Pi Patel is an unusual boy. The son of a zookeeper, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. Practicing not only his native Hinduism but also Christianity and Islam, Pi tries on various faiths for size, attracting “religions the way a dog attracts fleas.” When Pi is 16, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship along with their zoo animals bound for new homes. The ship sinks and Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat with his only companions: a wounded zebra, a spotted hyena, a seasick orangutan, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger.

Yann Martel has said that Life of Pi can be summarized in three statements: “Life is a story. You can choose your story. A story with God is the better story.”