Life of Pi

本書改編電影《少年Pi的奇幻漂流》，由李安執導。

　　我是Pi，我和一隻巨無霸的孟加拉虎在太平洋上的一艘救生艇『狹路相逢』，為什麼會這樣？說來話長，就別提了，現在最要緊的是，我要如何對付這隻叫理查．帕克的老虎？

　　計畫一：把牠推下救生艇。可那有什麼用？就算推下去了，老虎也是游泳健將，而我一定會因此付出代價的。

　　計畫二：用六劑嗎啡殺了牠。牠會乖乖的讓你連續注射六支嗎？不可能！我要是拿針筒戳牠，牠肯定會賞我一虎掌。

　　計畫三：用手邊找得到的武器攻擊牠。神經病！我又不是泰山，如果我真能在牠身上劃出一道小傷口，那我倒真成了超人了。

　　計畫四：勒死牠。

　　計畫五：毒死牠，燒死牠，電死牠。哼，可真是找死的好計畫！

　　計畫六：長期抗戰，消耗敵人。我只需要讓嚴厲的大自然執行它的法則，坐著等牠日漸消瘦、飢渴而死，我一點力氣都不用花。我心底燃起了微弱的希望之火，就如黑夜中的燭光。

　　但是，老實說吧，告訴你一個祕密：我的心裡有一部分很高興有理查．帕克作伴。因為萬一牠死了，我就剩下一個人陷入深深的絕望之中，而絕望這敵人是比老虎更棘手的，所以我決定了計畫七；不能讓牠死！

　　可是，在茫茫汪洋中，要如何才能馴服一頭重達四百五十磅的孟加拉虎呢？

　　The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. When Pi is sixteen, 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. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth." After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional–but is it more true?

　　★本書中譯版由皇冠出版。

作者簡介

楊．馬泰爾（Yann Martal）

　　外交官之子，一九六三年出生於西班牙，幼時曾旅居哥斯大黎加、法國、墨西哥、阿拉斯加、加拿大，成年後作客伊朗、土耳其及印度。畢業於加拿大特倫特大學哲學系，其後從事各種稀奇古怪的工作，二十七歲後始以寫作為生。現定居加拿大蒙特婁。

　　Yann Martel, the child of diplomats, grew up in Costa Rica, France, Mexico, Alaska, and Canada and as an adult has spent time in Iran, Turkey, and India. After studying philosophy at Trent University, he worked at odd jobs until he began making a living as a writer at the age of twenty-seven. He lives in Montreal.