s love of the human spirit in all its incarnations that provides some of the truly remarkable passages in this book and elevates it to something better than your average collection of travel articles. The people accompanying him through his journeys are just as colourful and exciting as his ascension of Pacaya Volcano or his life aboard a yacht in the Caribbean.

An Odd Odyssey also provides a first-hand insight into the world of backpacking. A world which some enter into like sponges ready to absorb all it has to offer but others wander through shielded by a wall of personal cultural bias. We also learn the ephemeral nature of friendship in this world where bonds seem to grow between travellers quickly, but fade just as fast as people go their separate ways.

The flaws found in An Odd Odyssey come from the nature of its publication. Short took the route of publishing through a "Print on Demand" company and although the binding, cover-art, and paper quality at first give the impression of a truly professional publication, we soon see the inconsistencies and flaws in such a work. The pages are missing chapter headings to help the reader remember where he or she is; the font is a little small and compact in comparison to most modern works; and journal entries do not have extra spaces between them to make reading easier. But these things are minor, and given the nature of the work can be overlooked.

Glen Short’s freshman foray into the world of travel writing represents a journey both mental and physical which many of us only fantasize about. He begins confused and uncertain about where his adventure will take him, but as he sheds the conceptions of the “real world” that he had been taught were absolute, he discovers the bounteous wonders around him. It is the story of how one man works up the courage to leave the shadows of his personal cave, and bask in the rays and glory life has to offer.

An Odd Odyssey, California to Colombia by Bus and Boat
published by
Trafford
290 pages, perfect bound QPB
$19.75 US

The publisher's page can be found here.

Glen David Short's Official Homepage and his complete An Odd Odyssey information page.

Glen David Short at ScribeCentral.com

Not Meant to Be

Without you life is like dream,
waking up and realizing things may not be what they seem.
This feeling I have is great remorse,
for I know our hearts travel there separate course.
There’s no way to depict what you do,
to make my passion flourish over you.
Gazing deep, searching in your eyes,
for I find my heart's great demise.
Though few words have been shared,
the elegance of one word was plentiful beyond compared.
Thoughts of integrity come from within me,
but shan't be returned this love was not meant to be.

written by:josh

Poems by Eric Marks

Because

Reckless as a yearling raven courting,
I salute you with spontaneous gifts:
blood oranges, wine and chocolate,
Italian soup and Scottish wool,
a wooden clock shaped like a whale.
Asked why, I¹ll only shrug: Because.
Because today the sky was tarnished blue,
a copper lid the ocean simmered under.
Because I am myself and not another,
and you are yourself, and not another,
and we share these surroundings for a while:
A miracle, unappreciated
because at first it seems so commonplace.
Because pleasure is sharp, sweet and fleeting
as champagne, chocolate or oranges.
Because pain is swift and careless as a razor.
Because the wood I carved into a clock
is flesh, and so am I, and so are you.

Medusa

When you greeted us that Hallowe¹en
in your Maxfield Parrish toga,
coiffed hair and tiara of snakes
your guests laughed and doubted whether
a gorgon could have looked so fine.
Perhaps they did not realize
Medusa was a comely maiden
who had the power to transfix men
before Athena cursed her.
But you knew. And I recalled, once,
seeing you in the supermarket
at a distance, your back turned.
I didn¹t recognize you at first,
saw only a woman so bewitching
I held my breath as you moved.
Remembering this, I think of Medusa,
her tiny feet and shapely calves
snug in the thongs of her sandals,
her sculpted arms and bare shoulders
like the finest blue-veined marble,
and how her hair seemed to move
with life of its own. How difficult
it must have been for Perseus
to look away as he approached.
How quickly his heart beat. How keenly
he anticipated her beauty;
how fearsome was his desire.

Love and potatoes

Love and potatoes
sprout from the eye
and root in the dark:

You can force one,
but not the other.

Pommes d¹amour

i. Brunswickers

My great-grandmother¹s dowry
was a basketful of apples
and an orchard beside the forest.
These were God¹s people, plain folk
with hands shaped by axe handles.
They held cards and fiddle music
to be the Devil¹s instruments
but played both, and knew by heart
the Song of Songs. Their love was sharp,
sweet, frothing and quenching
like cider still warm from the mill.
They are gone half a century;
the grove remains, rank and fertile.
In this no man¹s land I stalk grouse,
study deer, try to woo women
with gifts of tart fruit. If I fail,
I am comforted with apples.

ii. He offers his love an apple

Here these are Brunswickers. Try one.
They¹re as wholesome as peaches and cream,
as bracing as whiskey and marmalade.
Who needs ripe figs or omelettes of quail¹s eggs?
I wouldn¹t share these with just anyone,
only a friend but, if, at first bite,
you feel a bit like Snow White,
I suppose that is only natural.
I¹m no Paris, nor you Aphrodite;
though for this long autumn night, we could be.

Halifax, 1917

by ERIC MARKS

Halifax, 1917

The old man never mentioned it
without shaking his head
in disbelief or sorrow:
Halifax, 1917,
the city levelled in an instant
by a blast unequalled
until Hiroshima.
He was 16 and a half years old,
a cadet still in training
to a crew of fishermen.
He never spoke of the rescue,
the days he dug for corpses,
the nights of guard duty,
the choking smoke,
the looting or the silence.
He had a panoramic photograph
that said most of this for him,
but until the Alzheimer¹s
stole his sense away
he would tell anyone who asked
how the shockwave struck their boat
like the left hand of God,
or how the mushroom cloud
devoured the horizon
and the stolid old bosun
sank to his knees
and wailed like a child.

Curriculum Vitae: George W. Bush

I recently had an email exchange with a right-winger from my local newspaper, and of course the war with Iraq came up pretty quick. But he said something in defense of George Bush that really surprised me. In defense of the attack on Iraq he said 'between Hussein and Bush, Hussein is the bad guy'.

My first response was ... So your guy is better than a third world dictator. Wow! what an accomplishment! Does he put that on his resume?

And with that in mind, I started wondering ... what would a George W. Bush resume look like exactly?

Listed below is what I came up with:

*********************************************

George W. Bush Resume

Past work experience:

* Ran for congress and lost.

* Produced a Hollywood slasher B movie.

* Bought an oil company, but couldn't find any oil in Texas; company went bankrupt shortly after I sold all my stock.

* Bought the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal that took land using tax-payer money. Biggest move: Traded Sammy Sosa to the Chicago Cubs.

* With my fathers help (and name) was elected Governor of Texas.

Accomplishments:

* Changed pollution laws for power and oil companies and made Texas the most polluted state in the Union.

* Replaced Los Angeles with Houston as the most smog ridden city in America.

* Cut taxes and bankrupted the Texas government to the tune of billions in borrowed money.

* Set record for most executions by any Governor in American history.

* Became president after losing the popular vote by over 500,000 votes, with the help of my father's appointments to the Supreme Court.

Accomplishments as president

* Attacked and took over two countries.

* Spent the surplus and bankrupted the treasury.

* Shattered record for biggest annual deficit in history.

* Set economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any 12 month period.

* Set all-time record for biggest drop in the history of the stock market.

* First president in decades to execute a federal prisoner.

* First president in US history to enter office with a criminal record.

* First year in office set the all-time record for most days on vacation by any president in US history.

* After taking the entire month of August off for vacation, presided over the worst security failure in US history.

* Set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips than any other president in US history.

* In my first two years in office over 2 million Americans lost their jobs.

* Cut unemployment benefits for more out of work Americans than any president in US history.

* Set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12 month period.

* Appointed more convicted criminals to administration positions than any president in US history.

* Set the record for the least amount of press conferences than any president since the advent of television.

* Signed more laws and executive orders amending the Constitution than any president in US history.

* Presided over the biggest energy crisis in US history and refused to intervene when corruption was revealed.

* Presided over the highest gasoline prices in US history and refused to use the national reserves as past presidents have.

* Cut healthcare benefits for war veterans.

* Set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously take to the streets to protest me (15 million people), shattering the record for protest against any person in the history of mankind. (http://www.hyperreal.org/~dana/marches/)

* Dissolved more international treaties than any president in US history.

* My presidency is the most secretive and un-accountable of any in US history.

* Members of my cabinet are the richest of any administration in US history. (the "poorest", multi-millionaire, Condoleeza Rice has an Exxon oil tanker named after her).

* First president in US history to have all 50 states of the Union simultaneously go bankrupt.

* Presided over the biggest corporate stock market fraud of any market in any country in the history of the world.

* First president in US history to order a US attack and military occupation of a sovereign nation.

* Created the largest government department bureaucracy in the history of the United States.

* Set the all-time record for biggest annual budget spending increases, more than any president in US history.

* First president in US history to have the United Nations remove the US from the human rights commission.

* First president in US history to have the United Nations remove the US from the elections monitoring board.

* Removed more checks and balances, and have the least amount of congressional oversight than any presidential administration in US history.

* Rendered the entire United Nations irrelevant.

* Withdrew from the World Court of Law.

* Refused to allow inspectors access to US prisoners of war and by default no longer abide by the Geneva Conventions.

* First president in US history to refuse United Nations election inspectors (during the 2002 US elections).

* All-time US (and world) record holder for most corporate campaign donations.

* My biggest life-time campaign contributor presided over one of the largest corporate bankruptcy frauds in world history (Kenneth Lay, former CEO of Enron Corporation).

* Spent more money on polls and focus groups than any president in US history.

* First president in US history to unilaterally attack a sovereign nation against the will of the United Nations and the world community.

* First president to run and hide when the US came under attack (and then lied saying the enemy had the code to Air Force 1)

* First US president to establish a secret shadow government.

* Took the biggest world sympathy for the US after 911, and in less than a year made the US the most resented country in the world (possibly the biggest diplomatic failure in US and world history).

* With a policy of "dis-engagement" created the most hostile Israeli-Palestine relations in at least 30 years.

* First US president in history to have a majority of the people of Europe (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and stability.

* First US president in history to have the people of South Korea more threatened by the US than their immediate neighbor, North Korea.

* Changed US policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.

* Set all-time record for number of administration appointees who violated US law by not selling huge investments in corporations bidding for government contracts.

* Failed to fulfill my pledge to get Osama Bin Laden 'dead or alive'.

* Failed to capture the anthrax killer who tried to murder the leaders of our country at the United States Capitol building. After 18 months I have no leads and zero suspects.

* In the 18 months following the 911 attacks I have successfully prevented any public investigation into the biggest security failure in the history of the United States.

* Removed more freedoms and civil liberties for more Americans than any other president in US history.

* In a little over two years, created the most divided country in decades, possibly the most divided the US has ever been since the civil war.

* Entered office with the strongest economy in US history and in less than two years turned every single economic category heading straight down.

Records and References

* At least one conviction for drunk driving in Maine (Texas driving record has been erased and is not available)

* AWOL from National Guard and Deserted the military during a time of war.

* Refused to take drug test or even answer any questions about drug use.

* All records of my tenure as governor of Texas have been spirited away to my fathers library, sealed in secrecy and un-available for public view.

* All records of any SEC investigations into my insider trading or bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and un-available for public view.

* All minutes of meetings for any public corporation I served on the board are sealed in secrecy and un-available for public view.

* Any records or minutes from meetings I (or my VP) attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and un-available for public review.

For personal references please speak to my daddy or Uncle James Baker. They can be reached at their offices of the Carlyle Group for war-profiteering.

(NOTE: This was sent via email. If you are the author of this piece, please email scribecentral.com. Thanks.)